The United States is home to many of the world’s largest industries and is constantly searching for new and innovative ways to perfect the manufacturing process. Currently, the plastic industry is booming in the United States as it is the third-largest manufacturing industry.
In 2013, roughly 107.5 billion pounds of plastics and resins were manufactured – an increase of 2.4 billion compared to the previous year. Today, the world makes and consumes about 600 billion pounds of plastic annually with a market growth of 5% a year.
There is an incredible usage of plastics in the United States, from clear plastic jugs to colored bottles and molded plastic containers. Plastic is a wonderful material to use for containers as it is lightweight and can hold large quantities of liquid.
Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour, so making plastic bottles efficiently is essential to keep up with demand!
Did you know? Just two pounds of plastic can deliver roughly 10 gallons of a beverage like juice, soda, or water. Three pounds of aluminum, eight pounds of steel, or over 40 pounds of glass would be required to carry the same amount of liquid.
According to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), 5,764 million pounds of PET bottles and jars were available for recycling in 2013. Around 85% of those were used for food and beverages.
It’s no wonder why the U.S. plastics industry employs approximately one million workers and contributes $375 billion to the economy each year. These companies are focused on making plastic bottles quickly and efficiently and utilize different methods in order to do so.
As of today, manufacturing companies can choose between extrusion blow molding, injection blow molding, and stretch blow molding. Standard blow molding machines consist of three major parts: the extruder, accumulator die, and molds which create the different sizes and shapes of containers.
Nearly 16,000 Injection molding and plastic manufacturing facilities can be found in the United States; each state houses these facilities! These plastic bottle manufacturing companies allow for not only the creation of goods that are used by practically everyone in the United States, but they are also responsible for a huge economic contribution!
