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PTI establishes independent closure testing labPTI establishes independent closure testing lab

Packaging development and engineering service provider Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI; Holland, OH) has established what it believes may be the industry's first independent plastic and metal closure testing lab. The lab will offer processors and their customer a wide range of testing options for closures plus ones to test how the closures cap onto bottles.

PlasticsToday Staff

June 28, 2011

2 Min Read
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Packaging development and engineering service provider Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI; Holland, OH) has established what it believes may be the industry's first independent plastic and metal closure testing lab. The lab will offer processors and their customer a wide range of testing options for closures plus ones to test how the closures cap onto bottles.

PTI believes its lab is the industry's first independent one for testing of closures.

For PTI, the new lab means it can offer testing for the complete package. "Closure manufacturers have traditionally offered testing support for their products, but up until now there really hasn't been an independent closure evaluation and analysis lab. PTI's new capability complements its previously established bottle testing service. This means that brand owners wanting to test the performance of the entire package now have a one-stop place to go," explains PTI's Greg Fisher, responsible for overseeing the lab.

Closure testing capabilities offered at the new lab include: application, top load vent, removal torque, opening performance, secure seal, carbonation retention, impact, barrier, scavengers, lubricants and others. The lab will also include a single-head capper to test reliable and reproducible capping, as well as a vision system to measure critical dimensions and facilitate tooling evaluations.

Brand owners "know they can get more precise performance results when bottle and closure testing is conducted in tandem," Fisher added. Accurate analysis also is critical to ensure that packaging materials and structures haven't been over engineered, thereby negatively affecting cost and source reduction initiatives. PTI reckons its total package approach to testing also will reduce the number of samples required to execute the tests and eliminates the need for correlated bottle data from one lab with closure information from another.

Fisher, the lab's director, has been involved in the plastics and packaging industry since 1993, including at closure molder Alcoa Closure Systems.

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