The advantages of using PET have encouraged Nigerian Breweries to commission PET Engineering’s team for the extension of their Climax, Amstel Malta and Maltina brands packaging to PET.
A growing number of bottlers are discovering the many benefits of using PET for the packaging of their products; its advantages such as infrangibility, safety during production, transport and use, and the higher lightness have encouraged Nigerian Breweries (Heineken Operating Company in Nigeria) to commission PET Engineering’s team for the extension of their Climax, Amstel Malta and Maltina brands packaging to PET.
The order provided important restrictions including the need to use a preform that was readily available on the market to create unique shapes that stand out on the shelf and enhance the brand’s impact in a package type in which the brand was previously not present, while maintaining such dimensions to prevent changes on the bottling line and make containers able to withstand the pasteurization process till 30PU at 61 °C.
The project, which started with the technical design of the containers and, in particular, with the study of a low petaloid able to withstand the internal pressure at which the container was then subjected during the pasteurization cycle, mainly involved the staff of the Laboratory and in particular Fiorenza Ferrero, R&D researcher.
"The first step of the project – said Fiorenza Ferrero - was to build the specific equipment to reproduce as closely as possible the client's industrial pasteurization process. After having validated the method through numerous tests, we took into consideration different types of resins that would allow the realization of a PET container able to withstand the pasteurization process normally used for glass bottles. After choosing the resin with the highest IV (intrinsic viscosity), in order to limit the deformation after filling and heating treatment, we prototyped different batches of bottle samples, which were tested and subjected to pasteurization in order to identify the best performing combination between bottle design and resin. The result was three PET containers obtained using a single type of preform, with a visually elegant petaloid base able to respect the rigid specifications of Heineken. The project was completed with the delivery of four mold series for the Ota plant”.
