The Opportunity
The client presented less than 400 grams of bio-derived PET resin from which it wanted to produce a small quantity of carbonated soft drink bottles. The goal was to have actual bottles produced from this experimental resin to show to clients. The objective was to gain initial interest which would result in the desire for subsequent exploration and testing. Having something less than a pound is very tricky to work with. This is where PTI’s vast expertise makes a difference.
The Innovation
Using a control resin with similar properties to the bio-derived sample, PTI was able to set up process parameters for preform injection molding and bottle blow molding. Once the test run was completed, PTI ran the less than 400 gram bio-derived material. It was able to successfully produce 25 preforms from which 20 bottles were made. The entire process only took two days.
The Outcome
With samples in hand, the customer was then able to present the bottles to a global brand owner for their review. Liking the result, the brand owner decided to move forward with a larger bottle run for further evaluation. PTI’s ability to produce good bottle samples from such small resin quantities makes it ideally suited as a research and development partner for both material suppliers and brand owners.