The Polyfoil tube is now available in PET. Dr. Philippe Kern, Head of Material Development, is presenting the latest Neopac developments at the PCD Congress. WEBpackaging here presents all about this new tube in this reprinted interview.

Philippe, why has Neopac developed a new PET tube?

To date, Neopac has produced Polyfoil® PE or Polyfoil® PP tubes that already possess good barrier properties. The Polyfoil PET tube offers the best oxygen barrier of all the Neopac tubes and is particularly impressive because of its high level of resistance against aggressive products. The product only comes into contact with PET materials. The composition of the layers is PET/Aluminium/PET, with the shoulder of the tube made from PET Copolymer. A PET tube does not diffuse any components into the product and similarly does not absorb any of the product’s components. This means that the product does not lose any active substance or aroma.

What are the possible applications for a PET tube?

In the cosmetic sector, the PET tube protects products with rapidly oxidising ingredients such as vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin C. These tubes are ideal for storing aggressive substances such as peroxide and ammonias as well as essential oils. The active substance concentration in the product is preserved long-term because the active substance does not evaporate outside or inside the packaging.

Polyfoil PET has very thin walls, just 0.35 mm thick.  It is nevertheless stable and effective. The tube can be gamma-sterilised without any changes to the material properties. All materials comply with pharmaceutical guidelines.

Barriers are all very well, but what about cosmetic decoration?

The Polyfoil PET tube also offers new options in this respect. Novel coloured pigments are available for the outer layer, which could not be previously incorporated in either PE or PP. Firstly, a highly transparent tube shoulder is possible. Our clients can make a real statement when they use our PET tubes for their products.

How easy is it to produce a PET tube?

PET is processed differently from PE or PP. PET must be dried thoroughly in advance. The material is much more liquid then PE or PP on heating. This makes the production process difficult, especially for the tube shoulder, and called for a new process to be developed. 

And how expensive is the new Polyfoil PET tube?

The PET material is more expensive than the PP and PE materials we processed. We are convinced that the afore-mentioned advantages of this tube outweigh any additional costs.

When will the PET tube prototypes be available?

The prototypes for 10 to 125 ml are available now. Interested customers can already carry out initial tolerance and stability tests.