16
CAPS & CLOSURES
CAPS & CLOSURES
A review of caps and
closures developments
It was a Swiss designer named
Albert Obrist who in 1970 developed
the first plastic top for CSD drinks bot-
tles with the injection-moulded one-
piece HDPE cap. Originally intended
for use with returnable glass bottles,
his idea quickly attracted the inter-
est of the PET bottle industry which
increased sharply at the end of the
1970s. The key advantages of the
HDPE cap over its aluminium counter-
part were considered to be, firstly that
damage to the bottle mouth caused
by rolling the aluminium caps onto
the neck finish could be avoided, and
secondly that the HDPE caps were
more compatible with the precise
geometries of the PET thread. Obrist’s
innovations were subsequently incor-
porated into the Crown Cork and Seal
Company’s operations during the mid-
1980s.
At the same point in the 20th
century, the Alcoa CSI acquired H-C
Industries decided to approach the
problem from a different perspective
and patented the compression mould-
ing process for plastic CSD caps,
resulting in the H-C Wing-Lok design.
Compared with injection mould-
ing, compression moulding output in
those days sometimes was more than
double.
In 1986, when CSI acquired H-C Indus-
tries, its rotary compression-moulded
process for making closures was an
industry first. The H-C Wing-Lok closure
is regarded as the beverage industry’s
first successful mechanical tamper-evi-
dent closure.
Since then, changing consumer
needs, along with new trends in
drinks, regulations and technological
advances, have led to ever new inno-
vations and improvements being made
in the design of caps and closures.
What has not changed, however, is the
need for tight closures (under a variety
of conditions) that protect a bottle’s
contents, and which are easy to open
and re-seal, can be incorporated within
the package design and are cost effec-
tive to produce.
PETplanet has been covering the
developments in closures technol-
ogy in over 10,000 of its magazine’s
pages since 1999. And while a
survey like the following can never
account for completeness, we hope
you enjoy our selection of 20 years of
achievements in caps and closures
for PET bottles, as reported in PET-
planet!
Caps and closures – some
highlights 1999 to 2019
20
000 In issue 8 KHS and CCT
presented a cap with a moving liner
for capping oxygen-sensitive products
such as beer.
20
001 In issue 11+12 we reported
that Bericap had won a “Packaging
Oscar” for their BO2S beer closure.
20003 Bericap launches the one-
piece hot fill closure in the Chinese
market (issue 2). Products packed
were mainly juices and energy drinks.
20
005 At PETpoint, Bericap pre-
sented the “Shorty” for beer. The
door was open for anyone to submit
designs for lightweight caps and neck
forms. Also at PETpoint, and reported
in issue 12, Romeo Corvaglia enters
the discussion on lightweight caps for
both still drinks and CSDs.
2006 PETplanet and Sacmi
organised the first joint cap forum with
an intense discussion on the advan-
tages and disadvantages of injection
moulded and compression moulded
caps in issue 11. Alcoa summed it up
with the comment “it all depends...”.
In the same issue Bericap presented
their Supershorty, a range of closures
in line with the new 28 mm light weight
neck finish ISBT standard PCO 1881
for CSD.
PETplanet Insider
2007 The first commercial
application of the 1881 neck finish
(Martens brewery in Belgium) was
reported in issue 12.
20009 Romeo Corvaglia reported in
issue in 2+3, that the 0.99 g cap for still
water was on the market in North Amer-
ica. Issue 9 reported that Coca-Cola
China had decided to universally adopt
the PCO 1881 by the end of 2009.
2010 Lightweight is still a hot
topic: In issue 5 we report on Bericap’s
new hot fill initiative, resulting in newly
modified one-piece DoubleSeal 38 mm
closures together with neck wall thick-
nesses of 2 mm - as a first step.
In issue 6, MHT Mold & Hotrunner
Technologies presents savings from
lighter caps and threads, launching
with the MHT-21Light thread family
a lightweight alternative to the PCO
1810. CCT has been designing the cap
for the new thread.
20
011 In issue 4 we report on the
launch of a push-pull closure for hot
fill packages without aluminium foil,
developed by Bericap in 2010.
20
012 A lightweight combination
cap for the 1881 short neck format for
both, carbonated drinks as well as still
water, is close to launch (Corvaglia,
issue 1+2).
A 26 mm closure range for edible
oil, superseding the standard 29/21
neck finish has been developed by
Bericap, as we are covering in issue
1+2, generating weight savings. In
issue 6, the company announces the
launch of the DoubleSeal one-piece
hot fill closure in the North American
market, with reduced wall thicknesses.
2013 Following the K trade fair,
PETplanet is publishing a study of
the caps and closures markets to
describe the state-of-the art technol-
ogy, starting with issue no. 12/2013
and the developments, strategies and
competitive differentiation of the com-
panies involved in the market of sup-
pliers of systems and moulds for the
production of caps and closures.
