Actis Coating: Extends Shelf Life of Beverages

Actis Coating

Actis is the pioneering plasma coating technology, increasing PET barrier that extends the shelf life of beverages bottled in PET up to five times while enabling package lightweighting.

This solution is now available in an integrated blowing, plasma-coating and filling configuration with the latest generation of modular Sidel EvoBLOW™ Combi equipment.

Sidel Actis (Amorphous Carbon Treatment on Internal Surface) is a coating deposited inside a PET bottle. It is used for barrier protection when packaging CSDs, beer and oxygen sensitive beverages like juices, tea or coffee. Those market segments are experiencing strong growth in single serve PET bottle formats, which represent big challenges when it comes to long-term beverage quality, production cost, efficiency and reliability.

Actis plasma-coating barrier technology is recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for meeting its highest criteria for recyclability. The APR has evaluated Sidel Actis using the most stringent, industry-accepted criteria outlined in the APR Design® Guide.

Nearly 30 Actis systems have been introduced globally, accounting for around five billion bottles produced across all the main beverage categories that require barrier protection. Today, beverage producers can combine the benefits of the flexible, proven and upgradeable Sidel Matrix system with a solution that provides significant opportunities for extending shelf life, bottle lightweighting and operational performance for production up to 40,000 bottles per hour.

Features

The Actis plasma-coating barrier technology can increase shelf life by a factor of up to five, depending on the beverage type and the bottle weight, with two barrier treatment alternatives available: Actis and Actis Lite.

Significant opportunities for extending shelf life and bottle lightweighting. A standard 500ml PET bottle for CSD weighing 24 g usually achieves a 10-week shelf life, whereas the same bottle with an Actis barrier treatment can achieve an extended 24-week shelf life while saving up to 5 g of PET
It stands out from other processes like co-injection (multilayer) or plastic blends (chemical additives to improve the properties of PET), when material cost, lightweighting and recyclability are considered
Simpler and less expensive process than other coating technologies: based on acetylene gas, widely available on the market, rather than requiring complex concentrates and settings

As aligned to the Sidel Matrix platform, the Actis technology is now available in an integrated configuration, which can include blowing and coating, or blowing, coating and filling, all in a unique and safe environment.

Consistent and repeatable coating process contributing to the bottle quality, with limited process parameters, monitored at cavity level and controlled in line from the human machine interface
An embedded bottle blowing inspection system, an optional self-regulation process during the blowing stage
Application of a bottle shape vision control before the coating to ensure correct shape while rejecting out-of-specification bottles
Laser coding on the bottle after the coating for production traceability and root cause analysis.

The integrated blowing-coating-filling solution ensures easy operation and production reliability for increased uptime along the production line. High flexibility is also provided to lines running many different stock keeping units.

Designed to be as simple as possible in terms of maintenance: limited daily activities, only two weekly changes of injector liners and very accessible vacuum pumps
Coating process simple to set up: based on one unique gas, a qualified industrial Acetylene available worldwide, allowing local sourcing
Very few production parameters to set up, monitor and control from the human machine interface
Highly reliable mechanical by-the-neck transfer, with neck-up bottle conveying after blowing
Stable coating process: the air conditioning of the coating wheel ensures the machine is not affected by variations in temperature and humidity
Very quick changeover of the coating parts: only a simple manual adjustment of the plate height in the coating stations is needed to produce a different bottle shape or size
Bypass system on the conveying table toeasily switch production to run multi-serve formats with no coating
Fast switch between two different bottle neck design

Increased shelf life and lightweighting
An integrated solution for bottle quality
Optimal production uptime and operational performance

Increased shelf life and lightweighting
An integrated solution for bottle quality
Optimal production uptime and operational performance

Increased shelf life and lightweighting

Significant opportunities for extending shelf life and bottle lightweighting. A standard 500ml PET bottle for CSD weighing 24 g usually achieves a 10-week shelf life, whereas the same bottle with an Actis barrier treatment can achieve an extended 24-week shelf life while saving up to 5 g of PET
It stands out from other processes like co-injection (multilayer) or plastic blends (chemical additives to improve the properties of PET), when material cost, lightweighting and recyclability are considered
Simpler and less expensive process than other coating technologies: based on acetylene gas, widely available on the market, rather than requiring complex concentrates and settings

An integrated solution for bottle quality

Consistent and repeatable coating process contributing to the bottle quality, with limited process parameters, monitored at cavity level and controlled in line from the human machine interface
An embedded bottle blowing inspection system, an optional self-regulation process during the blowing stage
Application of a bottle shape vision control before the coating to ensure correct shape while rejecting out-of-specification bottles
Laser coding on the bottle after the coating for production traceability and root cause analysis.

Optimal production uptime and operational performance

Designed to be as simple as possible in terms of maintenance: limited daily activities, only two weekly changes of injector liners and very accessible vacuum pumps
Coating process simple to set up: based on one unique gas, a qualified industrial Acetylene available worldwide, allowing local sourcing
Very few production parameters to set up, monitor and control from the human machine interface
Highly reliable mechanical by-the-neck transfer, with neck-up bottle conveying after blowing
Stable coating process: the air conditioning of the coating wheel ensures the machine is not affected by variations in temperature and humidity
Very quick changeover of the coating parts: only a simple manual adjustment of the plate height in the coating stations is needed to produce a different bottle shape or size
Bypass system on the conveying table toeasily switch production to run multi-serve formats with no coating
Fast switch between two different bottle neck design