Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

PET bottles make their mark

Direct sales company Watkins Inc. says it was the first in the U.S. to offer a money-back guarantee: if customers weren't satisfied with their bottle of vanilla extract, they could get a refund--provided the amount in the bottle didn't fall under the "trial mark" line molded into the glass.

Pw 25338 Dirsalcom Wat 13

With this promise over 128 years old today, ensuring the visibility of the mark on new 11-oz polyethylene terephthalate bottles of vanilla extract was critical for Winona, MN-based Watkins. Fortun-ately, blow molder Grafco (Hanover, MD) was up to the challenge.

Perhaps even more impressive is the weight reduction gained with the new injection stretch/blow-molded bottle, available since January. It weighs 36 g empty. Its glass counterpart weighs 370 g. The PET bottle is also about 15% smaller in its overall dimensions.

Additional benefits include shorter lead times and a lower minimum order size. Plastic also allows application of an induction-sealed foil liner. It comes inside the high-density polyethylene threaded closure, supplied by Gamer Packaging (Minneapolis, MN), that replaces a metal cap and T-E shrink band.

Finally, the PET bottle costs less. Material cost savings alone is about 11¢ per unit. Additional savings in distribution costs come from the new bottle's small size and light weight.

Still, Watkins hasn't eliminated glass yet, probably in case some customers are too traditional to embrace the modern new container. These traditionalists pay a premium, however, as vanilla in a plastic bottle costs $7.29 while in glass it's $8.79.

Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report
Researched List: Engineering Services Firms
Looking for engineering services? Our curated list features 100+ companies specializing in civil, process, structural, and electrical engineering. Many also offer construction, design, and architecture services. Download to access company names, markets served, key services, contact information, and more!
Download Now
Researched List: Engineering Services Firms