In response to this it has come up with three initiatives; transparent EPET IV materials, processing calcium carbonate (chalk) for recycling materials and a spiral distributor blow head to increase performance.
Recyclable materials
Michael Mehnert, CEO, Bekum said suppliers are constantly looking for innovative or recyclable materials for new product ideas.
“EPET IV has sufficient stability for extrusion blow molding and the parameters of the improved class IV are higher than the 1.0 PET recycling stream launched on the market,” he said.
“The material can be completely melted in the extrusion unit without causing excessive wear. Blow-molding machines from Bekum, such as the Hyblow 407 D, have been specially designed for performance in these demanding EPET applications.”
Hyblow 407 D allows production of EPET bottles with flash removal and directed bottle transfer integrated into the machine. The current 07 series of machines with the C-frame clamping unit is perfect for EPET processing due to the high closing force per cavity, uniform force distribution and quick force generation.
According to Mehnert, the packaging industry continuously tries to keep material costs under control as fluctuations in the prices of materials can affect unit costing and functional packaging, which has been developed in a resource-saving manner, provides scope for sustainability and added value.
Bekum claims calcium carbonate (CaCO3 = chalk) can be used as a recycled material as a substitute middle layer in packaging.
Introduction of chalk and PCR material as a multilayer has already been implemented by Bekum.
Chalk barrier properties
“The use of calcium carbonate (chalk) displays excellent barrier properties. The improved UV protection function is also attractive for packaging manufacturers. However, it is in respect of its extremely high cost effectiveness that the use of calcium carbonate (chalk) is decisive,” added Mehnert.
As an example, he said with a 20 l canister for packaging cooking oil, 24% of the HDPE, based on a total weight of 900g, could be replaced by chalk at a lower price.
“The cost difference between HDPE and chalk in this specific case was about $1,000 per tonne. At a machine output of 210 items per hour and 6,000 production hours per year, this results in possible savings of more than $270,000 per year. These are very exciting prospects for a packaging manufacturer,” he said.
Mehnert said at Interpack 2017, the focus of its exhibition will be on its spiral distributor blow head technology.
“The spiral distributor blow heads are characterized by a uniform wall thickness distribution in the parison and in the end product. This results in a significant potential for packaging manufacturers to optimize the single-layer parison quality,” he added.
“The spiral distributor blow heads from Bekum are more impressive in regard to multilayer structures. The heads can be easily adjusted by the operator from the front of the machine and the head design enables faster color changing times than conventional designs.”