Metals giant Crown is using Interpack to launch its Orbit lid, which, Crown claims, requires around half the force of existing jar lids to open. Lids on jam & other glass jars are one of the hardest forms of packaging to open due to the friction created by the vacuum seal with the jar, which must be overcome when turning the lid. Crown's new launch is a two-piece lid that separates the turning force required from the vacuum. One part is a floating panel that is vacuum sealed to the jar, while the other is a ring that acts to open & reclose the jar. The launch comes at a time when openability is rising up the packaging agenda as the population. While Crown is launching the new lids to the packaging sector at Interpack, they have been on supermarket shelves in the UK for more than a month after their adoption by the jam maker Duerr's. The lids are produced at Crown's Poole site & have taken four years to develop, according to Crown Closures marketing manager Jason Hegarty. He said that the business was considering installing a second production line at the Poole facility for the closures to cope with projected demand. "In the first phase we are targeting brand owners, & private label manufacturers will be the second phase," he said, adding, "The technique would boost shelf stand-out for brands & could also be used as an anti-counterfeiting measure.
