Amcor Rigid Plastics has announced a food packaging industry first.
Amcor
The company - which is one of the world's leading manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging for the food, beverage, spirits, home and personal care, and healthcare industries - has unveiled its unique hot-fill polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers, which accept metal lug closures.
The breakthrough A-PEX63 system was unveiled at the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) annual trade show On November 16th 2014 in Rosemont, Illinois.
The innovative technology allows the fitment of metal lug closures to blow-and-trim 24oz hot-fill containers. For the first time, consumers who are familiar with the look and quality feel of a glass jar with a metal lug closure can now enjoy the same quality and reassurance of the fresh 'pop' of a metal lug closure on a lightweight, shatter-proof PET jar. The A-PEX63 system ensures that sealing integrity is maintained and meets the industry average for removal torque (ease of opening). Brand owners can also maintain the same brand equity with the switch from glass to PET.
The patent-pending technology was achieved through the use of advanced design and engineering techniques, according to Bunlim Ly, Senior Marketing Manager for Amcor Rigid Plastics.
"This is a major development which firmly positions PET hot-fill containers in the food packaging industry," said Ly. "We’ve filled an important need for consumers and brand owners who seek the benefits of PET containers with metal lug closures, delivering the same quality and freshness associated with glass along with significant performance, manufacturing and sustainability benefits."
The enabling technology creates 'a paradigm shift' for the food packaging industry from conventional glass with metal closures to plastic with metal closures, according to Peter Bates, Amcor's Senior R&D Engineer who worked closely on the technology.
"This is a unique solution which mimics glass in its acceptance of metal closures while also providing all the inherent benefits of plastics," said Bates.
The 24oz stock hot-fill containers, targeted for food applications such as jams, jellies, salsas, apple sauce and pesto, are a drop-in solution for manufacturers, providing reduced total cost of ownership and environmental benefits such as reduced carbon footprint. The shift to A-PEX63 PET containers requires no capital investment and can be adapted to existing capping and filling equipment. The A-PEX63 containers sport a 63mm finish with a functional 'pop' tamper-evident indicator button on the closure.
The 'pop' that consumers hear when opening a jar has long been associated with freshness and product security. The containers are also hot fillable up to 96 degrees centigrade and available with Amcor's unique PowerflexTM vacuum absorbing base for those applications that require enhanced vacuum performance.
Among PET’s key sustainability benefits are a 36 per cent energy savings and a reduction of 2024 tonnes of CO2 emissions which is equivalent to electricity use for one year for 278 homes. Versus the 330 gm glass container, the 51 gm PET container results in an 85 per cent material reduction per jar. The weight reduction results in major transportation cost benefits including the shipment of 30 per cent more product by weight per truck.
A recent consumer focus group conducted by Amcor showed that A-PEX63 containers maintained a product's brand equity and reassured consumers about freshness. Consumers also liked the 'pop' feature, the reduced weight, and the easy-to-grip, easy-open feature. The hot-fill containers also passed distribution abuse testing including variation, impact, and 5 ft vertical drop evaluations.
Amcor has conducted extensive lab scale and line trial testing to prove the technology. The 24 oz containers are commercially available for food manufacturers throughout the US. Amcor is also evaluating the potential of expanding the technology to include 16 oz and 48 oz containers for similar hot-fill food applications.