Origin Materials Inc. has begun producing PET bottle caps using recycled materials at a partner's facility in Germany, the company said.
West Sacramento, Calif.-based Origin said the caps were produced on its CapFormer System, which is described as Origin's "proprietary system for manufacturing recyclable PET closures."
Origin is working with injection molder Reed City Group in Reed City, Mich., to manufacture the caps in the U.S.
"The team has been working hard as we approach the end of the year, and we've stayed close to our prospective customers every step of the way. As a result, we decided to add a few key new features to our PET caps — chiefly, knurling," co-CEO John Bissell said in a statement. "Knurls improve the grip of the caps, making for a very comfortable consumer experience. The market spoke, and we listened. I am proud of our team's agility in making it happen."
Knurls are raised patterns on the outside of caps that allow for easier gripping by consumers.
The CapFormer System will now be shipped to Reed City, Mich., for installation, Origin said, and production is planned for the first quarter.
"There are two primary advantages for producing these latest caps in Europe before shipping the CapFormer System to its final home in Reed City," Bissell said. "One, it lets us perform customer qualification while we ship the system. By working in parallel, we can go faster. Two, it enabled us to work very tightly with our European equipment partners while adding these new features, making for more efficient implementation."
Making PET caps for PET bottles has long been considered an important step in the packaging industry, where high density polyethylene and polypropylene caps have been the norm to date. Pairing PET caps with PET bottles is seen by some as a mono-material breakthrough that will eliminate the need to separate bottles from caps during the recycling process.