Constar VCT system creates glasslike jars
Bottle supplier Constar International Inc. has introduced Vertical Compensation Technology, a panel-less hot-fill design for PET containers. Constar developed VCT to provide its PET bottles and jars with the look and premium feel of glass, targeting glass-to-plastic and plastic-to-plastic conversions for hot-fill beverage and food products.
Designed using Constar's CONSTruct advanced predictive engineering software, VCT's distinctive hoop geometry eliminates the need for vacuum panels by allowing the bottle or jar to flex vertically to compensate for the vacuum created in the hot-fill process.
One of its major benefits is improved productivity during the filling process as the smooth sidewalls and rigidity facilitate the high-speed application of roll-fed labels. This also replicates the in-hand feel of traditional glass hot-fill bottles and jars - no ``crinkly'' label feel.
VCT is available in stock and custom-designed bottles and jars. Constar is based in Philadelphia.
Tel. 215-552-3705.
S+S opens N.Y. site, debuts optical sorter
S+S Inspection Inc. has opened a 3,000-square-foot recycling technical support center in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Rick Wielgus, S+S technical manager of recycling, who has 27 years of experience, is managing the new facility.
The move comes after S+S opened its corporate headquarters last fall in Tucker, Ga.
S+S Inspection is part of S+S Separation and Sorting Technology GmbH of Schönberg, Germany, which makes separation and sorting equipment. The new headquarters gave the German parent direct control over sales and service.
In new product news, S+S introduced an optical sorter called Spektrum G. The unit solves the problems of feeding granular and pellet material by replacing the conventional feed chute or conveyor with a free-fall setup, increasing productivity and net yield. S+S said using a chute to feed material through the inspection area can result in lateral movement of material, causing poor separation along the width of the belt.
Spektrum G uses specifically matched vibratory feeders to deliver the material for sorting to a high-speed conveyor.
Tel. 770-493-9332, fax 770-934-3384, e-mail [email protected] sesotec-usa.com.
Italian firm offering coreless rewinder
An Italian maker of rewinders, slitters and palletizing equipment for the stretch film industry now is selling its coreless system for stretch film that eliminates the need for the cardboard core.
The Milan-based company is NO.EL Automazione Industustriale. The technology behind the Coreless Rewinder II is patented.
The current model is designed for use off-line, but NO.EL expects to introduce an on-line winder in Europe and North America in late 2008 or early 2009. The first customer to use an on-line Coreless Rewinder II will be cast film maker Hipac SpA of Milan.
Officials said initially most coreless demand came from rolls designed for manual wrapping, where the film rolls have a 2-inch diameter. But about half of new orders are coming from larger rolls, with a 3-inch-interior diameter and a total weight of 25-35 pounds.
The cost of the cardboard tubes adds up. According to NO.EL, in North America the average cost for a tube is $1.
The tubes cannot be used again for the stretch film rolls, said Roberto Colombo, vice president and NO.EL's sales manager for the world market. Generally in Europe, about half the cardboard tubes are recycled and the other half are thrown away, he said.
``During the [winding] process, it damages the cardboard,'' Colombo said.
The Coreless Rewinder II has been available only in Europe and Brazil. NO.EL introduced it into the U.S. market in the second quarter of this year.
One of the first customers for the Coreless Rewinder II was BPI Films, the Greenock, Scotland-based unit of British Polythene Industries plc of Greenock.
BPI Films uses the coreless rewinder for its manual-wrap brand of Zeroll stretch wrap. Operations director Tony Solle put some numbers on it.
BPI places 360 of the small rolls on a pallet. Eliminating the cardboard core shaves off about 180 pounds of weight from every pallet.
The film maker also can fit many more rolls of Zeroll on a pallet. Before going coreless, only 240 rolls would fit on a single pallet, Solle said.
NO.EL's exclusive agent for North America is Nuove Sales LLC in Los Angeles.
Tel. 310-670-0576, ext. 1, e-mail [email protected]