Extrusion International 5-2024-USA

24 Extrusion International 5/2024 INDUSTRY NEWS Reusable PET Bottle for Cosmetic Products  zerooo stands for reusable packaging that fosters the circular economy in the cosmetics industry. The sys- tem offered by start-up SEA ME GmbH offers brand manufacturers safe, affordable and sustainable PET bottles, in addition to glass bottles, for the first time. Together with ten brand partners and packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA, the company has developed a fully recyclable solution. The reusable PET bottle, with a volume of 300 millilitres, is available in clear, milky white and brown versions. It is suitable for all caps and can also be used as a shatterproof alternative for toilet- ries in the shower. Further formats are planned. From September, the first manufacturers in Germany present cosmetics and care products in PET containers from the zerooo reusable system. Empties can be re - turned to the approximately one thousand collection points of zerooo retail partners for a deposit of €0.50. As a globally active packaging manufacturer and re - cycling specialist, ALPLA is promoting closed ‘bottle-to- bottle’ cycles with its own plants. The company contrib - utes its expertise as a system supplier and also supports customers with design. The zerooo reusable PET bottle was developed in tandem with the SEA ME GmbH team at ALPLA’s in-house STUDIOa design centre at the com - pany’s headquarters in Hard. Each zerooo reusable PET bottle is unique. A laser-en - graved 2D data matrix code – the zerooo ID – provides information about the content and circulation history. „The digital labelling enables transparency and ensures the quality of the bottles. By combining it with the in - formation from the label, it can also be complemented with further product data,“ explains Jörg Schwärzler, Senior Technology Manager at ALPLA. The reusable PET bottle is compatible with all automatic return systems. At the end of their life cycle, the bottles and caps are sorted and recycled. ALPLA Group www.alpla.com With ALPLA’s support in the development of the bottle, SEA ME GmbH is producing the first reusable PET-system for cosmetic and care products in Germany and Austria (Copyright: SEA ME GmbH) Innovative Foreign Body Detection using X-Ray Technology  One of Sesotec's customers employs around 600 people in northern Germany and produces single and double-sided adhesive tapes on production facilities that are among the most modern in the world. These special - ized products and adhesive solutions are an integral part of industrial manufacturing processes, especially in high- performance industries such as the automotive, electron- ics, paper, printing, construction supply, healthcare, and pharmaceutical industries. They are distributed globally, mainly to Europe, Asia, and America. The production of adhesive tapes requires consider- able experience, expertise, and commitment. Moreover, production must meet the high standards of various in - dustrial suppliers. The plant in northern Germany is certi- fied according to the environmental standard ISO 14001 and the quality standards ISO/TS 16949 and ISO 9001. Raw materials for adhesive tape production can con- tain tiny metal particles. Even the smallest foreign object that enters production poses a significant risk. Essen - tially, the smaller the detected and removed particles, the better the protection against damage to processing machines and consumer complaints. Even during incoming goods inspection, plastic pro - cessors can check raw materials for quality by using for - eign object detection systems. If foreign objects are de - tected and removed at the point of entry, value-added losses can be avoided, and the quality of the final prod - ucts can be ensured. In the plastics industry, the use of inductive metal de- tectors is often common and sufficient. However, the Sesotec customer was aiming for the highest possible sensitivity in metal detection. Initial tests were conducted with the most accurate metal detector available, but the