Many Good Reasons for Liquid Dairy to Switch to PET Packaging

Where do you see potential for cost-effective and eco-friendly production?

Starting from a raw material perspective, PET is the most affordable plastic available on the market, with prices that remained quite stable over the past ten years. In the PET market, the offer exceeds the demand and preform suppliers are available worldwide, both aspects con-tributing to a competitive supply chain.

It is also notable that the right-weighting potential in PET bottles is huge, as the water industry largely demonstrated. Sidel has been partnering with its customers to define the container’s weight requirements to strengthen the product stability through the supply chain, while ensur-ing the best consumer experience. For instance, aseptically packaging liquid dairy products in PET via the Sidel Aseptic Combi Predis™ – the patented blow-fill-cap solution with dry preform sterilisation technology – ensures packaging right-weighting since the bottle does not suffer any thermal impact due to the sterilisation. For example, the average weight of a 1 litre PET bottle for UHT milk is 24 g, whereas a HDPE bottle for the same application weighs between 28 and 32 g, with no possibility for lightweighting. With the good neck and cap tightness, the seal-ing does not require aluminium foil; consequently dairy manufacturers have less raw material and less equipment to acquire. Using no water and almost no chemicals, the Sidel Aseptic Combi Predis globally contributed to save seven billion litres of water and 57,000 tons of PET, while producing a staggering 46 billion bottles.

Do you offer integrated process solutions for LDP players?

Sidel’s fully integrated and technically advanced solutions employ the processing equipment and capabilities of Tetra Pak Processing Systems (TPPS). Over the years, Sidel and TPPS have been combining competencies and expertise to define and execute more than 100 com-plete line projects. As such, the company is perfectly established to support the liquid dairy sec-tor in new product launches or in a switch to PET.

Are there any notable solutions in your portfolio when aseptic matters?

A clear proof point of Sidel’s leadership in aseptic applications is the company’s Aseptic Combi Predis. The solution merges dry preform sterilisation with aseptic blowing, filling and sealing functions within a single production enclosure and respects the fundamental concept which underpins state-of-the-art aseptic packaging rules: producing a commercially sterile product, filled in a sterile zone, in a previously sterilised package. It differs from traditional aseptic tech-nology because the package sterilisation takes place during the preform rather than during the bottle phase. It offers many benefits including safety and simplicity, cost-effectiveness, no wa-ter and the use of very few chemicals. More than 100 Aseptic Combi Predis installations worldwide are a clear endorsement of this technology. As a further indicator of the reliability of the system, Sidel received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its Aseptic Combi Predis blow fill seal filler, making the solution the world’s first – and only – aseptic PET filling equipment with dry preform sterilisation validated for low acid manufacturing and commercial distribution in the United States market.

Source: Sidel