Sidel has introduced StarLITE®-R STILL, a new lightweight bottle base that integrates 100% recycled PET (rPET), ensuring high-speed production for a variety of still products, including water, juices, milk, and edible oils. The design caters to bottle sizes ranging from 0.25L to 2.5L, offering efficient production and material use.
Mikael Derrien, Manager of Packaging Innovations at Sidel, explained, “Food and beverage manufacturers are increasingly looking for bottle designs that are not only lightweight but also offer aesthetic appeal and optimized production costs. The demand for reduced energy consumption, lighter bottles, and lower production pressures is driven by both environmental concerns and regulatory requirements.”
Unlike other bottle bases designed for virgin PET, the StarLITE®-R STILL is specifically engineered to work with recycled PET while maintaining high performance, making it the only solution of its kind in the market. This innovation addresses the challenge of balancing speed, material type, and bottle weight by utilizing precise shaping and efficient material distribution.
The StarLITE®-R STILL base can be easily integrated into existing production lines, offering manufacturers versatility. It also requires lower blowing pressure, enhancing its sustainability profile. The StarLITE®-R STILL features Sidel’s patented technology, which includes smooth material stretching, precise material distribution, optimized venting for easier shaping, and a cooling circuit designed for rPET that operates efficiently even at higher processing temperatures. These features ensure the bottle base remains intact during production, storage, transportation, and use.
The rounded-edge design of the base allows for easier shaping during the blow-moulding process, reducing the likelihood of defects like bursts. This is especially important for lightweight bottles, which are more vulnerable due to thinner materials. Additionally, the high base clearance helps prevent deformation, ensuring stability even under high temperatures.
With an efficient cooling system, the StarLITE®-R STILL maintains quality during high-speed production, preventing defects and ensuring consistent performance. The new design also reduces energy consumption by using up to 20% less blowing pressure, lowering both costs and environmental impact.
Switching to the StarLITE®-R STILL, which uses 100% rPET, can help manufacturers reduce their CO₂ emissions by up to 2,400 tonnes annually. The lower blowing pressure (16 bars, 20% less than standard operations) further cuts CO₂ emissions by 51 tonnes and saves approximately €205,000 each year. This bottle base is compatible with various weights, including lightweight bottles as small as 7g for a 500ml format, offering flexibility for different products.
The StarLITE®-R STILL base is designed to accommodate a wide range of bottle shapes, including round, square-round, and rectangular formats, and can handle both single and multi-serve sizes from 0.25L to 2.5L. It is suitable for transparent and white PET bottles and can be seamlessly integrated into existing production lines.
The base supports high-speed production, with single-serve rates of up to 2,700 bottles per hour per mould and multi-serve rates of up to 2,400 bottles per hour per mould. It is compatible with both rPET and virgin PET, and can be produced using Sidel’s EvoBLOW, Universal, and Series 2 blow moulders.
The StarLITE®-R STILL bottle base joins Sidel’s established StarLITE®-R range, which includes solutions for carbonated soft drinks (CSD), nitrogen-dosed products, and premium bottles. Sidel’s original StarLITE®-R for CSD, introduced as the first solution for rPET bottles, offers improved stability and resistance to bursting. The StarLITE®-R Nitro, designed for nitrogen-dosed beverages, and the StarLITE®-R Premium, a high-performance base for distinctive 100% rPET bottles, complete the range.
