The first barrier PET carbonated soft drinks bottles to be manufactured using a new water-based preform flow coating technology are set for commercial launch in the first half of this year, according to developer Advanced Plastics Technologies.

Advanced Plastics Technologies founder Robert Lee is tight-lipped about the identity of the first customer for this new technology, beyond saying it is an international group. However, PET industry insiders point to Pepsi Cola.

Lee claims his company’s new barrier technology is simple and low cost. The water-based thermoplastic coating is claimed to give a greater than three times improvement in CO2 barrier performance over an uncoated PET bottle in a 12oz (335 millilitre) single-serve size.

Most importantly, however, it integrates into the conventional preform moulding process. “The coated preform can be processed easily in the same way as a normal perform,” he said.

According to Lee, industrial-scale coating equipment, built by Husky and integrated into one of the customer’s production preform moulding systems, is currently undergoing final pre-commercialisation production trials.