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5 February 2025

Sidel unveils StarLite-R Still rPET bottle base

Sidel unveils StarLite-R Still rPET bottle base

Sidel has unveiled its StarLite-R Still solution, a new bottle base for still products that employs the company’s patented technology to ensure 100% recycled PET (rPET) integration.


Sidel’s technology offers lightweighting and high-speed production for water, juices, milk and edible oil from 0.25 litres up to 2.5 litres.


While balancing production speed, material type and bottle weight can present a complex challenge for manufacturers, Sidel said its StarLite-R Still solution overcomes these with precise bottle base shaping and efficient material distribution.


Its innovative design can also be seamlessly retrofitted onto existing production lines, ensuring versatility. The solution requires a low blowing pressure, enhancing its sustainability credentials.


The bottle base features Sidel’s patented technology, which includes smooth material stretching and precise distribution, optimised venting for easy shaping and an efficient base cooling circuit ideal for rPET, which is likely to be processed at higher temperatures.


The new design was developed to prevent the base from deforming or breaking, crucial for maintaining integrity during production, conveying, storage, transportation and use.



Additionally, the moulded base’s rounded-edge design allows for easier shaping during blow moulding, which increases its resistance to defects such as bursts during the blowing process. This is key for lightweight bottles, which are more prone to such issues due to the thinner material used.


The structural design aims to ensure functionality and stability even in high-temperature conditions, and efficient cooling allows the bottle base to perform reliably during high-speed production, Sidel noted.


According to the company, the bottle production process can also use up to 20% less blowing pressure due to improved mould venting of the solution’s mould base. The grooves and venting holes in the mould ensure that air escapes efficiently, allowing the bottle base to take its desired shape even at lower pressures. This reduces energy consumption and production costs while maintaining quality.


The solution can be used with transparent or white PET and supports single-serve production rates of up to 2,700 bottles per hour per machine, and multi-serve rates of up to 2,400 bottles per hour per machine.


Mikael Derrien, manager of packaging innovations at Sidel, commented: “Mainstream food and beverage manufacturers are seeking designs that range from simple, lightweight options to more aesthetic shapes with optimised weights, yet all compatible with high-speed production. They aim to reduce production costs through lightweighting, lower blowing pressures and reduced energy consumption, while also striving to minimise their carbon footprint in response to regulatory pressures and consumer demand.”


He added: “Today there are bottle bases on the market suitable for lightweight designs and high production speeds, however, they’re designed for virgin PET bottles. Sidel’s StarLite-R Still is the only solution on the market specifically developed to address recycled PET that achieves the high performance necessary in this competitive market space.”

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