The £1m investment (€1.2m) has been made in a 4 colour Kamman fully automatic CNC controlled universal screen printing machine, along with other pieces of kit to support the printing process within the factory, UK Sales Manager, Martene Midwood told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.
This means that APPE can now offer 4 colour screen-printing directly on to differing shapes and size Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles for its customers.
“The bottles and containers are made in the same factory as the printing facility, enabling high quality control as well as a reduced carbon footprint because the bottles are not shipped elsewhere for this service,” Midwood said.
Offers ‘one stop’ service
She explained that it will allow APPE to offer an attractive alternative to other decorative options such as sleeving or labelling, reinforce brand positioning, and customers would benefit from the ‘one stop’ service.
APPE offers recyclable PET bottles and containers, which can also include recycled PET content.
“Along with the print option, this means that we can offer customers in the personal care industry a highly sustainable, recyclable product which will enable them to differentiate their product on the shelves,” said Midwood.
The company also announced it had already secured a long-term contract for printed containers from a ‘leading’ global brand in personal care.
UK installation
Installed at the company’s Gresford factory in the UK, the Kammann printer offers silk screen printing in up to four colours, including special effects such as metallics, on round, oval and conical containers in a wide range of sizes from 40mm to 450mm high.
APPE also owns and operates the largest closed loop PET bottle recycling plant in Europe, and is the only PET bottle and container manufacturer to have such a facility, according to the company.
“This is a major investment which enables us to offer an added value service to our customer base,” added Midwood.