Terekas UAB says its latest two-cavity stretch blow molding machine for PET containers is the most universal on the market, has new features for easier operation, and offers the fastest changeovers.
Called FlexBlow2, the machine produces containers from 50 milliliters to 6,000 ml with necks ranging from 18 millimeters to 110 mm at a rate of up to 2,400 units an hour; and, it has a changeover time of 30 minutes or less for different bottle formats, according to the Kretinga, Lithuania-based company.
At NPE2018, Terekas will bring equipment to produce wide-mouth jars, cosmetic containers and large-size bottles with one FlexBlow machine at Booth S10196. Daily demonstrations will show the process to changeover from 1.8 liter jars with 110 mm necks to 300 ml cosmetic bottles with 28 mm necks.
"Our plan [is] to demonstrate the fastest bottle format change at NPE live," FlexBlow Marketing Manager Gytis Sirvinskas said in an email to Plastics News. "No other two-stage machine offers such production flexibility and ease of bottle format change. It is the most flexible 2-stage machine on the market that enables a virtually limitless variety of PET bottles."
The machine, which also processes polypropylene preforms, is suited for packaging producers, small bottlers of various shapes and formats, and large companies that need a lab machine for prototyping, Sirvinskas said.
The FlexBlow2 has a dual preform loading system to address the challenge of going from containers with narrow necks to wide mouths, according to the company. It also has a Siemens control panel with new functions that Terekas says makes operation of the machine "intuitive."
