While accommodating the move from sugary soft drinks to healthier options, its new lines do not compromise production efficiency, thanks to the use of more innovative packaging systems, claims the company.
“Rapidly shifting conditions and the demands the industry are currently experiencing mean that manufacturers need flexibility from their PET [polyethylene terephthalate] bottling lines,” says Damien Fournier, Sidel’s category marketing director for CSD.
“The ability to adapt production quickly and effectively while still ensuring top beverage quality and the best consumer experience when launching new products is essential if producers are to capitalise on opportunities that arise.”
With the aim of improving bottle strength and performance while reducing costs and ensuring the brand stands out on the shelves, Sidel scientists and in-house packaging designers work on more than 8,000 new bottle designs every year.
Bottle resistance and stability
This led to the recent development of Sidel StarLite (see picture, right), a novel PETbase design that increases bottle resistance and stability while lowering both package weight and energy consumption.
Through this approach – which can even be applied to existing lines – overall costs are claimed to be lowered without affecting beverage quality.
In another development, Sidel Actis (amorphous carbon treatment on internal surface) provides a plasma-coating barrier technology for PET bottles to extend beverage shelf-life while offering the potential for package lightweighting.
The barrier system was designed for smaller size or single-serve PET containers (typically less than 700ml), which are particularly susceptible to gas exchanges, such as those involving the ingress of oxygen and the loss of carbon dioxide.
Contact Sidel for more information.