Alcoa CSI Europe had a lot to talk about with regard their new, comprehensive product range at Drinktec.

Exhibiting at Drinktec this year, Closures and Capping Machinery manufacturer, Alcoa CSI Europe had a lot to talk about with regard their new, comprehensive product range.

Included in their New Product Developments is the new Flip-Top range of closures for the Water market. The Sports-Max closure is available in 28mm or 30.25mm versions and has the added functionality of the tamper evidence feature remaining on the dust cover upon initial opening.
 
Similarly the alternative flip-top closure, available in 28mm, has added consumer-friendly functionality with a drop down tamper evidence band which remains on the closure yet does not affect the drinking experience of the consumer.  Its unique locate and lock feature on the dust cover ensures that the dust cover remains at an ergonomic angle in order to consume the product.
 
“We are aware that the consumer is looking for a pack that can be both quickly and easily opened yet does not affect the drinking experience the flip-top closure provides, which is why both closures have been designed in response to these needs,” says marketing manager Erica Gibson-Di Meo.
 
Existing sports caps include Alcoa CSI’s Sports-Lok, which has been enhanced in response to the UK market and incorporates a vented dust cover.
 
“Although we are heavily involved in New Product Design, we work closely with our customers in order to enhance existing closure designs to suit their markets,” says Gibson Di Meo.
 
Another example of this is Alcoa CSI’s Double-Lok HR and Euro-Lok HR which have been developed for the South European market where temperatures are consistently higher for long periods, which over time can cause neck shrinkage. We have developed the HR or “heat resistant” closure as an enhancement to an already existing range of 2 piece closures to overcome this effect.
 
In the growing juice and isotonic market, Alcoa CSI has launched the Pro-Max family of 38mm closures. The liner-less Pro-Max, a 1 piece closure, has been designed predominantly for the single serve 250/330ml packs which have become popular in the beverage market over the last few years.
 
For applications which use conduction foil seal, the Pro-Max C and Pro-Max CTE have been developed as over cap suitable for this particular use. The Pro-Max CTE is designed in response to the consumer expectation of a tamper evident band in certain applications offering the added integrity and security of the pack.
 
Launched in the wine market just over a year ago, the Vino-Lok wine closure was still creating a buzz in the industry along with the Vino-Lok placing and capping machine. Available in glass or plastic, and having potential applications in the still water market too, it is a major advance on the synthetic cork.
 
In the beer market, Alcoa CSI supplies closures with Oxygen scavenging in-shell moulded liner. “Typically the closure is used in order to scavenge the oxygen ingress which takes place over time through the bottle; however, this is only half the battle - new developments in multi-layer PET bottles have to be the way forward working in conjunction with our closure.” says Gibson-Dimeo.
 
Alcoa CSI recently opened a research and development centre in Spain. The centralisation of their R&D facility will consolidate their expertise and enable a more rapid response for time to market of new products.