Bottle to fool wine drinkers

By GEORGINA BOND

A mini plastic wine bottle is opening a new market in the sky for Auckland manufacturer LinkPlas.

The "Pettle", a 187ml plastic bottle that has the look and feel of glass, is now served on Air New Zealand's transtasman flights.

LinkPlas rose to the challenge held out by the airline four years ago to develop a plastic wine bottle with all the aesthetics of glass and that passengers would not suspect was an imposter.

Advantages to the airline include significant savings on weight and fuel, improved speed of inflight drink service and safety.

Although plastic wine bottles have been produced before, none has been able to offer a satisfactory shelf life for wine or such a close resemblance to glass as the Pettle.

The bottles were introduced on Air NZ flights a year ago and provide per-bottle weight savings of 120g over glass.

LinkPlas managing director Steve Morrison said that being able to develop the product with a six-month shelf life for wine was an important feat. "A lot of people said it couldn't be done - even the machinery supplier said it couldn't be done."

Ensuring the bottle was strong enough to withstand a top load of 150kg while retaining the classic narrow wine bottle neck added to the challenge.

At the moment, Montana's wines are the only ones in the Pettle, but Morrison said there were plans to add new bottle designs and other brands soon. Similarly, it won't be restricted to Air NZ flights. Morrison said he was having discussions with other airlines to use the Pettle and expected to secure new customers soon.

"It's ideal for airline and event use. Although it won't replace glass, it will in some areas. It's also great for boating," he said.

The company is still developing the Pettle and aiming to double the shelf life to 12 months.

If the Pettle takes off, the company will look to expand from its premises in Glenfield, which it is already close to outgrowing.

If Australian and US customers can be secured, Morrison wants to look at manufacturing overseas.

The company specialises in small to medium production runs of high-quality, custom-designed plastic bottles and jars.

Morrison, who has a background in mechanical engineering, started the company in 1998 after spending 10 years working overseas, first in Britain and then with a plastics company in Malaysia.

"Being a typical Kiwi, I decided to come back and start my own thing," he said, in what he saw as a niche opportunity for medium-volume, custom-design work.

The business was difficult to start and was capital-intensive.

"The first machine was delivered the same week as my first child, so it was pretty hectic for me.

"At the factory, I was running the machines while at the same time trying to sell the bottles and manage the finances."

Now, with 13 staff, Morrison is striking a better balance between work and family life. Regular trips to a machinery supplier in Japan have helped him to keep up with technical developments and the company now has four of the latest injection stretch blowmoulding machines.

These run round the clock, churning out about 75,000 bottles a day, mainly for the cosmetic and beverage industries.

The Pettle wine bottle won the food and beverage category at the national plastics industry design awards last month as well as two awards for a range of skincare bottles.