ATLANTA — Two examples of packaging innovations won awards at the first-ever parts competition at the Society of Plastics Engineers Annual Blow Molding Conference.
The BrightPak liquid dispenser, submitted by Ron Puvak, director of business development and marketing at Plastic Technologies Inc. of Holland, Ohio, won first place from the SPE Blow Molding Division for packaging applications and first place in the pharmaceutical packaging.
A system of interlocking, single-serve jars of wine called Stacked Wines grabbed first place in beverage packaging and second place in the division-level awards. The part was submitted by Robert Schiavone, global marketing director of R&D/Leverage.
"The competition targeted applications new within the last two years that demonstrate innovations in design, manufacturing, material application, sustainability and commercial uses," said blow molding consultant Lew Ferguson, who chaired the parts competition.
The judges picked winners in 14 categories for packaging and industrial applications. Winners received their awards at an Oct. 8 ceremony at the conference, held in Atlanta.
Here is a recap of the awards:
Packaging application division
First place: BrightPak is a bottle within a bottle, to replace large glass bottles that store and dispense chemicals used in semiconductors, light-emitting diodes and flat-panel displays. The interior is a collapsible rigid liner, inside a bottle.
Second place: Stacked Wines, made of vertically stacked four shatterproof PET goblets to form the equivalent of a full bottle of wine. A shrink-sleeve holds together the "glasses" of California wine.
Third place: Crystal Light and Kool-Aid water enhancer, a 62-milliliter extrusion blow molded barrier-layer bottle for liquid concentrate with a double-click, injection molded flip-top closure. Other features include a silicone valve for controlling liquid dispensing and a full-body shrink sleeve, with a perforated open¬ing, for tamper evidence. Piaras de Cleir of Kraft Foods Inc. submitted the part.
Industrial application division
First place: Fuel tank for the Chevy Equinox from General Motors Co. The tank has all the components inside the part while the six-layer parison is still molten. The parison is cut down the side before placing it in the mold, allowing for robotic insertion of the components. Vitec LLC blow molds the high density polyethylene gas tanks. Chuck Flammer, sales vice president at Kautex Machines Inc., submitted the part.
Second place: Pool stool with a rechargeable LED that glows at night. The HDPE stool, molded by Quality Custom Molding LLC, can be submerged in the pool, creating the look and feel of a swim-up bar. The stool was submitted by Dale Klaus, owner of the blow molder in Linn, Mo., and Robert Jackson, president of Jackson Machinery Inc.
Third place: Duct for turbochargers on the Ford EcoBoost engine that has a frequency tunable insert, so engineers can replace metals with lighter-weight plastics to produce a good sound. The duct has modified communication ports in the injected molded insert, with a fixed, nylon outer-shell resonator to give a wide range of tunability. An overmolding proc¬ess combines blow molding and injection molding. The part was submitted by Daniel Clayton of the molder, Polymer Products LLC of Owosso, Mich.
Food packaging
First place: PET container for Planters dry roasted peanuts, replacing a glass package. The lightweight, easy-grip bottle has an oxygen barrier. Sonoco Plastics molds the bottle on a Sipa mold. Three people submitted the container: Piaras de Cleir and Girish Deshpande of Kraft Foods and Paul Melia of Sonoco Products Co.
Beverage packaging
First place: Stacked Wines.
Second place: A 1.75-ml PET vodka bottle that replaces a glass bottle. A swing-top closure can use the existing closure from glass. Plastic gives a shorter, lighter bottle. Laurie Goetz of the molder, Amcor Rigid Plastics' Diversified Products Division, submitted the bottle.
Pharmaceutical
packaging
First place: BrightPak liquid dispenser.
Second place: Tylenol stackable bottle — 315 cubic centimeters — with interchangeable logo inserts. Eric Hohmann of FGH Systems Inc. submitted the part.
Miscellaneous packaging
application
First place: Pond's talcum powder container that eliminates a component in the closure for a simpler, rotating cap to reduce molds, parts, material and assembly requirements. Surendra Agarwal, president of R&D and quality at Creative Group of Cos. of Mumbai, India, submitted the part.
Second place: Clear polypropylene 2.4-liter wide-mouth jar, made using injection stretch blow molding. The PP jar is a conversion from PET, with a weight reduction of 15-20 percent. PP presents a challenge because it has a narrow processing window for a large container. Creative Group's Agarwal and Jamie Pace of Nissei ASB Co. submitted the part.
Miscellaneous consumer
application
First place: Pool stool.
Second place: PatioGlo LED lamp molded of HDPE. The lamp is weatherproof for outdoor use. The LEDs change colors or can remain bright white, controlled by a remote control. Dale Klaus of the molder, Quality Custom Molding, presented the part.
Miscellaneous industrial
application
First place: 6-gallon diesel fuel tank for a tractor. The monolayer HDPE tank has molded-in attachments and a steel ring for mounting a fuel-sending unit. Mike Hall of the molder, Kyodo America Industries Co., submitted the tank.
Ferguson, who is president of Parisons Blow Molding in Stone Harbor, N.J., called the event "a terrific venue to promote technology exchange, publicity and new market growth opportunities."
Ferguson added that the SPE Blow Molding Division expects participation in the competition to grow by next year's conference, to be held Oct. 6-7 in Chicago.