Vol. 20 No. 01+02/19 www.petpla.net

20014 Caps with
benefits: Vicap Sys-
tems launches sports
caps with a dosing
chamber with which
consumers can freshly
supplement their drinks
with flavours or vitamin
shots (issues 4+9).
The Vicap sports cap
comes with a dosing
chamber
In issue no. 9, we talk about DTI
India: Bericap unveils its new light-
weight closure, HexaLite 29/11,
whose weight saving compared with a
30 mm/25 mm neck and closure com-
bination is as much as 33%.
As well as this lightweight trend,
the spotlight is increasingly on inter-
est groups with difficulties in opening
operations. Brazilian Clever Pack is
one example for capping solutions for
those who suffer from reduced grip
strength, developing reusable building
block closures (as reported in 9/14).
2015 Dispensing caps go fur-
ther: an international project team
from Hähl and Teamplast, Incap and
Sumitomo developed caps suitable for
liquid additives and granules, sellable
in combination with a beverage or as
an independent refill product (issue 5).
2017 Developed for aseptic fill-
ing of wide mouth bottles, RPC Obrist
Madrid launched its 38 mm closure, as
we report in issue 1+2.
At Interpack, United Caps pre-
sented, amongst other things, its
1881 petal flower cap. Developed for
Wattwiller Mineral Waters, the unusual
shape of the closure allows end-users
to open bottles with minimum effort.
1881 petal flower cap
For the 26 mm and 29 mm neck,
Bericap developed higher closures
with a better grip (issue 4). In the
same article, product piracy and
PETplanet Insider Vol. 20 No. 01+02/19
CSD: 1-piece Late Late Today
cap for nineties 2Ks
PCO1810 neck 3.1 g 2.8 g 2.5 g
PCO1881 neck 2.5 g 2.0 g
26/22 mm neck 1.6 g
Water: 1-piece
cap for
30/25 mm neck 2.4 g 2.0 g 1.6 g
29/25 mm neck 1.3 g 1.2 g
26/22 mm neck 1g 0.9 g
25/22 mm neck 0.7 g
Caps & Closures weight developments
over the past 20 years for still water and
and CSD (source: Sacmi)
counterfeiting are being encoun-
tered with closures with a folded
and slit tamper evidence band or
with laser printing across the TE
band and closure. In our Drinktec
preview in issue 8, Bericap intro-
duces an extremely light 28 mm
PCO 1881 flat closure for non-car-
bonated beverages.
Israeli company Water.IO is turn-
ing caps into smart devices, as we
report in issue 8: The caps not only
remind the consumers of keeping
hydrated but turn the complete con-
tainer in a connected device with
many benefits such as re-ordering.
Corvaglia presents the digital
printing of caps at Drinktec, match-
ing the high speed of its own mould
technology (issue 9).
Aptar launches sports closures
for the on the go bottles market, a
one-piece flip-top 28 mm PCO 1881
as well as the two-piece bi-injected
closure for 29/25 mm neck finish
(issue 11+12).
2018 8 We report in issue 1+2 on
Bericap’s Neo 30/17 weight optimised
version for the neck finish 30/25; the
SnapCap 26: a hinge cap pressed
on a lightweight 26/21 neck and the
33 mm neck closure for cold-aseptic or
hot-filling recipes.
SnapCap 26
Silgan Closures develop a plug
and play system: The K-Seal ensures
full plug engagement to the water
cooler spike (issue 1+2).
www.petpla.net
17
CAPS & CLOSURES
Year Total
2017 563.98 bn
2018 593.31 bn
2019 624.16 bn
2020 656.62 bn
Global caps and closures market, based
on beverage container units filled and
an estimated annual growth of 5.2%
(source: Krones Group Annual Report
2017)
In the run-up to NPE 2018, Corva-
glia announces a 188 slitted/folded clo-
sure with a better grip. The closure fea-
tures a 25% weight reduction compared
to other 1881 closures while returning to
the consumer comfort of 20 years ago!
Continuous growth of aseptically
processed beverages and an increase
of on-the-go beverage formats are
reasons for Aptar to launch a new
sportscap in a wide mouth neck
finish. The 38 mm 1-piece closure is
described in issue 5.
38 mm 1-piece flip-top PP closure
For issue 10 we fly downunder,
visiting Coca-Cola Amatil’s plant
opening of their new sports cap pro-
duction line. Being made entirely of
HDPE, it is easier to recycle than the
traditional mix of HDPE and PP.
Also for on-the-go customers, the
dispensing solution Guardian Light by
Aptar is presented in the same issue.
In issue 12 Bericap highlights UV
light barrier screw caps. The product
range encompasses 33 mm neck caps
and light weight 38 mm neck caps in
all colours.
UV barrier closure, developed
for the dairy industry