Last year, Fowler Products (www.fowlerproducts.com), powered by Pro Mach and Zalkin sponsored the Application Fundamentals of Aluminum Closures (AFAC) conference, a non-commercial symposium attended by a who’s who of Spirits, Wine, Beer and Soft Drink brand owners. The conference delivered information on what it takes to successfully implement projects associated with roll-on-pilfer-proof (ROPP) aluminum closures. The more than 60 attendees had an intensive day and a half immersion into the fundamentals responsible for a successful marriage of bottle, cap, and capping heads machine. The success of this first AFAC has prompted organizers to begin planning a follow up conference in the near future.
Aluminum bottle closures, often called “screw caps” in the wine industry, or by the Amcor brand name, “Stelvin caps”, are, in actuality, ROPP closures that are available from a host of manufacturers. The original ROPP technology was developed nearly 50 years ago in France and was used on many packages before the introduction of the plastic screw-on cap. Over the past decade, however, ROPP closures have been regaining widespread acceptance in the wine and spirits industries as well as some speciality beverages and food products, such as olive oil, and most recently, for aluminum bottle applications for carbonated beverages, including soft drinks and beer.