Success of Japanese PET Technology in India

Ever since polyethylene terephthalate (PET) became the most accepted medium to pack a wide range of products, the consumer goods sector as well as the pharmaceutical industry got a shot in the arm. They could reach out to the target buyers with their products packed in attractive manner and longer shelf life. Simultaneously to meet the needs of the hour, the packaging industry too has made great strides on all fronts. In these progressive trends, the blow moulds manufacturer in India has played a pivotal role.

All these developments took place amid a sort of boom that the country had never seen before. It opened up new vistas for entrepreneurs to learn about PET technology and process to set up units in making preform moulds of varied cavities. Alongside, the demand for moulding machines also rose. Capitalising on this scenario, leading manufacturers of these machines from abroad made their presence felt in India.

For instance, the Japanese giant Nissei ASB Machine Company even went a step ahead by commissioning a factory at Ambernath in Maharashtra. It is one of the most modern and largest manufacturing facilities among PET processing machine manufacturers in the world. Apart from catering to the domestic market, the ASB machines manufactured here are exported too and thus earn precious foreign exchange.

These machines are in great demand for products such as edible oil, shampoo, liquor, water, mouthwash, cosmetics, detergents etc. For the items that are packed in wide mouth jars, these blow moulding machines are deemed to be the best.

However, the specific moulds for these machines must be of highest quality at par with the Japanese standards. Consequently, this has encouraged the Indian PET preform industry to master the expertise in designing and manufacturing blow moulds for ASB Machines. Reportedly, ASB has created a global impact for its machines intrinsic worth such as:

• Compact size 
• High quality bottles
• Rapid mould changeover
• Computerised memory for storage of varied moulds
• Cost & energy saving

Blow Moulding Industry in India

Although the concept of blow moulding is attributed to the Egyptians during the era of 1700 to 1600 B.C., its process was reportedly first used by the Syrians sometime in the first century B.C. It was the technique of a glass bulb on the end of a blow pipe being shaped into desired hollow forms. 

However, American S T Armstrong is credited to have patented blow moulding technique of a plastic material other than glass in 1851. It was in 1938 that the ultimate industrial application was evolved by the pioneering experiment and work of two inventors, Enoch Ferngren and William Kopitke. Meanwhile, in the mid 1930s, the British company, ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) formulated low-density polyethylene (LDPE) for the first time that was later commercialised in 1939 and perfected in 1945 for squeeze bottles.

These developments ushered a revolution in the utility of bottles (glass and synthetic-based) as packaging material and today, these have become the common medium for filtered/distilled water, aerated beverages, milk, edible and non-edible oils, cosmetics, medicines (both in solid and liquid formats) and numerous other consumer items. This packing is based on mechanized (automatic) blow moulding machine using PET preform technology. Its impact in terms of growth could be assessed from the fact that the USA witnessed the number of plastic containers for the soft drinks shooting up within a span of 22 years (1977-1999) from a mere zero to ten billion pieces!!

In India several entrepreneurs have made a mark by designing and developing unique models of blow mould systems. These range from PET stretch blow moulding, extrusion blow moulding, reheated stretch blow moulding (RSBM) and injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) machines among others. These machines boast of different bottling capacities as per the end user’s needs.

Rigid quality control, high standards, competitive prices and delivery alongside prompt after-sales service have lent the Indian manufacturers of automatic moulding machines an edge over their counterparts and competitors from across the world. To cite an example, the machines designed and manufactured by Noida-based Ashish Tools have been found most suitable as an integral part in a wide range of bottling systems including leading brands like the two-stage SBO, Krones Contiform, ASB Nesei, Aoki and several other models, both at home and abroad. With the worldwide acceptance of PET moulding technology as an ideal mode of bottling, the moulding industry in India is poised to reach newer heights in the coming days.