DPETTM – a new era in yoghurt packaging

The new DPETTM sheet from OCTAL offers yogurt packagers a highly attractive combination of advantages. Joe Barenberg, COO of OCTAL, explains: “DPETTM is a convincing advance on standard PET sheet with much higher stability with reduced thicknesses, constant breakaway performance, longer blade-life, faster cycle times, best printability, excellent sealing performance and a significant reduction of the carbon footprint.” OCTAL will present its new DPETTM raw material for the first time at Interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 12 to 18 May 2011.

CTAL produces DPETTM in a unique direct-to-sheet process. It is a material that opens up entirely new dimensions in sustainability, energy efficiency, cost and worldwide availability. The DPETTM carbon footprint is around 20 percent below that for any comparable new material. Yogurt packagers benefit far beyond this with a huge range of industry-specific advantages.

Thinner and stronger packaging
DPET™ brings the absolute maximum in form, fill, and seal lines. It has excellent flow characteristics, with more material going to cup corners. This is how package strength is achieved at lower thickness.

Perfect to process
DPET™’s consistent gauge and roll-to-roll uniformity ensure trouble-free processing for single-serve and multi-pack applications. Barenberg summarizes the processing advantages: “DPET™ is easier to cut than conventional PET. This leads to longer uptime between knife sharpenings or replacements. DPET™ gauge consistency is within 1% of specified thickness. As a comparison: the industry standard is 5 to 8 %. This extremely tight gauge control allows packagers to specify thinner gauges and still achieve target package thicknesses and strengths. Roll-to-roll uniformity is also excellent, meaning more uptime.

Shorter cycle times
Yogurt packagers will also appreciate DPET™’s faster cycle times in the thermoforming phase of the form, fill and seal process. Controlled, laboratory tests have consistently shown that DPET™ yields good containers at faster cycle times than conventional PET sheet. Real-world users of DPET™ consistently report similar results in the field.

Brilliant finish
The smooth, glossy DPET™ surface is ideal for process color printing. Detailed, high impact designs print superbly and give real shelf appeal to products packaged in DPET™. Its highly planar, smooth surface also gives excellent sealing performance.

Corporate Data
OCTAL is the brand name of Octal Petrochemicals LLC FZC. The company is based in Muscat (Sultanate of Oman) and operates sales and customer s pport facilities in the USA, the UK, Germany and China. OCTAL is a one hundred percent subsidiary of OCTAL Holding & Company with 400 employees. Annual turnover in 2010 was 430 million dollars.

Source: Octal