CASE STUDY · USA · ZQ40 IBM · PS 100ML CLEAR · KOREA EVER-POWER
IBM Machine in USA:
PS 100ml Clear Container Estudo de Caso de Produção
A US-based plastic container manufacturer selected the Korea Ever-Power EP-ZQ40 injection blow molding machine for crystal-clear PS (polystyrene) 100ml container production supplying US cosmetic and food supplement brands. This case study documents the container specification, the US market driver for glass-alternative clarity in IBM, the ZQ40 machine selection rationale and the production outcomes achieved at the US customer’s facility.
PS 100ml Crystal-Clear
US Market
KOREA EVER-POWER · ANSAN-SI, GYEONGGI-DO · JULHO DE 2026
VISÃO GERAL DO CASO · PARÂMETROS PRINCIPAIS
MARKET
Estados Unidos
US cosmetic and food supplement container market — glass-alternative crystal-clear rigid IBM containers for chain retail and e-commerce channels
MÁQUINA
EP-ZQ40
Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 European-style IBM machine — 400 KN injection clamping force, 40/45mm screw, primary platform for 10-250ml PS IBM at 8-12 cavities
RECIPIENTE
PS 100ml Clear
100ml GPPS injection blow molded container — water-clear transparency (<1% haze), 90-98 GU gloss, for US cosmetic and food supplement display applications
US MARKET DRIVER
Glass-alternative
US brand customers requiring glass-like visual presence in rigid plastic — PS IBM delivers water-clear container at plastic production economics and shatter-free handling
SEÇÃO 01
US Market Context: Glass-Alternative Clear IBM Containers
The US cosmetic and food supplement retail market has a long-established preference for glass packaging in premium and prestige brand positioning — glass communicates purity, quality and product integrity signals that plastic containers historically could not match at the shelf level. The shift to plastic glass-alternative containers in the US market was driven by three overlapping pressures: glass breakage risk in e-commerce fulfilment (USPS and UPS glass breakage rates in DTC shipments of 2-5% creating brand experience and returns cost problems), sustainability positioning requirements (plastic IBM containers at 60-80% less weight than glass equivalent reducing carbon footprint per shipment), and cosmetic brand restaging programs using premium rigid plastic to replace glass without visual sacrifice at retail. PS IBM containers from the Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 IBM machine at <1% wall haze and 90-98 GU surface gloss provide the glass-alternative optical performance that US cosmetic and supplement brand buyers specify when transitioning from glass to rigid plastic primary containers.
US Cosmetic Segment: PS IBM Demand Drivers
US DTC cosmetic brands in the serum, essence and eye cream categories have adopted PS IBM 30-100 ml containers as the primary glass-replacement rigid packaging. Key US brand requirements that PS IBM meets: crystal clarity matching glass (<1% haze), zero parting line on container body (IBM process advantage over EBM and injection-moulded assembly), neck precision for pump fitment (28/410 GPI thread at ±0.05 mm), and volume range 30-100 ml covering the US prestige serum and eye treatment category formats sold at USD 40-200+ retail price points where packaging quality is part of brand equity positioning.
US Supplement Segment: PS IBM for Retail Display
US food supplement brands (vitamins, collagen, sports nutrition) use PS IBM 100-250 ml clear jars and containers for retail chain planogram display where product visibility drives consumer purchase decision. US chain pharmacy (CVS, Walgreens) and mass retail (Walmart, Target) supplement planogram specifications often require the container to show product colour and texture through the container wall — PS IBM’s water-clear transparency meets this requirement while PP IBM’s 5-12% haze produces a milky diffusion that reduces product colour signal in supplement retail display context.
