News & Press

Easing the Transition From Glass to Plastic Packaging for Food Packagers

The Silgan White Cap Conversion Kit lets packagers convert straight-line cappers from metal to plastic closures with minimal cost and downtime

by
Andrew Nackovic
Marketing Manager
Silgan White Cap LLC

The transition from glass to plastic packaging in the food and beverage market segments has been steadily increasing for decades. Recent spikes in transportation costs have helped to accelerate this trend toward lighter weight packaging.

Consumers have given Silgan White Cap three even more important reasons to make the change:

1. A plastic container with a threaded plastic closure is easier to open than a

glass jar with a metal lug closure;

2. A plastic container weighs less, and is therefore easier to handle, especially

for the oldest and youngest consumers;

3. There is no risk of injury from breakage in the home.

When consumers speak, food packagers have learned to listen closely. Silgan White Cap has responded with a solution that lets packagers transition to plastic containers and closures with a minimum of investment and installation downtime.

Silgan White Cap’s solution: convert your existing straight-line capper to run plastic closures and containers

Some packagers have been reluctant to make the switch to plastic because of the high capital cost of changing capping operations. Rotary cappers, the traditional means of applying plastic closures to plastic containers cost about $750,000, and often require reconfiguring a production line, with significant downtime. These likely costs and disruptions have kept many food packagers from benefiting from the change to plastic packaging.

Silgan White Cap, which supplies about 85% of the straight-line cappers operating in the marketplace today, has a solution. Working with Silgan Equipment Company, it has developed a Conversion Kit that lets the packager convert an existing Silgan straight-line capper to apply plastic closures to plastic containers in many cases at line speeds equal to those before the conversion, at a fraction of the cost of a rotary capper and with a minimum of downtime.

The kit includes a set of internal change parts that enables the capper to handle several sizes of plastic closures, plus a closure hopper/feeder and the minimal amount of straight-line capper chutework to deliver the closures to the line. In most cases, the initial installation can take place over one weekend and production runs can resume on Monday. After that, changing back and forth from metal to plastic closures can be done in as little as 30 minutes.

Currently, the converted capper can apply closures to plastic containers used in cold-fill and warm-fill operations such as the packaging of mayonnaise, pickles and relishes. Silgan White Cap is exploring ways to cap hot-fill products with a variation of the straight-line capper.

Costs of conversion

The cost of the new Conversion Kit is approximately $100,000, including installation, adjustment and testing. This is a dramatic difference from the cost of a new rotary capper. And, converting an existing capper requires additional space only for the closure hopper/feeder and chute work, which can usually be installed above the line. A new rotary capper would require significant space in the middle of the filling/capping line, and might require reconfiguration of the entire line.

The immediate savings achieved by the resulting lower shipping costs, and the potential of higher sales volumes resulting from higher consumer satisfaction, should lead to a timely return on investment.

New closures

To work with the converted capper, Silgan White Cap has also developed a new line of Plasti-Twist™ Plus plastic closures. The new closures, currently available in 63mm and soon to be available in 70mm and 82mm, feature a multi-lead thread that enables sealing in one-quarter turn. The closure’s molded-in non-PVC EZ Torque™ TPE (ThermoPlastic Elastomer) liner eliminates the need for a secondary liner or induction seal. This reduces material sourcing and equipment.

The new closures are easier to apply during filling and easier for consumers to open at home. Plasti-Twist Plus closures feature a patented drop-down safety band for tamper-evidence, and are available in custom colors and with outside printing or debossing. They can be applied by either straight-line or rotary cappers.

Silgan White Cap and Silgan Equipment

Silgan White Cap is the leading global supplier of Value-Added closure systems for food and beverage products in North and South America, Europe and Asia Pacific, producing metal, plastic and composite closures.

Silgan Equipment Company is a full-service equipment supplier and overhaul station, supplying in-line capping equipment and vision and dud detecting systems, parts and overhaul services for both closure equipment and container equipment. Both companies are units of Silgan Holdings Inc., which was founded in 1987 and which also includes Silgan Containers and Silgan Plastics.

For further information about the complete line of Plasti-Twist Plus closures, call Silgan White Cap LLC at 630-515-8383. For further information about the straight-line capper Conversion Kit, call Silgan Equipment Company at 630-241-6634. Both company web sites can be accessed through www.silganwhitecap.com.