Rebirth in Hong Kong: From Dessert Shop to Industrial Empire

Chapter 51 Achilles' Heel (First Update of 10,000 Words)
Gao Zhenhai acted quickly.

Under Professor Zhou's guidance, he quickly identified the Italian Sacmi hot filling production line as his procurement target and began intensive negotiations.

The other party quoted HK$38, and with the accompanying vacuum degassing tank, cooling tank and locally assembled filling station, the total budget was close to HK$50.

After several rounds of difficult back-and-forth battles.

Relying on Chen Kee's growing reputation and the promise of future orders, Gao Zhenhai managed to push the price down to HK$45, with the delivery date set for one month later.

After reviewing the contract, Chen Bingwen signed it and paid the first deposit.

The bottled sugar water project has taken a substantial step forward.

At the same time, the glass bottle supplier was also confirmed; it was a long-established glass factory located in the New Territories.

The bottle has a simple and elegant design, with the "Chen Ji" logo and product name embossed on the bottle body. The cap is a twist-off anti-theft aluminum cap, and its sealing performance has been tested and fully meets the standards.

Everything is ready; all that's left is for the core hot filling production line to arrive.

However, just when Chen Bingwen thought the technical difficulties had been overcome, new problems emerged on the simulated production line in the R&D center.

In order to optimize the process as much as possible before the equipment arrived, Professor Zhou's team used the existing rudimentary equipment to continuously conduct small-batch simulated production.

The first few batches of samples were very successful, meeting the standards for sterility and flavor.

However, problems arose during the tenth batch of simulated production.

Although the aluminum caps of several bottles appeared to be tightened, a test with a special torque tester revealed insufficient sealing strength, and two of the caps even showed slight deformation at the edges.

"What happened?" Professor Zhou asked gravely.

Insufficient sealing of the cap means a significantly reduced product shelf life and may even lead to microbial contamination, which is a fatal problem.

"Perhaps after filling while hot, the syrup remaining at the bottle opening becomes more viscous upon cooling, affecting the tightening and sealing effect of the aluminum cap?"

Master's student Xiao Yang speculated, "It's also possible that the pressure control of our simple capping machine is unstable..."

"Investigate the cause immediately!" Professor Zhou ordered. "At the same time, immediately notify the glass bottle factory to send over a batch of samples with higher precision bottle mouth dimensions!"

Also, contact Sacmi's technical support and consult about the matching requirements of their professional hot-fill capping machines for bottle necks and caps!

When the issue was reported to Chen Bingwen, he had just finished processing several documents.

"A problem with the bottle cap sealing technology."

Chen Bingwen rubbed his temples.

He knew that these technical barriers in the details were often more difficult to overcome than macro-strategic ones.

It requires repeated experiments and debugging, and may even require replacing parts or adjusting process parameters.

"What did Professor Zhou say?" he asked Gao Zhenhai, who had come to report.

Professor Zhou said the problem is quite complex and may involve many factors such as filling temperature, bottle mouth design, cap material, and capping equipment pressure.

They are doing their best to investigate, but it may take time, and may require additional investment to improve equipment or bottles. Gao Zhenhai's tone was heavy.

After a moment of silence, Chen Bingwen decisively said, "Let's go, let's go take a look at the production line."

"Yes, Brother Wen!" Gao Zhenhai hurriedly followed Chen Bingwen straight to the R&D center.

Beside the temporary simulated production line in the R&D center, Professor Zhou held a glass bottle that had just been unscrewed. Some viscous sugar water remained at the bottle opening, and a fine ring of sugar stains was clearly visible on the inside of the cap.

This situation further confirms that the lid is not properly sealed.

"Chen Sheng, look." Upon seeing Chen Bingwen, Professor Zhou handed him the bottle and cap he was holding. "In the eleventh batch of simulated production, the loss rate remains high, close to 15%."

The problem lies in the seal of the bottle cap.

Chen Bingwen took the bottle and carefully examined the seemingly ordinary twist-off aluminum cap.

The bottle cap has a smooth surface, which makes it very slippery when it gets wet with sugar water or sweaty hands. If the worker is not careful or applies uneven force, it may not be tightened properly.

