Origin Materials is advancing the production of PET caps with enhanced features as it moves through the commercial qualification process. These innovative caps were manufactured at a partner facility in Germany using Origin’s proprietary CapFormer System, tailored for producing recyclable PET closures.
Designed with recycled PET to meet the PCO 1881 standard, the new caps incorporate customer-requested enhancements after the successful factory acceptance test of the CapFormer System in September. This commitment to innovation underscores Origin’s dedication to food and beverage packaging excellence.
“The team has been working hard as we approach the end of the year, and we’ve stayed close to our prospective customers every step of the way. As a result, we decided to add a few key new features to our PET caps — chiefly, knurling,” stated John Bissell, co-founder and co-CEO of Origin Materials.
“Knurls improve the grip of the caps, making for a very comfortable consumer experience. The market spoke, and we listened. I am proud of our team’s agility in making it happen,” he continued.
The Origin CapFormer System is currently being prepared for shipment to Reed City, Michigan, where installation is set to take place. Further production of the caps is anticipated to commence in the first quarter of 2025.
“There are two primary advantages for producing these latest caps in Europe before shipping the CapFormer System to its final home in Reed City,” explained Bissell. “First, it allows us to perform customer qualification while we ship the system. By working in parallel, we can accelerate the process. Second, it enables us to collaborate closely with our European equipment partners while integrating these new features, resulting in a more efficient implementation.”
Bissell added, “Having added knurls and made a few other product refinements, such as modifications that enhance our caps’ integration with existing capping machines and bottling lines, we’re now able to expand our customer qualification efforts. We’ve shipped the new caps for commercial qualification, and our momentum with prospective customers remains strong and continues to grow. In fact, today we’re happy to announce a newly signed customer term sheet, alongside our previously announced MOU for over $100 million in PET caps over an initial two-year term. We are diligently working to complete these qualifications, allowing Origin to meet the existing customer demand.”
