New press module processes recycled flake directly
By Karen Hanna
Molders hoping to more efficiently incorporate recycled PET (rPET) into their preforms have a new, multiple-steps-in-one injection molding machine (IMM) to consider.
The new system, from Husky, integrates a melt decontamination unit into an IMM based on the design of the company’s HyPET HPP5e IMM for preform manufacturing.
“The new HyPET HPP5e Recycled Melt to Preform (RMTP) system, a module of our flagship HyPET HPP5e platform, is designed to support the closed-loop conversion of washed flake to preform by accepting food-grade, approved melt from an upstream melt decontamination provider, thereby streamlining the process to bypass in-house rPET pellet production and removing the drying and remelting steps to go directly from washed flake to preform,” said Pedro Oliveira, Husky’s business manager for PET systems.
According to the company, the system is reliable and user-friendly, and turns out high-quality preforms. By allowing users to use flake directly, the RMTP cuts production costs and achieves energy savings of 30 percent compared with more-traditional processes. It simplifies applications that rely on rPET, making it easier to use 100 percent rPET in packaging.
It comes with Husky’s Advantage+Elite system for real-time monitoring of machine conditions. By leveraging data collected by the system, users can more effectively identify future maintenance needs and stabilize processes that might otherwise be subject to unpredictability due to the use of post-consumer resin.
“With today’s circular economy driving new package design and more efficient production, we are dedicated to working closely with our customers to ensure their products meet specific regional requirements, particularly around recycling, and enabling recycled content in packaging,” said Robert Domodossola, Husky’s president of rigid packaging. “We are truly excited about the possibilities that our new RMTP system presents. Its introduction further strengthens our commitment to sustainable PET packaging that is produced with an increasingly lower carbon footprint.”
While Husky said the system can be used for post-industrial scrap, it anticipates RMTP users primarily will process hot, washed post-consumer flakes.
Ongoing sustainability concerns are driving demand for the machine, which Husky customers commissioned for the first time in the spring.
“We are seeing interest from main brands and industry players that recognize this technology as a unique solution to achieve more sustainable packaging while also helping to further lower production costs,” Oliveira said.
Karen Hanna, senior staff reporter
Contact:
Husky Technologies, Bolton, Ontario,, 905-951-5000, www.husky.co
About the Author
Karen Hanna
Senior Staff Reporter
Senior Staff Reporter Karen Hanna covers injection molding, molds and tooling, processors, workforce and other topics, and writes features including In Other Words and Problem Solved for Plastics Machinery & Manufacturing, Plastics Recycling and The Journal of Blow Molding. She has more than 15 years of experience in daily and magazine journalism.