Gable Top cartons with tethered caps: Galdi is ready

Gable Top cartons with tethered caps will soon be the norm in Europe!

As laid down by packaging regulations (Directive 2019/904), by 2024 tethered caps will be a requirement for single-use, plastic or bio-based beverage containers with a capacity of up to three litres.

Through its implementation, the European Union aims at reducing the inappropriate disposal of plastic caps in the environment, while encouraging sustainable packaging solutions and recycling, as tethered caps remain attached to the container after opening and during consumption.

Thanks to the collaboration with leading international paper and cap suppliers, Galdi's packaging systems are already ready for the transition, complying with food safety and packaging regulations.

For Galdi packaging machines that are already in operation, adopting the new tethered cap will require a simple upgrade.

Over the last few years, at Galdi we tested all tethered caps available on the market.

Working with cap and carton manufacturers, we developed design solutions that meet the specifications provided by the suppliers themselves (e.g.: carton and cap sealing quality, process robustness).

In order to validate these solutions, we conducted repeated acceptance and DYE testing, assessing compliance with standards and performance repeatability - besides food safety and packaging regulations.

This in-depth research has enabled us to considerably reduce installation time, for both new and upgraded packaging machines.

Alongside the support from our Sales Engineers, customers can also rely on FILL good for expert advice on food safety, packaging development and sustainable packaging solutions.

FILL good specialists are on hand to offer assistance in the transition to the new cap type through a range of services, including:

• Product/cap/Gable Top cartons compatibility assessment. Since tethered caps are plastic caps with no membrane, shelf life validation and analysis are required.
• Supply of samples to conduct testing at the customer’s production site
• Shelf life validation
• Recommendations on the best tethered cap suppliers based on customer requirements

If your cap supplier has already rolled out tethered caps, the transition is quick and inexpensive.

Thanks to the research and development work conducted by Galdi designers, configuring packaging machines for Gable Top containers with tethered plastic caps requires very little work.

Ahead of the transition to the new cap - which is definitely another step forward in making Gable Top cartons an even more sustainable packaging solution - some beverage manufacturers are thinking about packaging redesign too - you can do it with the support of our packaging development experts.

The tendency - according to beverage packaging trends - is to prefer bigger, more practical caps, especially for higher viscosity products like yogurt.

Adapting your filling machine to both a redesigned container and cap requires more careful configuration, but it's definitely a great opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd!