BLOW MOLDING: Lighter PET Water Bottle Doesn’t Squish

New PET preform and bottle designs are said to create a super-lightweight 0.5-liter bottle for still water that not only weighs 34% less than the average commercial bottle of this size, but also achieves 32% more topload strength than the lightest commercial bottle. “It’s no longer about simply reducing the plastic content,” said Christophe Bunel, head of Packaging Care & Development at Sidel in France (U.S. office in Norcross, Ga.). “A bottle must be lighter, of course, but also stay attractive, protect the beverage, and ensure high consumer satisfaction. At Sidel, we call this rightweighting.”

Sidel’s new RightWeight bottle weighs just 7.95 g, compared with an average of 12 g for commercial 0.5L water bottles. Yet it also offers topload strength of 33 kg without nitrogen dosing, which is required by most ultra-lightweight bottles on the market, Sidel says. The company claims this means that its new bottle not only can withstand the rigors of the supply chain while retaining good appearance, but also that it helps eliminate spills from the “oversqueeze” often experienced by consumers with featherweight water bottles. Increased stiffness and strength reportedly also makes it easier for consumers to unscrew the cap and open the bottle. The bottle uses standard 26/22 caps.

Sidel used numerous computer simulations followed by real-world physical tests to completely redesign the preform for the water bottle. This included a redesign of the standard 26/22 neck finish to save an extra 15% of weight while maintaining compatibility with existing standard 26/22 caps.

(678) 221-3200 • sidel.com