Factor 101: Setting new standards in Lightweight PET Bottles for still Water

With the “Factor 101” PET bottle, KHS and Husky Technologies present a new benchmark in sustainable packaging. Developed in just four months, the ultra-light yet robust container offers significant material savings and production efficiency – ideal for cost-sensitive markets.

KHS, in close collaboration with Husky Technologies, has developed a 591-milliliter PET bottle that weighs just 5.89 grams – approximately 30% less than the typical 7-gram container for still water in the U.S. The innovative design includes a reinforced shoulder area, functional webbing, and a pop-in base that increases internal pressure under load, boosting stability.

Key technical highlights:

• Top load resistance: 220 newtons (industry standard: 200 N)
• Material savings: approx. 30% vs. standard PET bottle
• High-speed output: up to 90,000 bottles/hour

Central to the project’s success was the collaboration with Husky Technologies, a global leader in PET preform injection molding systems. KHS focused on bottle design and stretch blow molding parameters, while Husky refined the preform dimensions to perfectly match KHS’s InnoPET Blomax Series V blow molder. Its precise neck-ring temperature profiling ensures optimal material distribution and stretching, minimizing plastic use.

Frank Haesendonckx (KHS):

“Factor 101 is an excellent example of how we’re combining Husky’s engineering expertise in preform manufacturing with our proficiency in bottle design and production.”

Michael Müller (Husky Technologies):

“We see great benefit in combining our technical expertise and envisage leveraging this for future projects. Here, Factor 101 acts as a starting point for discussion of a lightweight program and optimization of current packaging systems and solutions.”