When a PET toolmaker asked its beverages customers what they wanted most, they replied: better front-end support for projects and a focus on schedule adherence for mould programmes.

When PET tooling specialist R and D Tool and Engineering - who will be appearing at drinktec 2005 in the PETpoint area (stand A6/400) - asked their beverages customers what they saw as the most valuable contributions that mould suppliers could make to their business, the key factors identified were better front-end support for projects and a focus on schedule adherence for mould programmes with the need for competitive costs and high mould quality taken as a given. Whilst some suppliers focus on other services like offering pilot moulds quickly, these two key factors are now the drivers for R and D. Despite having installed state of the art 5-axis machining centres at all their manufacturing facilities worldwide, R and D felt they needed to do more to optimise deliveries for blow moulds and now carry significant stockholdings of blanks for blow moulds for all major machine types in order to be able to supply high volumes of moulds in the fastest possible lead times.

Some of R and D's clients call off over 1,000 blow moulds per year and the operational focus for R and D's blow moulds business is to deliver and commission tools so as to enable their clients to fulfil launch programmes.

With regard to design, R and D has always offered a full service from design to commissioning but has increased their focus on front-end support for customers.

Rather than just highlighting design feasibility issues, R and D now offer Design Audits and Lightweighting Audits to evaluate concepts, designs, preforms and products so as to identify ways to enhance functionality and appearance of products and reduce operational costs and many clients now involve R and D at a concept stage often in advance of selection of processors.

R and D's stand at PETpoint will also feature their renowned products for single stage ISBM and Injection blow moulding including their proprietary hot runner system Genesis which is also now available for use with IBM tooling.