Thai edible oil company Thanakorn Vegetable Oil Products (TVOP) has introduced laser-powered plastic blowing technology in its bottling system, Food-Drink&Innovations wrote.
While traditional bottling uses infrared lamps to heat plastic pre-forms before blowing them into bottles, the EvoBLOW technology – developed by French packaging manufacturer Sidel –uses laser heating to shape recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and recycled PET (rPET) containers.
According to the 3 April report, TVOP is the first edible oil producer in the world to shift to a laser‑powered blowing solution.
“This laser technology will help us improve performance, energy efficiency, production stability and material savings which are all critical for edible oil manufacturers,” TVOP’s CEO Adul Premprasert was quoted as saying.
The laser targets specific zones of the pre-form, which is then blown into shape with tighter control.
The higher precision offered by the use of laser technology had led to the development of TVOP’s new one litre oil bottle, the report said.
Designed in collaboration with Sidel’s packaging experts, the new bottle is 2gms lighter than alternatives.
Despite the reduced weight, the new design offers the required strength, shelf appeal and durability throughout distribution, according to the report.
The laser’s cold-start capability and environmental stability would also improve operational efficiency, Food-Drink&Innovations wrote.
As part of its partnership with Sidel, TVOP will also be installing other Sidel systems, including: an automated line CoboREEL which uses collaborative robots; shrink wrap EvoFilm Stretch which is designed to cut energy use by up to 90% compared to traditional shrink wrap and the Evo-ON system, which turns machine data into real-time performance insights.
According to its website, TVOP specialises in the production and distribution of edible oils and related products, including soyabean, sunflower and canola oil; animal feed ingredients including soyabean and sunflowerseed meal; and other products including lecithin-feed grade, lecithin food-grade, crude soyabean acid oil and soyabean oil deodoriser distillates.
Sidel develops packaging solutions for the beverage, food and home and personal care markets.
