Evian Natural Spring Water plans to introduce its new, 11/2-liter PET bottle in the United States late this year. Nancy Levitt, a spokeswoman for Greenwich, Conn.-based Great Brands of Europe Inc., the U.S. importer and marketer of Evian, said the bottle is revolutionary in its design and execution, featuring collapsibility and molded-in images of the French Alps.
``The collapsibility is intended to make the bottle responsive to demands for source reduction in packaging both in Europe and the U.S.,'' Levitt said.
The bottles also use 14 per-cent less PET resin than simi-lar-sized bottles, Levitt said. Such source reduction is desirable in Europe, where curbside recycling is not widespread.
Development of the bottle cost Paris-based Groupe Danone, owner of the Evian brand, about $40 million. Bottles will be molded by Groupe Danone in France.
Quick Information Card No. 101
Spectra materials protect bull riders
High-performance polyethylene fiber provides lightweight protection against goring and falls for rodeo bull riders.
Tipperary Sports Products Inc. of Orangeville, Ontario, uses Spectra fiber and Spectra Shield fiber/film composite as key protective components in its bull rider vests. Spectra materials are made by AlliedSignal Inc.'s High Performance Fibers Group in Petersburg, Va.
Quick Information Card No. 102
Submarine hull cover uses composite parts
Lunn Industries Inc. of Glen Cove, N.Y., used epoxy tooling to make composite parts for a submarine hull cover for the U.S. Navy.
The cover, measuring 85 feet long by 60 inches wide, protects research equipment bolted to the sub hull. Lunn built 20 hull-component molds using Ren-brand epoxy resins supplied by Ciba-Geigy Corp.
The epoxy resin allowed a dimensional tolerance of one-eighth-inch along the length of the hull cover. Predictable shrinkage and temperature resistance during part curing were key properties of the tool resins.
Quick Information Card No. 103
Shutters protect against hurricanes
Extruded polycarbonate shutters withstand hurricane-force winds and debris, claims Clearshield Manufacturing Corp. of Riviera Beach, Fla.
Clearshield extrudes its ClearShield shutter using Makrolon polycarbonate from Bayer Corp. of Pittsburgh. The shutter is transparent to improve safety by allowing light into the home.
Quick Information Card No. 104
