The Plastic Can Company (PCC), the London-based technology licensing company that early last year launched what was reportedly the world’s first two-stage lever lid PET paint can (Packaging Today – January 2006), has signed an exclusive licence with Nampak allowing the African converter to produce the container for all southern African countries.
Claimed to be the world’s only lever-lid plastic cans capable of holding both solvent and water-based paints, the cans will be produced by Nampak’s Rigid Plastics division starting this month (January), using both PCC’s original one-stage and the more recently developed two-stage process. Nampak will produce them in 500 ml to 5 litre sizes.
PCC says that, alongside offering significant cost advantages over steel, whose price, it points out, has recently risen sharply, PET enables the production of transparent, as well as opaque and coloured containers, something “not possible” using PP.
Business development manager Alistair Ingram says: “Using the two-stage process manufacturers can also mass produce the preforms and lids at one central point, holding them for rapid call-off and shipping to satellite operations when required, where they can be rapidly reheated and blowmoulded into the finished article. This eliminates the high costs of transporting empty containers.”
Philip de Weerdt, Nampak Rigid Plastics md, adds: “The PET cans will be a viable and cost-effective container for customers wanting the benefits a plastic can offers for solvent-based paints. They don’t dent or rust and can be repeatedly re-sealed. We believe they will make a major impact in the South African paint market.”
PCC stresses that an additional advantage of the PET in applications like paint canning is that there is no need for it to be food grade; thus recycled content can be used.
In the UK RPC has an exclusive licence to manufacture the PCC cans, which it already supplies to companies including Ronseal, Sigma Kalon and B&Q. Mexican packaging converter Innopak is also producing the container, in sizes up to four litres.
PCC business development manager Alistair Ingram says the company is now particularly keen to hear from other potential European licensees.
www.plastic-can.com