LH Plus Sdn Bhd, a manufacturer of consumer plastic products based in Malaysia, uses Vistamaxx propylene-based elastomer (PBE) from ExxonMobil Chemical to improve the impact strength of its new sports drink bottles made with random copolymer polypropylene (RCP).
LH Plus was exploring the addition of an impact modifier to strengthen the bottle, so that the breakage issue during end-use simulation testing could be resolved without modifying the tooling.ExxonMobil Chemical and its distributor, Drex-Chem (M) Sdn Bhd, provided technical information and support on impact strength improvement levels with different grades and concentrations of Vistamaxx PBE.
LH Plus ultimately selected 5% Vistamaxx 3000 PBE for bottles larger than 590ml. As said, the bottles are stronger and clarity is maintained. Clear bottles allow users to see the volume and quality of the liquid inside the bottle. Moreover, Vistamaxx PBE is internationally approved in food packaging materials and does not require product prequalification.
“Using Vistamaxx propylene-based elastomer (PBE) has increased the impact strength of the sports drink bottles compared to RCP,” said Callum Chen, CEO, LH Plus. “We are now able to confidently manufacture them to our customer’s highest standards.”
To help maintain quality standards, LH Plus records the raw material batch, the machine number and the operator for each production day. Every bottle has a date code molded on the base which indicates the month/year of manufacture to allow traceability, if needed.
“Vistamaxx PBE is easy to process. We dry blend the Vistamaxx PBE with the RCP before we injection mold and then blow mold the bottles,” said Mr Chen. “There has been no change to our tooling or molding process and we are manufacturing an excellent product.”
Source: http://www.adsalecprj.com/Publicity/MarketNews/lang-eng/article-67005333/Article.aspx
