AptarGroup, Inc, a global leader in dispensing, drug delivery and active packaging solutions, and Nippon Closures Co., Ltd. (NCC), a leading company in Japan for bottle closures, announced that they have entered into an exclusive partnership to cross-license technology for tethered beverage closures. This is the first cross-license, registered intellectual property exchange between NCC and Aptar. The companies intend to expand this exchange into other areas as well.

Together, Aptar and NCC are working to continuously improve the consumer drinking experience, while also creating solutions for beverage closures that are better for the environment.

Flip Lid by Aptar is a consumer friendly dispensing closure designed to promote post use recycling as the closure remains united with the bottle throughout its lifecycle, making it more likely to be collected and sent through the recycling stream with the container.

NCC’s innovative StrapBand solution is also a tethered solution available for today’s flat caps which provides a hinge functionality with a wide opening angle and a click sound when tethered. The StrapBand solution can be applied to flat caps and sports caps, for both still and carbonated beverages.

“We are pleased to partner with NCC on the cross-licensing of registered intellectual property for tethered beverage closures as we look to grow our portfolio of dispensing closures that are more convenient for consumers and more sustainable for the environment. Aptar and NCC are committed to keeping beverage caps attached to the bottle to promote better recyclability and we look forward to working together to bring even more innovative solutions to market,” said Marc Prieur, President, Aptar Food + Beverage.

“We are delighted to start our partnership with Aptar with a cross-license agreement between our tethered beverage closures (Flip Lid and StrapBand) which provide the value of being environmentally friendly and convenient to use. We believe that, in the future, our cooperation will allow us to further develop innovative technologies beyond tethered beverage closures to help solve social environmental problems with more eco-friendly, easy to use and resource-energy saving products,” explained Hisashi Nakajima, President, Nippon Closures Co., Ltd.

Flip Lid and StrapBand meet the requirements of the single-use plastics (SUP) regulation in Europe, that introduced design requirments to connect caps to bottles, thereby increasing the number of closures which are collected and recycled, and the AB 319 California proposal in the US, which intended that plastic closures remain attached to containers. Aptar and NCC remain committed to reducing their impact on the planet while creating top quality, sustainable products.