Beauty packaging supplier Texen (PSB Industries) has signed a non-exclusive partnership with Roctool to use the company’s patented heat-molding technology in its production processes.
Texen says it is using Roctool’s technology with recycled materials for its packs across makeup, skincare and fragrance; in the initial phases it is experimenting with ABS, PP and PET. Production for branded products is underway, but this remains confidential, says the supplier.
Texen first installed Roctool systems—induction generators—earlier this year. “We’re a plug-in technology which connects to existing injection machines,” Roctool CEO Mathieu Boulanger explains to Luxe Packaging Insight.
At the end of 2020, Texen Lab will be equipped with new, ultra-compact Roctool systems, which Boulanger says are designed for smaller tooling. Texen, for its part, said that this equipment will allow it to experiment with new materials.
“The ability to quickly heat the molds makes the moldability of materials, especially PCR, much better in terms of surface quality and flow or for products with very thin walls or those devoid of sink marks—typical defects that can happen not just with PCR, but also with virgin plastics," says Boulanger.
Roctool’s technology, which results in a defect-free matte or glossy surface finish, is said to reduce or even negate the need for secondary operations, such as painting and lacquering, widely used to mask imperfections on the molded part.
Roctool Beauty Solutions launched in January 2020; the company was previously operating mainly in the automotive sector. While Texen is the first supplier to communicate on the use of Roctool’s technology, it is not the company’s only partner in the beauty industry. Watch this space.
