We are pleased to announce the expansion of our PET bottle and dispensing closure capacity in order to meet the ongoing demand for hand sanitizer, soap, and cleaning packaging.

Capacity expansions include new 2 oz. and 8 oz. oval PET bottles and 410-finish flip-top dispensing closure.

When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred earlier this year, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued recommendations about handwashing and the use of hand sanitizer. Due to the increased demand for these items, packaging components for these products were in short supply. Like many bottle and closure manufacturers, we worked hard to keep plants running throughout the pandemic to manufacture these essential products. In addition, we looked for ways to address the shortages and increase our capacity.

New Bottle Capacity

Our Quad-Cities, IA, facility has been producing a variety of PET bottles for food, personal care, and healthcare for over 22 years, becoming designated as our PET Center of Excellence. We added new machine and molds onto its current single-stage stretch blow molding line, doubling its capacity and providing a lower than average lead time for our 2 oz. oval bottle.

Princeton, IN is a one of our key closure plants, which made it an ideal location to add bottle capacity. The challenge came when we discovered that we could not “borrow” any current line space. By optimizing our current assets, we quickly added and installed new molds on our two-stage stretch blown molding (reheat and blown) line for two brand new 8 oz. oval PET bottles with a lower than average lead time.

The new bottles that are now available for order include:

2 oz. PET oval bottle with 410 finish, available in a stock program from Quad Cities, IA
8 oz. PET oval bottle with 410 and 415 finish available with low lead times from Princeton, IN
Both bottles come in a familiar shape for hand sanitizer and are compatible with standard continuous thread (CT) dispenser closures. The 8 oz. also pairs well with a pump dispenser. We selected these particular bottles, because they are two of the most popular sizes and come in the most popular shape. They are also widely recyclable and are designed for the end user as they are easy to squeeze. We supply complementary closures for our customers in order to provide a complete package.

Fast Action to Expand Closure Capacity

We recently added new capacity to our Libertyville, IL plant to run the popular 410-finish flip-top dispensing closure, replacing older tooling with new molds to meet the increased demand. Typically, expanded capacity activity like this requires very long lead times. However, our agility enabled us to respond quickly to the new demand in April, putting resources in place to have mold production ready by November.