SEÇÃO 02
Container Specification: PS 100ml IBM Clear Container
PS 100ML IBM CLEAR CONTAINER — US CUSTOMER SPECIFICATION
Volume
100 ml
Standard US cosmetic and supplement 100ml round clear container — fills the gap between 60ml serum and 150ml toner formats in US DTC brand container range
Material
GPPS IBM grade
General purpose polystyrene, FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 food contact grade. MFR 3-8 g/10 min IBM processing grade providing clean injection fill at 180-220°C barrel
Clarity
<1% névoa
PS IBM wall haze <1% at 0.55mm body wall — water-clear optical quality verified by ASTM D1003 haze measurement on production samples at US customer facility
Lustro
92-97 GU
60° gloss measurement by ASTM D2457 on PS IBM container body surface — Ra 0.025 um S136 cavity polish on ZQ40 tooling produces 92-97 GU PS IBM surface gloss
Acabamento do braço
24/410 GPI
US standard 24/410 GPI neck finish for cosmetic pump (lotion pump or treatment pump) or disc-top cap — IBM injection-formed at ±0.05 mm OD for US pump component supplier fitment specification
Container Weight
11.5 g ±0.1g
Target weight 11.5 g ±0.1g per 100ml PS IBM container — achieving ±0.9% shot-to-shot weight variation on ZQ40 at 8 cavities, within US customer ±1% specification
SEÇÃO 03
Why ZQ40: Machine Selection for US PS IBM Programme
| SELECTION CRITERION | ZQ40 ★ | ZQ60 | US CUSTOMER RATIONALE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual output (100ml, 8-cav) | ~16M/year (1-shift) | ~24M/year (1-shift) | ZQ40 matched US customer 15-20M/year programme volume at 1-shift operation |
| Machine footprint | 3.5×1.3×1.7 m | 3.8×1.4×1.8 m | US customer facility space constraint favoured ZQ40 compact footprint |
| Capital investment | Mais baixo | Mais alto | First US IBM investment — ZQ40 lower capital risk for new PS IBM programme |
| Multi-format flexibility | High (30-250ml on one ZQ40) | High (50-500ml) | ZQ40 allows US customer to run 30ml serum and 150ml toner PS IBM from same machine via mould changeover |
SEÇÃO 04
PS IBM vs Alternatives for US Clear Container Market
| CRITÉRIO | PS IBM ★ | Glass | PET ISBM | PP RCP IBM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Névoa na parede | <1% (transparente como água) | <0.5% (benchmark) | <1% (transparente como água) | 5-12% (translúcido) |
| Breakage risk | None (plastic) | High — 2-5% DTC breakage | Nenhum | Nenhum |
| Carbon weight | ~12g (100ml) | ~80-120g (100ml) | ~10-14g | ~10-14g |
| Alcohol compatibility (>20%) | Limited — PS not suitable | Excelente | Excelente | Excelente |
| IBM process availability | Yes — ZQ40 standard | N/A (glassblowing) | No — requires ISBM, not IBM | Yes — ZQ40 standard |
PET ISBM vs PS IBM: PET ISBM (injection stretch blow molding) also produces water-clear containers — but ISBM is a different process requiring a two-step preform + stretch-blow machine that is not directly comparable to IBM one-step process on ZQ40. The US customer selected PS IBM over PET ISBM because their US cosmetic brand formulations (aqueous serums and creams at pH 4-7, alcohol content below 10%) are compatible with PS but their bottle volumes (100ml and below) are below the practical minimum for competitive PET ISBM economics.
SEÇÃO 05
Production Results at US Customer Facility
Haze Result
<0.8%
ASTM D1003 measured on production samples from ZQ40 8-cavity PS IBM run — achieving water-clear threshold below 1% across all 8 cavities at US customer facility
Gloss Result
93-97 GU
ASTM D2457 60° gloss measured on ZQ40 PS IBM container body — within US cosmetic customer specification of 90+ GU confirming Ra 0.025 um cavity polish transfer
Variação de Peso
±0.9%
Shot-to-shot weight variation measured across 8 cavities over 2-hour stable production run at ZQ40 US customer facility — within ±1% US customer specification
Tempo de ciclo
4.1 s
ZQ40 stable production cycle at 4.1 s for 100ml PS IBM at 8 cavities — producing 7,024 containers/hour, 56,195 containers per 8-hour US customer shift
SEÇÃO 06
ZQ40 PS IBM: US FDA Food Contact Compliance
FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 PS Food Contact
GPPS for IBM food contact containers in the US must comply with FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 (polystyrene and rubber-modified polystyrene) governing polymer composition, residual styrene monomer content and extractable compounds for food contact use at specified time-temperature conditions. Korea Ever-Power’s pre-delivery documentation for US PS IBM customers includes GPPS resin FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 compliance declaration from the resin supplier and Korea Ever-Power’s production temperature records confirming barrel temperature maintained below 230°C throughout production — the critical FDA-relevant processing parameter for minimising residual styrene monomer in the finished PS IBM container.
California Prop 65 and US Cosmetic Applications
For US cosmetic applications (not direct food contact), PS IBM containers are exempt from FDA 21 CFR food contact regulations when used as cosmetic primary packaging — the applicable US regulation is FDA 21 CFR Part 700 (cosmetics) which specifies that cosmetic containers must not adulterate the product, without the detailed migration testing requirements of food contact standards. California Proposition 65 listed chemicals — styrene is on the Prop 65 list — require US suppliers of PS containers used in California-sold products to review styrene migration data to confirm levels below Prop 65 safe harbor thresholds. Korea Ever-Power provides PS IBM customers with styrene migration data from FDA-methodology extraction testing for US customer Prop 65 compliance review documentation.
