Reducing the expenses associated with producing PET preforms while ensuring the quality remains consistent
Reducing the expenses associated with producing PET preforms while ensuring the quality remains consistent
Minimizing production expenses while maintaining a high level of quality is the most effective strategy for boosting company profits. This principle is relevant in the beverage industry, especially for businesses that manufacture PET preforms and convert them into bottles for soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and other liquid food products.
Additionally, it is important to consider changing consumer demands and market trends, such as seasonal fluctuations, which can impact sales. To remain competitive, companies need to evaluate emerging trends and enhance their processes. Let's explore how this can be achieved.
Aiming at mould quality
Minimizing production expenses while maintaining a high level of quality is the most effective strategy for boosting company profits. This principle is relevant in the beverage industry, especially for businesses that manufacture PET preforms and convert them into bottles for soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, and other liquid food products.
Additionally, it is important to consider changing consumer demands and market trends, such as seasonal fluctuations, which can impact sales. To remain competitive, companies need to evaluate emerging trends and enhance their processes. Let's explore how this can be achieved.
PET design and lightweighting
An essential element in minimizing costs is the reduction of weight in PET preforms. However, this process must ensure that the resulting bottles and containers are suitable for palletization, transportation, and, most importantly, meet the requirements of end consumers.
Achieving lighter PET preforms and bottles necessitates a meticulous design phase.
This phase should be conducted by industry experts who can evaluate the necessary specifications of the containers in advance and optimize material usage to the lowest feasible level.
Only after completing this preliminary analysis and prototyping stage can molds be developed that precisely align with a company's specific production requirements.
Injection moulds designed for flexible production
By utilizing an intelligently designed preform, it is feasible to develop injection molds that can be adjusted to meet varying production requirements.
When adjustments are needed to modify the weight of the preform, it is crucial that this change can be made simply by swapping out the core instead of having to replace the entire mold.
This approach clearly leads to significant savings in both time and costs.
This flexibility in PET preform manufacturing is a key advantage, particularly when considering the spikes in demand that bottlers experience during the summer months.
To prevent downtime, those who do not maintain large inventories of preforms throughout the year must invest in molds that are either perfectly sized or even larger than what the blowers require.
Lower environmental impact: saving in harmful emissions and money
The packaging industry is increasingly adopting solutions that are more environmentally friendly, yielding benefits not only for the planet but also for cost efficiency.
Equipment that consumes less energy and molds requiring reduced water usage can lead to significant savings in carbon emissions, conservation of natural resources, and lower production expenses.
A growing trend is the shift towards recycled PET (R-PET), which offers both ecological and financial advantages. For instance, at the Packaging & Recycling Forum 2019, Ferrarelle highlighted the benefits realized at its Presenzano (CE) facility:
“The production capacity has reached up to 23 kt/year of R-PET, with a current market return of 15 kt/year for new bottles. Advanced technologies contribute to energy efficiency, minimize polymer stress, enhance decontamination, and improve economic viability.”
Sustainability in the industrial processes related to PET container production is already a reality in this sector and will remain a key focus in future technological advancements.