Bekum America Corp.

After years of talk, all-electric blow molding machines seem poised to make advances.

Wheel machines in particular will be on display.

Higher throughputs and greater energy efficiency will be two big themes in blow molding at next month’s K 2010 show.

Already a familiar sight on European store shelves, the eye-catching appeal of "IML" is gaining traction among North American injection molders. The latest tooling and automation designs can handle the higher volumes needed here.

Several new developments include a brand-new compression blow process, the first foamed PET bottles, and a preform decontamination approach for aseptically filled products sold at ambient temperature. Attendees also saw a new stack-mold Multi-Parting Line concept that doubles bottle output within the same machine footprint. (Additional NPE blow molding news appeared in May and June—see Learn More box.)

While occupying a relatively small category of exhibits, blow molding will present no lack of innovation at NPE.

Innovative bag-in-the-bottle technology from Gaplast GmbH of Saulgrub-Altenau, Germany, uses coextrusion blow molding to produce a thin bag made of ionomer inside a PP bottle.

Development of all-electric and hybrid-electric blow molding machines may be gaining momentum, as evidenced by several new models introduced in Dusseldorf.

Clear handled bottles got a kick start earlier this year when nationally recognized Simply Orange Juice Co., Apopka, Fla., an affiliate of the Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Co., decided to bottle its orange juice in extrusion blow molded 89-oz copolyester containers.

A new in-machine spin trimmer developed by M.C.

Show-goers will see a range of new blow molding equipment that offers higher speeds, more cavitation, and faster changeovers.

Improving productivity while minimizing capital cost and floorspace will be central themes of blow molding exhibits at NPE 2006.

Coex blow molding has the inside track, but makers of small gas tanks and jerry cans are also looking at fluorination and other monolayer systems. Rotomolders, too, are considering multilayer alternatives.

Among the more unusual blow molding developments at K 2004 was a closed-loop control system that monitors and corrects material distribution in PET containers as they are produced.

One of the most interesting innovations in blow molding at K 2004 will be a top-and-bottom blowing system that is said to double bottle output.

Maybe this time the often-predicted breakthrough will actually occur. What could make the difference are improved resins, clarifiers, and machinery.

Examples of the growing trend toward all-electric blow molding machines for packaging will either be physically present or shown in videos and brochures at NPE.

The emphasis in blow molding equipment introductions at NPE 2003 is on higher output capability and greater versatility to take on emerging markets.

Heinz, Nestle, Dannon, Tropicana, and other packagers have discovered an eye-catching way to launch new food products: They design a shapely blow molded bottle, then totally envelop it with a brightly colored shrink or stretch label. This marketing concept could launch tens of billions of plastic bottles in the next few years.

Energy efficiency and production cost savings were dominant themes of the blow molding exhibits at K 2001. A handful of new all-electric machines aroused intense interest, though they are aimed primarily at niche markets. And in two-stage (reheat) PET stretch-blow molding, the focus was on boosting output per cavity.

One cluster of blow molding innovations on display at K 2001 will address the need for more versatile single-stage injection stretch-blow molding (ISBM) machines. A thirst for energy savings underlies plans to launch all-electric units for PET and HDPE containers. Also in the limelight are advances in large-part technical blow molding.

Examples of the growing trend toward all-electric blow molding machines for packaging will either be physically present or shown in videos and brochures at NPE. Superior accuracy, repeatability, speed, quietness, cleanliness, and energy efficiency are all claimed for the five new all-electric models being presented by four firms at the show.