Amcor uses patent-pending technology to create a new lightweight 64-oz hot-fill PET bottle

Amcor Rigid Plastics said it has developed the industry's lightest 64-oz hot-fill polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle and established a new standard for the size category.

The new stock container for juices and teas utilizes novel design, tooling and process technologies to trim 9g, or 13.2%, from the typical 68g PET bottle.

Amcor's Innovation Group developed the patent-pending Powerblock 3.0 technology to provide a lightweight and strong hot-fill stock PET bottle with advanced filling and stacking performance. The hot-fill container also features a 38-mm lightweight finish compared to the standard 43-mm finish for 64-oz PET bottles.

"We work in an industry where there is a lot of need for lightweight containers both from a cost performance and sustainability perspective  - this one fits the bill," Michael Hodges, VP of marketing for Amcor's beverage business unit, told PlasticsToday. "Our customers are constantly competing on the store shelves and lightweight can translate to cost savings."

Multiple utility and design patents are pending for the Powerblock 3.0 container. Amcor said that one patent covers an optimized conical base pushup with special diameter and height ratios and relationships. Another patent covers a round or rectangular base with strap-like features that are added to create a footed-style base. The segmented standing surface consists of four standing 1-inch columns.

Together, these technologies work synergistically to unlock material normally trapped in the base area. This allows for better material distribution in the container body, resulting in a lighter weight container without sacrificing performance, Amcor stated. Angles, ratios and other bottle geometry are optimized to obtain a balanced response to vacuum, pressure, and top-load forces.

"It's a novel design," Hodges said. "The footed-style base allows us to distribute the material in such a way that it takes weight out of the product."

Amcor touts that the Powerblock 3.0 provides several benefits including multiple fill contact points and flat sides for added stability and an optimized footprint (width and depth) for improved pallet pattern and corrugate savings. Sustainability benefits include a reduced carbon footprint and transportation costs along with secure consumer handling with three intuitive areas for single hand pouring.

While Powerblock 3.0 is initially targeted for 64-oz hot-fill containers, Amcor expects to adapt the technology to other hot-fill bottles. Amcor has completed all development and the stock bottle is already commercial in several locations across the U.S.