Origin Materials, Reed City Group to produce PET caps and closures in North America

Origin Materials Inc. and Reed City Group, a full-scale injection mold builder, injection molder, hydraulic press maker and automation solutions company based in Reed City, Michigan, have partnered to mass produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle caps and closures in North America.

According to Reed City Group, its Michigan facilities will be used to operate Origin PET cap and closure commercial manufacturing lines. The lines will convert virgin and recycled (rPET) into caps using high-speed equipment and automation.

West Sacramento, California-based Origin says its caps are positioned to be the first commercially viable PET closures to reach the mass market.

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“Together with Reed City Group, we expect to begin mass production of PET caps for the North American region later this year,” Origin co-founder and co-CEO John Bissell says. “We look forward to partnering with the Reed City Group team of over 200 people, including skilled machinists, mechanical engineers and operations professionals with impressive capabilities in tool making and clean room manufacturing.

“Our Reed City Group partnership enables a geographic expansion complementary to our previously announced mass production capability based in Europe," he continues. "We are thrilled to announce this new member of our PET cap manufacturing ecosystem.”

Origin says its PET caps and closures are a “leap forward in packaging,” improving recyclability through cap tethering, enabling lightweighting and extended product shelf life while addressing a more than $65 billion market.

Origin's PCO 1881-compatible caps, which can be made with virgin or rPET, will be available in the fourth quarter of this year, with PCO 1881-compatible tethered caps and other cap types to follow.

“Our company has a long-standing commitment to innovation, and bringing our two companies together to fulfill the market needs of sustainable products is a natural fit,” Reed City Group CEO Guy Boitos says. “We are eager to partner with Origin for this transformative project for years to come.”