Rebhan selects The Glass Polymer™ from Eastman for new cosmetics bottles

CAPELLE A/D IJSSEL, THE NETHERLANDS - New Rebhan containers made of The Glass Polymer™, an innovative plastic from Eastman Chemical Company, deliver cost, weight and aesthetic advantages over glass.

Rebhan Group (Germany), a European leader in the design, development and manufacture of plastic bottles, has introduced a range of new bottles in standard shapes for the cosmetics and personal care market. The thick-walled bottles are available in 3 distinctive formats: "Square", "Round" and "Oval" and have been extrusion blow moulded in The Glass Polymer resin from Eastman Chemical Company.

Unique for this type of application is the way Rebhan has used the Extrusion Blow Moulding process to produce bottles that have not only thick and rigid walls with high clarity but also a very thick bottom. In addition, they have managed to create a 'water droplet' shape for some of the bottles i.e. the inside surface has a rounded shape at the bottom which makes it really look like glass. Additionally thanks to the high quality of the mould and the processing expertise of Rebhan, these bottles have almost invisible welding lines, even when several millimeters thick.

“The Glass Polymer resin gives us the opportunity to blow mould thick-walled bottles with the shine and feel of glass but without compromising the polymer’s inherent mechanical properties,” says Dr. Matthias Rebhan, Director for Rebhan. “Using these properties allows us to combine the advantages of plastic with the value and aesthetics of glass to create an impressive effect.”

"That special qualities such as high transparency and excellent break resistance speak volumes for Glass Polymer is easy to understand. More surprising is the fact that these thick-walled bottles also offer a decisive cost advantages over glass — particularly when they require colouration or decoration. We are able to realise colours for quantities as low as 10,000 - which is a major advantage for containers such as these. Generally speaking, the weight factor also means lower logistics costs as compared to glass."

The Glass Polymer resin is helping to push the limits of packaging design, from glass-like containers in simple forms to the most complex of shapes, such as bottles with integrated handles. Moreover, through extrusion blow moulding they can be produced more economically and with greater flexibility, even in lower-volume production runs. The Glass Polymer resins are highly versatile plastics that deliver superior design flexibility and stunning clarity for extraordinary, added-value packaging solutions. Their excellent chemical resistance makes them highly-suited for cosmetic and personal care applications.

Dr. Matthias Rebhan: "The spectrum of possible applications for these types of containers is wide. Typical uses are found in personal care, beauty and cosmetics products. Indeed, we are currently working on three definite projects with big-name customers at the top end of the cosmetics market."

Vincent Gugumus, responsible Global Marketing Manager Cosmetic and Personal Care, Eastman Chemical, comments: “We introduced a new grade of The Glass Polymer specifically for extrusion blow moulding technologies. It is thanks to this development and Rebhan’s expertise in exploiting the full potential of our new material, that they have been able to launch these attractive, thick walled containers which meet the high standards of the cosmetics and personal care markets.”

“Although the bottles look and feel like glass, they are considerably lighter and shatter-proof,” adds Dr. Rebhan, referring to the high strength and ductility of The Glass Polymer. “While this gives our customers an important logistical benefit in the form of lower transportation costs, it also minimizes their product liability risk associated with breakage, spillage and potential personal injury.”

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