Sidel’s new base solution increases stability of flat PET & rPET

Sidel is introducing the StarLITE HPC base. The new, oval bottle base alternative for flat PET containers helps achieve optimum performance and can also comply with recycled PET (rPET) up to 100%. The new bottle base not only increases container stability by up to 25%, but also optimizes bottle weight and energy consumption, reducing production costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with a quick payback.

Improved stability by up to 25%

The new geometry of the completely flat StarLITE HPC base is cleverly structured. Its new anti-rocking design is based on a 360-degree continuous contact surface which improves tilt angle and may be combined with structural ribs and oval push-up. “The doubled sitting surface and the balanced stretching ratios between small and large sides enable better material distribution while avoiding base sagging,” explains Laurent Naveau, Packaging expert at Sidel. This oval shape achieves an optimum performance level, drastically improving empty or filled container stability by 25%. This helps increase production uptime, better container stability on conveyors compared with existing major flat PET container bases, and improves the consumer experience.

A more sustainable and cost-effective flat container

Applicable for both opaque and transparent PET resins, the StarLITE HPC base offers wide container opportunities and is perfectly compliant with rPET up to 100%. The smart, asymmetric, structured base design improves material distribution, prevents unexpected base roll-out and contributes to light-weighting opportunities, that is, a 0.5 g PET reduction for a 500 mL container base. The enhanced base cooling engineering for mold and tooling design improves base cooling during blow molding and may prevent post-mold base cooling according to bottle shape, format, and weight.

Thanks to its design, the StarLITE HPC base is easy to blow and reduces blow molding pressure by up to 10%, i.e., a 3 bar decrease for a 420 mL container. It also makes it possible to push the process speed limit even further and increase production output up to 15% higher than the market average. For instance, a flat container produced at 1,600 bottles per hour per mold (b/h/m) with a standard market base can be blown up to 1,800 b/h/m with the StarLITE HPC base, with possibilities to reach up to 2,000 b/h/m according to bottle shape. With the investment in a new set of molds equipped with the StarLITE HPC base, very fast payback in less than one year can be achieved while drastically reducing GHG emissions.

This StarLITE HPC is compatible with all generations of Sidel blow molding machines: SBO EvoBLOW, SBO Universal, SBO Series2 and SBO Series1.