Co-injection allows barrier caps, closures in a single step

After hinting at the capability at NPE2009, co-injection technology specialist Kortec Inc. (Ipswich, MA) will formally introduce a system to injection mold one-piece barrier caps and closures, potentially eliminating the need for closure manufacturers to add butyl rubber discs or aluminum seals and creating a one-step process.

Introducing the coinjection system during the Plastics Caps and Closures Conference (Brussels; Nov. 5-6), Kortec says the caps and closures will better preserve food and beverage freshness and be less expensive to produce than traditional two-piece closures.
 

Russell Bennett, VP of sales and marketing at Kortec, told Plastics Today that at this point, the company has not undertaken any performance testing of the caps. “We really are at the early stages of our development work,” Bennett said, “but it is showing a lot of promise from the perspective of capability to place the barrier in the cap.” The current target markets for the technology are those served by two-piece closure systems, including plastic caps with aluminum heat-sealed foil. “That naturally leads us to sterilized or pasteurized foods and juices, vitamin-enriched beverages, and hot-filled foods,” Bennett said, adding that Kortec plans to work with cap makers to test efficacy. Initally, EVOH has been applied as the barrier material, but others are on Kortec’s “radar for evaluation”, according to Bennett.

Kortec has branched out from its multilayer, barrier polyethylene terephthalate (PET) preform business to extend its coinjection technology to new markets, most recently thinwall containers (see our coverage of the NPE2009 announcement, here). In terms of the benefits of its latest offering, Kortec says multilayer caps, when used in conjunction with multilayer containers, extend the protection of product freshness across the entire package. Kortec also points out that packaging manufacturers can now look at Kortec as a single-source supplier that can provide the know-how and technology for an entire barrier package. —[email protected]