Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Resin pricing news
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CEO Issue
    • Diversity
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2022 winners
    • Processor of the Year
    • Rising Stars
    • Women Breaking the Mold
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • BRICS and Plastics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics News Caps & Closures
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Plastics in Automotive
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
    • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Resin Prices
    • All Resins
    • Commodity TPs
    • High Temp TPs
    • ETPs
    • Thermosets
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
    • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
    • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Historic Thermosets
    • Historic Recycled Plastics
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
March 02, 2016 01:00 AM

Liquiform out to reshape bottle making process

Jim Johnson
Staff Writer
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Jim Johnson
    Krishnan

    Backers of a new approach that will combine plastic bottle forming and filling in a single step expect to have the first products using the new technology on store shelves within a year.

    The Liquiform approach, backed by some heavy hitters, sees a future where containers are created by injecting pressurized liquid into preforms, eliminating the need to first form the bottle with high pressure air and then fill the container in a separate process.

    A year has passed since leaders at Liquiform first spoke in detail about the Liquiform concept, and eventful year it has been, President Ann O'Hara said.

    Suresh Krishnan came on board as technical director to help push and prove the approach to the point that Liquiform is now actively trying to license the idea to equipment makers around the world.

    What the company found out in trying to launch the idea as quickly as possible is that the LiquiForm approach does not need specialized preforms or molds to work.

    “We've done most of our work with generic preforms and most of our work with off-the-shelf molds,” O'Hara said.

    Research also revealed that the concept works well with high density polyethylene as well as PET, proved the top load capabilities of the containers and even produced superior molded details, they said.

    “We knew liquid would flow into all of the corners, but the quality of the engraving elements you get is completely awesome,” Kirshnan said.

    Jim Johnson
    O'Hara

    O'Hara figures there's a universe of about 40 equipment makers out there that could be interested in using the LiquiForm approach, including firms making filling, blow molding, extrusion blow molding and extrusion equipment.

    Even equipment assemblers, who use products from other companies to make their machines, could adopt LiquiForm technology, O'Hara said. LiquiForm will ask licensees to pay an upfront initiation fee to gain access to the technology and then pay for each machine they build using the technology.

    The company had considered using a per-bottle fee approach, but O'Hara said that would become an accounting challenge.

    She expects the first LiquiForm bottles to hit the market within the next year, most likely from one of the company's founding partners. LiquiForm is backed by Amcor Ltd., a packaging maker, and Sidel Inc., a machinery maker. Yoshino Kogyosho, Japan's largest plastic bottle maker, also is involved. And Nestle Waters has contributed intellectual property to the venture.

    The past year included detailed work gathering information from the four different companies to create documents and information in a common style to provide to potential licensees. This, O'Hara said, created a consistent front, “but also a consistent way to quickly teach people what we know.”

    “I predict within a year you will see a first commercial application,” O'Hara said. “There are so many applications across liquid products in a plastic container.”

    Because of regulations revolving around products that are consumed, O'Hara said she first expects to see the LiquiForm technology to be used on industrial products or even personal care products instead.

    That will then lead to more applications, she said.

    “We're talking to many, many people,” she said. “It's likely that the first one will be from one of the first partners. But a licensee can catch up very quickly because we're literally teaching them as much as we can as quickly as we can to get them on a level playing field,” O'Hara said.

    “This is like any new technology. When you do something really new, you need to have a collaboration of the end user, the equipment supplier, the converter. These three companies need to work together to get them on a level playing field,” she said.

    While the LiquiForm technology is often presented as a way to fill and form bottles at the same time in a mold, O'Hara and Krishnan said the mold is not a necessity.

    A lower cost approach, Krishnan said, could use a “free blow” approach that would create a tear drop container shape that could then simply use a flat surface below to create a package's bottom.

    This approach would allow for “super low cost distribution” or could find a space in emerging markets, Krishnan said.

    “LiquiForm is essentially combining the forming and filling process into one step. So traditionally forming is done with high pressure air, and separately the bottle is filled,” O'Hara said. “The advantage is that it's one step instead of two. It's one machine instead of three.”

    “We're combining the forming and filling, the blow molder and the filling machine. But also we're getting rid of the high pressure air machine,” she explained.

    Kirshnan said application development has included a wide range of preform sizes, ranging from 8.5 to 91 grams, to create bottles ranging from 200 milliliters to 2,000 milliliters. LiquiForm has used both PET and HDPE, including versions containing both 30 percent and 100 percent post-consumer resin.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Polymer Points Live
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    Report says plastics have positive role in climate fight
    2
    Stellantis rescinds ‘burdensome' contract terms for suppliers
    3
    SK Capital buys additives maker Valtris Specialty
    4
    ExxonMobil set to bring on new olefinic elastomer capacity
    5
    Viking Plastics invests $3 million in eight new injection molding machines
    SIGN UP FOR TO RECEIVE THESE EMAILS AND ENEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Urethanes Technology
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Tire Business
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CEO Issue
        • Diversity
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2022 winners
        • Processor of the Year
        • Rising Stars
        • Women Breaking the Mold
      • Newsletters
      • Resin pricing news
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • BRICS and Plastics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics News Caps & Closures
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
        • Plastics in Automotive
      • Industry Events
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Reuters Responsible Business Europe 2022
        • Reifenhäuser Technologies Livestreams
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
      • Processor of the Year submissions
    • Resin Prices
      • All Resins
      • Commodity TPs
        • Historic Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temp TPs
        • Historic High Temp Thermoplastics
      • ETPs
        • Historic Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Thermosets
        • Historic Thermosets
      • Recycled Plastics
        • Historic Recycled Plastics
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified