The many happy returns of the custom preform bins

摘要

The toughest test for packaging in the supply chain may be time. That is certainly true of reusable plastic containers (RPCs), where durability is as important as protection-whether what's transported is a packaged product or "prepackaging" in the form of PET preforms. It may be more important for the latter: Preform flaws like nicks and scuffs created during transportation and handling can become magnified during blow molding. Southeastern Container (SEC), a cooperative of 16 independent Coca-Cola bottlers in the eastern U.S. serving about 34 states and six Canadian provinces, sought an alternative to bulk "gaylord" corrugated containers used to distribute preforms internally that would maintain integrity through dozens of reuse cycles. The preforms are used for bottles from 20 oz to 2L in size.