Graham Packaging Unveils Revolutionary Technology in New Active Transverse Panel Bottle

Graham Packaging Unveils Revolutionary Technology in New Active Transverse Panel Bottle
Graham Packaging Company, L.P., a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of customized blow- molded plastic containers, has unveiled a revolutionary new technology that gives customers design freedom and flexibility in creating a packaging identity never before available in plastic.

Graham Packaging's proprietary Active Transverse Panel (ATP) bottle is the first panel-free hot-fill polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle.

"The Holy Grail of hot-fill is to eliminate vacuum panels and achieve design freedom without being encumbered by the geometry of panels - and this is exactly what we have done," said Paul J. Bailie, director of business development for Graham Packaging. "This is what everyone has been striving for, and it's aimed directly at conversion from glass to plastic."

Graham Packaging's first offering using the ATP technology is a 15.2-ounce bottle that looks like glass, and "because it has subtle, simple lines unimpeded by vacuum panels, we have named it 'Simple Eloquence,'" Bailie said. "Other more radical designs are on the drawing board for future release."

The initial version of the bottle has been adopted by Honest Tea of Bethesda, Maryland, which produces a line of organic teas, and Malibu Beach Beverage Group, L.L.C., of Roswell, Georgia, which produces Malibu Beach drinks. Production