HDPE has long been the plastic of choice for lubricant packagers. Now a Toronto-area start-up is challenging that practice by specializing in bottles made of PET.
Pure PET Corp. began shipments in September. According to President and co-founder Ross Quantz, the new business aims to sell customers on the benefits of PET (polyethylene terephthalate).
PET presents a lot of values, Quantz told Lube Report. It has great barrier properties – better than high-density polyethylene [HDPE] – and it travels real well in cold climates. That can be especially important here in Canada.
Quantz was a co-owner of Vulsay Industries Ltd., which was recently acquired by the Delta/Olympic Companies, an independent lubricant blender based in St. Rose, La. Quantz formed Pure PET along with the owners of Howes Lubricator, a marketer of diesel and automotive additives based in Coventry, R.I. Howes is currently Pure PETs biggest customer, but the new company is working to secure other business. For the moment, Pure PET is contracting out the work of making and filling its bottles, but Quantz said the company plans to buy its own manufacturing equipment this month.
Quantz acknowledged that a PET marketer has some issues to overcome. In addition to costing more, PET is not conducive to making bottles with offset necks – the design of choice in the automotive lube market.
But were looking at some unique equipment now that makes it easier to do offset necks using PET, Quantz said. He and his new partners hope that will help the plastic to gain some new popularity.