Contact Korea Ever-Power in Ansan-si to request the ZQ40 PS IBM technical data package for US cosmetic and supplement market applications, including FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 compliance documentation and production temperature records. The complete Korea Ever-Power IBM machine catalogue covers ZQ40 through ZQ135 for US and global PS, PP, HDPE, ABS and PPSU injection blow molding programmes.
PERGUNTAS FREQUENTES SOBRE ENGENHARIA
US PS IBM — Engineering Questions
Q 01
Why did the US customer choose Korea Ever-Power over US or European IBM machine suppliers?
The US customer evaluated IBM machine suppliers from three regions before selecting Korea Ever-Power ZQ40. US-manufactured IBM machines: the US customer identified limited availability of purpose-built rotary IBM machines from US manufacturers in the ZQ40 capacity range — most US injection moulding equipment suppliers produce injection moulding machines rather than injection blow moulding machines. European IBM machines (German and Italian suppliers): European IBM machines at the ZQ40 equivalent capacity were available but priced at 2.5-4x the Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 capital cost — the US customer’s PS IBM programme economic model did not support European machine capital cost at their 15-20M container/year volume. Korea Ever-Power ZQ40: the US customer selected Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 based on: (1) competitive machine capital cost providing acceptable ROI at their 15-20M/year volume, (2) Korea Ever-Power’s pre-delivery PS IBM production trial at Korea Ever-Power’s Ansan-si facility demonstrating <1% haze PS IBM at 8 cavities before machine payment, (3) Korea Ever-Power’s CE certification on ZQ40 confirming European-standard electrical and safety compliance applicable to US OSHA facility requirements, and (4) Korea Ever-Power’s post-delivery commissioning engineer service available in the US at Korea Ever-Power’s commissioning service terms. The US customer visited Korea Ever-Power’s Ansan-si facility before order placement — the on-site production demonstration of PS IBM crystal-clear quality was the deciding factor in the Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 selection versus European alternative suppliers.
Q 02
What quality inspection process does the US customer use for PS IBM clarity verification?
The US customer uses two parallel PS IBM clarity inspection methods aligned with their US cosmetic brand customer supplier quality requirements. Instrumental haze measurement: ASTM D1003 haze and luminous transmittance measurement on production samples using a BYK-Gardner Haze-Gard Plus or equivalent instrument — measuring each ZQ40 cavity at production startup and at 2-hour intervals during the production run. Accept criterion: haze <1.0% and luminous transmittance >88% for each cavity. Visual inspection under 500 lux directional light: 100% visual inspection of PS IBM containers under 500 lux directional halogen light against a black background for: contamination streaks (residual barrel contamination from previous material), flow marks (barrel temperature too high or too low), and opacity spots (regrind contamination in virgin GPPS charge — an early warning sign of PS supply chain material quality issues). Reject criterion: any PS IBM container showing visible opacity, flow marks, contamination streak, or yellowish tint is rejected and logged as a specific defect category for Korea Ever-Power process optimisation review. The US customer reports zero contamination events since ZQ40 startup following Korea Ever-Power’s PS IBM barrel cleaning protocol for material changeover, and maintains PS IBM haze <0.9% in routine production, below the <1% specification limit.
Q 03
Can the US customer expand to a 30ml serum vial and 150ml toner bottle on the same ZQ40?
Yes — the Korea Ever-Power ZQ40 is specifically configured for multi-format PS IBM mould changeover capability. The US customer’s ZQ40 was specified with Korea Ever-Power’s multi-format mould plate architecture: the injection platen and blow platen are designed to accept mould sets from 30ml through 150ml PS IBM container formats without mechanical modification to the ZQ40 machine. Mould changeover procedure on ZQ40 for 30ml serum vial: remove 100ml mould set (injection cavity set, core rod set, blow mould set — approximately 45-minute mechanical changeover); install 30ml mould set; adjust process parameters (barrel temperature unchanged at 180-220°C for PS; mould temperature unchanged at 20-35°C for PS; injection fill time shorter for 30ml smaller preform volume); run 10-15 startup shots per cavity; inspect under 500 lux directional light; declare production quality. Korea Ever-Power pre-programs all US customer PS IBM format parameters in the ZQ40 HMI recipe storage — the US customer operator calls the 30ml PS IBM recipe from ZQ40 memory after mechanical changeover, eliminating process parameter re-entry risk between format changes. Annual capacity model for US customer at 3 PS IBM formats (30ml, 100ml, 150ml): ZQ40 at 16M containers/year 100ml equivalent allows approximately 22M containers/year at 30ml (higher cavitation count) and 12M containers/year at 150ml — providing the US customer with full format coverage for their US cosmetic and supplement brand customers from a single ZQ40 investment.
