Blow molded system designed for e-commerce packaging

Chicago — There's been plenty of talk about the need to create plastics packaging for the rapidly expanding e-commerce market.

And now, an Ohio-based company has done just that.

Plastic Technologies Inc., based in Holland, Ohio, is known for its years of work in the PET packaging business, including design, development, prototyping and engineering.

The company is out with its new Dromo bottle and dispensing system that's made to withstand the rigors of e-commerce shipping.

Unlike retail packaging, Dromo brings the bottle to its basics, stripping away design elements not needed in a refill approach to packaging.

The result, according to PTI CEO Thierry Fabozzi, is a structurally strong PET bottle that's 75 percent lighter than traditional containers.

An initial 16-ounce version of the bottle weighs just 9.6 grams, which is significantly less than the 30 or 40 grams a bottle on a store shelf might weigh, he said.

"The need is to minimize the impact of what we are shipping and using," Fabozzi said. "The drive for it is that 75 percent lightweighting."

Dromo bottles are designed to be ganged together with a sleeve, labeled and shipped without the need for secondary packaging such as a box and cushioning.

The spherical shape on the bottom of the bottle helps to cut package weight. Because the bottle is designed to be placed in a dispenser, it is not necessary to have a flat bottom. The bottle does have two flat areas along its side to avoid rolling.

"It's time that people start designing specifically for e-commerce channels, which they have not been doing," said Sophia Dilberakis, a spokeswoman for PTI. Dilberakis came up with the name for the new system.

Fabozzi sees the fully recyclable Dromo, with its light weight, as a competitor to flexible packaging refills that can be difficult to recycle due to their multimaterial composition. Consumers also avoid the potential mess of transferring product from a refill pouch into a rigid container with the Dromo approach, he said.

As marketing manager for PTI, Brittanie Begeman's job includes getting the word out about Dromo. That includes convincing people that the new system can withstand the rigors along the supply chain. Testing is proving the durability of the bottles during shipment, she said.

"We need to challenge the shipping industry to show that these bottles are designed to withstand [abuse]," she said.

"The whole method is really to help them start to rethink about what kind of packaging they are going to accept within their distribution channel," Begeman said.

The strength of the bottle, Fabozzi said, is created through its unique design.

"This is where we put our science of designing, simulations and optimizing the best use of the preform geometry to make a bottle, where we use every fraction of the gram in the right spot," Fabozzi said.

Plans are to expand the Dromo line to include a variety of bottle sizes.

"I want to show that the plastic problem can be solved with plastic solutions. We should not be ashamed of making plastic packaging," he said. "Let's be smart about plastic packaging, start to use it and to combine it with a new way of consumption."