A small and nimble ISBM for special PET bottles

At NPE 2018 (Orlando, Florida, May 7-11), Sipa, one of the world’s top-ranking suppliers of equipment for production of PET preforms and bottles, will show the latest version of its ECS SP injection-stretch-blow moulding (ISBM) system (booth S17085, in the Bottle Zone, on Level One of the South Hall).

The company, headquartered in Vittorio Veneto (Italy) and with a major mould refurbishing center in Atlanta (Georgia), will also be illustrating its full range of equipment for one- and two-stage production of PET containers, its expertise in bottle design, mould development and construction, its equipment for bottle filling and packaging, and its turnkey system capabilities.

Visitors to the Sipa booth will be able to find about just-introduced improvements to the ECS SP system that make it more versatile than ever. This hybrid system is ideal for production of specialty products such as containers for cosmetic, dairy, personal care, pharmaceuticals products, and spirits, mainly encountered in sizes between 10 and 50 ml. But larger size containers, as wide mouth jar, can be accommodated to if needed, up to 12.5 litres. It can produce all sorts of shapes thanks to 40 bar blow air pressure, within its chosen size range. Because production runs for these types of bottles are quite often fairly short, there is an important need to be able to change the injection and blow moulds quickly, so that down-time between runs is minimized.

A new quick mould-change system on the ECS SP can slash changeover times by around a quarter. New features also add extra safety and user-friendliness for operators.

With the words “circular economy” on everybody’s lips, Sipa will be talking about PET bottle recycling too. It will highlight Xtreme Renew, the system it co-developed with recycling technology specialist Erema, which enables direct processing of PET flakes from post-consumer recycled bottles into food contact-compliant injection-compression moulded preforms in a fully integrated process.

On Tuesday, May 8, at 12.15, Morris De Marchi, PET Packaging and Tooling Life Cycle Service director at SIPA North America, will address the Bottle Zone Technical Forum on the importance of a fast and cost-effective response in the plastics industry. He will show how local refurbishing and conversion centers can provide a fast and efficient way of upgrading production without having to make a major investment in completely new tooling.

On Wednesday, May 9, at 12.15, Sipa’s general manager Enrico Gribaudo will use his presentation during the forum to address PET preform manufacturing in the era of the circular economy, and how it can be accomplished in a financially viable way. He will talk about how to use the “Three Rs” - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - while dropping carbon footprint, saving energy and improving part quality.