From PET bottles to food contact grade r-PET packaging: AMUT and EREMA partnership accelerates circularity

AMUT’s strategic partnership with EREMA contributes to accelerate the transition towards a greener world. In summer 2021, EREMA, in collaboration with AMUT, has finalised the installation and commissioning of ALTO packaging´s first extrusion line for food grade PET sheets in New Zealand.

The ALTO Plastic Packaging site now processes 100 per cent washed post-consumer flakes into food contact grade monolayer thermoforming sheet. In New Zealand, this milestone represents the first system to be installed for this special application.

ALTO, a division of the PACT Group, invested in this new food grade PET sheet extrusion line as part of Pact Group´s circular economy vision.

Due to the direct combination of VACUREMA PET recycling technology and the AMUT Inline Sheet production technology, there is no longer any extra process stage. This is because the melt goes straight from the VACUREMA 1716 T Basic to the AMUT plant without pelletising. The post-consumer PET material is already decontaminated and pre-dried prior to extrusion in the vacuum reactor of the VACUREMA Basic, with a throughput of up to 1,500kg per hour.

After high-capacity filtration by EREMA's SW-RTF backflush filter and online IV measurement, the melt goes directly into the AMUT Inline Sheet plant where it is processed into thermoforming sheet from 0.15-1.2mm thickness.

At ALTO it is further processed into trays and food containers. AMUT contributes by providing a full range of downstream equipment from the Automatic Tdie, three rolls stack calender with automatic gap control and motorised cross axing unit, lamination unit for welding and barrier films, thickness control gauge to anti-static silicon coating unit, fully automatic two shafts turret winder and in line edge trims grinding and recycling.

The special features of this extrusion line come from the complete automatic and easy management of the line. This is due to AMUT`s software that includes the Easy Start and Easy Change functions that enable the operator to start the extrusion line and change product formats in automatic mode.

EREMA and AMUT are long-term partners in the Inline Sheet sector. EREMA´s VACUREMA technology is currently in use in more than 100 Inline Sheet facilities around the world.