EUROPEAN PLASTICS NEWS
Published: July 31, 2014 9:40 am ET
Updated: July 31, 2014 9:49 am ET
A new blow molding and filling technology called LiquiForm has been announced that uses pressurized consumable liquid instead of compressed air to form plastic containers.
By combining the bottle forming and filling processes into one step, this technology eliminates numerous manufacturing steps, significantly reducing cost and waste, says the LiquiForm Group.
LiquiForm Group is the business development group representing DISCMA — the joint venture between Amcor and Sidel.
“Sidel is committed to providing the beverage industry with the most sustainable packaging solutions. Where we see opportunities to develop innovative new technologies we will do so. Our participation in the development of LiquiForm is the latest example of this approach,” said Mart Tiismann, president and CEO of Sidel Group.
"Although still at a developmental stage, the technology has the potential to address some key improvement areas for our customers in the years ahead, including potential significant energy and cost savings,” Tiisman said. “The LiquiForm technology is also the latest example of PET’s flexibility as the most sustainable beverage packaging material.”
Ann O’Hara, president of LiquiForm, said: “LiquiForm represents a significant opportunity for the consumer products industry by creating a step-change in efficiency and flexibility. By partnering with respected equipment manufacturers as well as international converters and leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies, we are set up to have the technology achieve its full potential. And looking forward, we seek to make the technology widely available through a licensing and royalty system which encourages partners and licensees to invest in future innovation and development.”
The LiquiForm Group has signed agreements with Yoshino Kogyosho, Japan’s largest plastic bottle manufacturer, to further develop the technology, and with Nestle Waters, a leading bottled water company, to acquire their intellectual property in this new technology.
The company states that it is expected that more equipment manufacturers and FMCG companies will be able to purchase developer kits to accelerate their own product development in the near future.
Full scale commercialisation of the LiquiForm technology is currently expected to occur by 2018. | 