Q 04
What US-specific certifications does Korea Ever-Power provide with ZQ40 for US facility installation?
Korea Ever-Power provides the following certification and compliance documentation package with ZQ40 machines supplied to US customers. CE Marking: ZQ40 carries CE marking per EU Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and Low Voltage Directive 2014/35/EU, confirming the machine meets European electrical safety, mechanical guarding, and electromagnetic compatibility standards. CE marking is the standard international electrical and safety certification accepted by US OSHA and NEC (National Electrical Code) facility inspectors for industrial machinery import and installation in the US. UL Listing: Korea Ever-Power provides ZQ40 electrical panel with UL-listed components (UL-certified circuit breakers, contactors and wiring to NEC Article 670 Industrial Machinery standards) for US customers requiring UL panel certification for state or local electrical code compliance. ETL or CSA certification (if requested): Korea Ever-Power can arrange ETL or CSA Listed third-party electrical certification for US customers where facility insurance or state electrical inspection requires NRTL (Nationally Recognised Testing Laboratory) certification beyond CE marking — this is available as an additional certification service on the ZQ40 at the time of machine order. OSHA-compatible guarding: ZQ40 rotary table, injection carriage and blow mould areas are guarded per ANSI B11.0 (Safety of Machinery) safety guarding standards, compatible with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.217 (Mechanical Power Presses) general machine guarding requirements applicable to IBM machines in US industrial facilities.
Q 05
How does Korea Ever-Power provide after-sales technical support to US IBM machine customers?
Korea Ever-Power’s US IBM machine after-sales support model covers four service areas. Remote technical support: Korea Ever-Power provides English-language technical support via email, WhatsApp and video call for US ZQ40 customers during US business hours (Korea Ever-Power engineers in Ansan-si are available 6:00-22:00 KST, covering US Eastern and Pacific time zones morning periods). Remote ZQ40 HMI access via Korea Ever-Power’s VPN remote service system allows Korea Ever-Power engineers to review ZQ40 production process data, alarm history and process parameter settings remotely for US customer troubleshooting without on-site engineer travel time. Spare parts supply: Korea Ever-Power maintains a US spare parts consignment stock at a US logistics partner warehouse for hydraulic seals, injection barrel wear liners, screw flights and electrical components with standard 48-72 hour parts shipping to US customer facilities. On-site commissioning and service: Korea Ever-Power sends a commissioning engineer to the US customer facility for initial machine installation, mould mounting, process parameter setup and operator training. Return visits for major troubleshooting or production changeover support are available at Korea Ever-Power’s US service call rate. 24/7 emergency hotline: Korea Ever-Power’s 24/7 maintenance hotline is available for US customer emergency production support — initial remote diagnosis response within 2 hours, spare parts dispatch within 24 hours for in-stock US consignment items. US ZQ40 customers receive Korea Ever-Power’s US ZQ series spare parts list, US service call rate schedule and remote VPN service access credentials at machine commissioning.
Q 06
What is the lead time for ZQ40 and PS IBM mould set delivery to a US customer?
Korea Ever-Power’s standard delivery lead time for ZQ40 machine and matched PS IBM mould set to US customers is 90-120 days from order confirmation and deposit receipt. Lead time breakdown: ZQ40 machine manufacturing and testing in Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do: 60-75 days including factory acceptance test (FAT) with PS IBM production trial at Korea Ever-Power’s facility. PS IBM mould set manufacturing (injection cavity set, core rod set, blow mould set): 45-60 days concurrent with machine manufacturing. Sea freight from Korea to US West Coast (Los Angeles) or East Coast (New York/New Jersey) ports: 18-25 days depending on US destination port. US customs clearance and inland freight to customer facility: 7-14 days. Total 90-120 day lead time from Korea Ever-Power to US customer facility. Korea Ever-Power provides US customers with a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) report including PS IBM production trial data (haze, gloss, weight variation measured on the US customer’s mould set on the specific ZQ40 machine being shipped) before the machine leaves Ansan-si — US customers can confirm production quality remotely or arrange a Korea Ever-Power facility visit for the production trial before approving machine shipment. Rush delivery (75-90 days) is available for US customers with urgent programme launch schedules at an expedite fee covering prioritised manufacturing scheduling and air freight for mould set if machine is sea-freighted.
US IBM MACHINE ENQUIRY · KOREA EVER-POWER
Planning PS IBM Production for the US Market?
Korea Ever-Power provides EP-ZQ40 IBM machines with US-market CE/UL documentation, pre-delivery PS IBM crystal-clarity production trial, FDA 21 CFR 177.1640 PS compliance package and English-language after-sales support for US cosmetic and supplement PS IBM programmes.
Editor: Cxm
