Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
      • 2023 winners
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • 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
    • K Show Livestream
    • 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
    • Bioplastics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • 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
  • 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
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron 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
October 13, 2017 02:00 AM

Future 'smart' caps will do more than just seal a bottle

Jim Johnson
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Michael A. Marcotte
    Yoav Hoshen, co-founder of Water.io, said the company has developed electronic sensors that can fit into standard caps and closures.

    Chicago — With lives becoming more connected via the internet, Yoav Hoshen figures now is the time to leverage web-enabled technology in the caps and closures business.

    As a co-founder of a company called Water.io, Hoshen and his colleagues see a relationship with containers that can go far beyond the utilitarian.

    "Packages and bottles haven't changed in their main functionality for dozens, even hundreds of years," he said. "The main functionality of the billions of packages and bottles that are shipped every day is being a container for the product inside."

    But Water.io, which will soon be changing its name, sees how the collection and use of data have impacted so many other markets and understands the potential.

    "Unlike other industries that were disrupted by data, this industry hasn't been disrupted yet by data. And we think it should," he said. "We had the phone. Now it's the smartphone. We had the car. Now it's the smart car. Everything becomes smarter, and packaging will become smarter."

    So Water.io has developed electronic sensors that can fit into standard caps and closures to provide a variety of functions, helping people with information about product usage and providing data to companies about how their brands are consumed.

    The sensors can be programmed to perform a variety of functions, including monitoring how many times a bottle is opened, for example, as well as the level of liquid remaining in a container. This kind of data can be used to help remind people to keep hydrated, or tell grandpa when it is time to take his pill. The smart cap also can signal when it is time to reorder.

    Jim Johnson

    Water.io's sensors help people with information about products, and can provide product makers with data on how consumers are using their products.

    Water.io can connect the sensors to consumers' cellphones to push out reminders and provide dashboards for companies to then use data to better understand how their products are being consumed.

    This type of two-way communication between companies and consumers represents a shift from the approach of product distribution without much consumer feedback, Hoshen said.

    With a connected cap or closure, companies can directly engage the consumer. And that can help drive higher sales.

    "These companies are anxious to get data about their customers, but they don't know who they are," Hoshen said in an interview at the recent Plastics Caps & Closures 2017 conference in Chicago. "They invest a lot of money trying to get that discussion by other means, but they don't really have the direct connection to us."

    Another company, eAgile Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., also sees the impact of smart technology in the caps and closures business. CEO Gary Burns was at the conference organized by Plastics News to explain his company's approach.

    The company has developed eSeal, a radio frequency identification, or RFID, product that integrates directly into a cap or closure under the seal.

    The popularity of the "internet of things," he said, is rapidly growing. "Like a hockey stick." And caps and closures are ideally situated to take advantage of this opportunity.

    "There is an intersection of technology that is happening now," he said.

    His technology can provide companies with information that can help drive strategic decisions. Firms also can guard against counterfeiting, he told the conference.

    "The caps and closure market, it's ideally situated to launch this type of product," he said. That especially holds true in the health care market where so many products have caps or closures. But the technology certainly is not limited to that sector.

    "This is a way to drive more value into the cap and closure," Burns said.

    Water.io, based in Rehovot, Israel, was founded with the idea of leveraging connectivity with the use of water bottles. But backers soon realized the potential is far beyond just that market. That's why the firm is in the process of changing its name but has not yet announced the new brand.

    Water.io has a goal of eventually driving costs down to "cents" per cap or closure from the current "tens of cents," Hoshen said. With more adoption, economies of scale will help drive down those costs.

    The technology was designed to be used with existing caps and closures, so companies do not need to make any changes on their production lines.

    Inspiration for Water.io came from co-founder Kobi Bentkovski, whose daughter was having health issues. Doctors eventually determined the problem of adherence. "We thought about how to make young people and old people, and actually every one of us, to remember to drink," Hoshen said.

    While it may seem surprising to some that people need a reminder to drink, Water.io actually says dehydration is a common problem. Caps can be programed to blink, vibrate or even sound an alarm to tell consumers when they need to consume.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Hoenig named Plastics Pioneers Association president
    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
    Treaty talks stumble on debate over resin production cap
    2
    GM, Stellantis give $15M lifeline to insolvent supplier
    3
    Tekni-Plex starts $8.5M medical expansion in Costa Rica
    4
    Plastics additives one focus in Paris treaty talks
    5
    Resin Prices
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    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
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. 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
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
          • 2023 winners
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • 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
      • K Show Livestream
      • 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
      • Livestreams/Webinars
        • Bioplastics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
      • 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
    • 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
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified