When it comes to developing an application in PET containers, SIPA has it all. Not only does it make the equipment and automation necessary to produce the container – and fill it, and label it, and package it - but it also has the technology, materials knowledge and design expertise to take an initial concept all the way through to reality.
This is a truly unique offering that applies just as much to large containers as it does to bottles and jars. When we say large, we mean large - all the way up to 40-liter and beyond. And SIPA can apply its expertise to containers for all sorts of applications as well as all sizes: water, beer, vegetable oils, mineral oils, detergents, chemicals, etc..
SIPA’s strength lies in its ability to understand the needs of the customer and develop a container that meets all of their requirements. It can also suggest subtle changes that enable more containers to fit onto a pallet – vertically as well as horizontally - so the pallet is full of bottles, rather than full of air. As a result the logistic cost can be dramatically reduced with any impact on the market distribution.
Engineering design, together with esthetic design, is what counts with large containers. SIPA can help designers who may not have the necessary competence in engineering to create products that not only look good but also perform properly at all stages in their life cycle. A container that looks beautiful on the computer screen is of no use if it cannot be blown, or if it has insufficient top load strength.
All variables are considered when SIPA is brought into the development process. And SIPA can do this, because of its total competence in the PET preform injection molding and final large container blow molding process, and also in mold making (preforms and containers) and in product design. SIPA can also provide truly independent advice on the best resin to use, it can design the optimum preform, it can act as a partner in fine-tuning the design of the container itself, it can produce and test prototypes.

SIPA SERVICE IN ACTION

Up to 25 liters for edible oil

SIPA is already offering its large container service to numerous customers, all around the world. Only recently, for example, it helped Able Perfect, an important producer of palm oil in Malaysia, in its development of square, stackable containers in three different formats, 10, 20 and 25 liters. A critical point in the project was that the packaging had to be compatible with the customer’s existing production system (handling, filling, palletizing and warehousing). SIPA designed the preforms for the containers to optimize the blowing process as well as the cooling in the base of the containers – critical to ensure the stackability of the containers on the pallets. All the customer’s requirements were met, with a high performance package made on equipment that provided a quick payback on investment.

HOD market

In Europe we can report a story on returnable HOD containers, 5 U.S. gallon. Omorika, an important converter in Bosnia, is using SIPA linear SFL 2/2 for the production of a 680 g PET container completely engineered by SIPA together with its preform. The aim was to replace an existing polycarbonate container.
Another SIPA success in the water HOD market relates to a Chinese customer who asked for a new development of a five U.S. gallon PET bottle. Also in this case they need to replace an existing PC container. The challenge was to achieve a lower bottle weight and a safe delivery of each single container over the tough Chinese road network. SIPA succeeded!
Notably for big water cooler bottle there is not a conclusive law on weight and shape. Everything depends on the customer’s needs and where the bottle have to be used. The counseling approach in this particular segment is what the industry appreciates more. This customer has adopted a complete SIPA solution for design and production of one-way HOD 18 l water bottles (each weighing 350 g), based on a PPS 300/12 L preform injection molding machine and an SFL 2/2 stretch-blow molding machine, providing an output of over 900 bph.

10 liters for hot fill!

SIPA’s large containers work also for HOT FILL application! A complete solution was recently delivered to a South Asian customer, for the production of 270-g, 10-L hot-fill soy sauce containers. A challenging project that has been carried over in just 8 months. Again, SIPA developed the preform and bottle designs, and production is also done on a PPS 300/12 L preform injection molding machine and an SFL 2/2 stretch-blow molding machine. In this case, hourly output is 1100 containers. 5 liters at 6,000 b/h for water and edible oil!
SIPA has also been particularly successful with the introduction of new systems for large containers in China. Yihai Kerry, part of Wilmar International, for example, now uses several dozen installations (26 SFL linear Stretch blow molding machines) to produce 5-L cooking oil bottles. Among them is SIPA’s new linear stretch-blow molding machine SFL 6/6 XXL, capable of running at 6000 bottles per hour. Across the Pacific, the same SFL 6/6 XXL is running at 6000 b/h for a 68-g 5-L water bottle for a major multinational beverage company’s operation in Spain. The bottle resists a top load of 100 kg, thanks to the use of nitrogen during the filling phase.

A full service package

The message is clear: for such mechanically demanding products as large PET containers, preform and final container design and production need to be considered together. SIPA can do this. In its various labs, it can do molding trials, and it can also do all types of relevant mechanical tests on prototype containers – top load tests, drop tests, implosion tests, burst test and more. SIPA is a global company, so wherever you are in the world, there is a design, technical service and prototyping facility not too far away from you, capable of working in tune with your needs. If you haven’t done so yet, maybe it’s time you put one to the test.