Demand for plastic closures continues to grow

Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 01 July 2008

 

One-piece HDPE closures now account for 64% of all standard beverage closures in Europe, compared with 55% four years ago and are set to grow by 4% each year to 2012, according to a report by Applied Market Information (AMI).

 

The industry consultant said the use of this type of closure had been growing at nearly 9% a year, fuelled by cost reduction and light weighting initiatives. Nearly 217 billion plastic caps were produced in Europe last year in a €1.5bn business.

 

AMI said growth would be driven by developments in still sports and juice-based drinks and the expanding market penetration of one-way PET bottles replacing cans and cartons.

 

However, custom closures, including non-standard diameter flat caps, sports caps and pouch spouts, could provide manufacturers with greater opportunity for added value, the analyst added.

 

The demand for plastic beer closures is also expected to grow, fuelled by the use of plastic corks in glass bottles, with demand coming particularly from Eastern Europe.

 

AMI also predicts greater use of plastic caps in the liquid food sector owing to the advent of heat stable PET, clarified PP and multilayer containers, with demand coming from PET bottles in dairy products and the substitution of glass bottles with plastic containers for sauces, preserves, baby food and soup.

 

There are also further opportunities in cold fill applications such as honey.

 

AMI concluded that innovation and sustainability would be at the centre of plastic closure production over the next five years, focusing on "improved functionality, convenience and modernity".