More importantly, when the aluminum cap material cools and shrinks after hot filling, the slight tolerance or difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion and contraction between it and the glass bottle mouth can easily cause the sealing ring to not fit completely, forming gaps that are difficult to see with the naked eye.

“We’ve tried adjusting the filling temperature, cooling speed, and even changing suppliers for different batches of bottles and caps,” Professor Zhou said, pointing to a pile of discarded caps next to him. “The results were not ideal.”

The loss rate can only be reduced to a minimum of 10%, and that is under strict laboratory conditions.

Once mass production begins, even slight fluctuations in worker operation or equipment stability could cause the loss rate to soar to 20% or even higher!

A 20% loss rate!

Chen Bingwen's heart sank.

This means that for every five bottles of syrup produced, one may be scrapped due to sealing issues or pose a food safety risk.

This will not only cause huge waste of raw materials and packaging, but will also seriously drag down the profit margin of the bottled sugar water project, and may even ruin the reputation that Chenji has just built due to quality problems.

"Aren't there any other alternatives?" Chen Bingwen asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the various bottles and jars in the laboratory. "Like corks? Or caps made of other materials?"

Professor Zhou shook his head with a wry smile: "Cork stoppers are expensive, their sealing performance is not necessarily better, and they don't fit our positioning of convenient and ready-to-drink products."

Other materials, such as plastic caps, are more prone to deformation and have poorer sealing performance under high-temperature filling conditions.

The twist-off aluminum caps we currently use are already the most mainstream choice for hot-fill beverages on the market.

“Mainstream doesn’t mean perfect.” Chen Bingwen’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was unusually firm. “Since the existing ones can’t solve the problem, we must find or create something better!” He immediately ordered, “Ah Hai! Contact all the bottle cap suppliers you can find right now, from Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Europe and America!”

Get me all the bottle cap samples available on the market for hot-fill beverages, regardless of material or structure!
Professor Zhou, please conduct simultaneous testing on your end to see if there's any way to control the loss rate to within 5%!

Over the next few days, the R&D center turned into a bottle cap expo.

Gao Zhenhai mobilized all his connections, even contacting international suppliers through Fang Wenshan, and a steady stream of bottle cap samples of various shapes and materials were delivered to Professor Zhou's team.

There are traditional smooth aluminum caps, aluminum caps with a raised "anti-theft ring", plastic screw caps, and even tin crown caps that resemble soda bottles.
Professor Zhou led his team to test day and night, simulating filling, cooling, storage, and transportation vibrations, and then opening each lid to check the seal.

The result was disappointing.

The smooth aluminum cap has the highest loss rate, easily exceeding 20%.

Those with anti-theft rings are slightly better, but the risk still hovers around 15%, and they are easy to cut your hand when opening the lid.

Plastic screw caps deform severely at high temperatures, resulting in the worst sealing performance.

The crown cap does provide a good seal, but it requires a bottle opener to open, which is not suitable for immediate consumption.

“The best one is this aluminum cap with a ring of fine vertical grooves,” Professor Zhou said, holding up a sample from Japan. “The loss rate is barely reduced to 8-9%, but it still requires a lot of force to open, and the processing precision of the bottle mouth and cap is extremely high, which also increases the cost.”

8-9%!

It still far exceeds Chen Bingwen's bottom line.

He picked up the Japanese sample; there was indeed a ring of fine vertical lines on the side of the bottle cap, which increased friction, but the effect was limited.

He tried to twist it open, and his fingertips were painfully poked by the smooth metal edge.

“It’s still not good enough,” Chen Bingwen muttered to himself, his fingers unconsciously stroking the smooth surface of the bottle cap.

The effortless, smooth feel of opening a beverage bottle in my past life, the textured design on the bottle cap to increase friction... and so on!

A sudden inspiration struck Chen Bingwen.

He remembered!
The design that can be seen everywhere in later generations, with densely textured anti-slip patterns on the sides of bottle caps!

That design not only greatly increases friction, but also makes opening the lid easy and effortless.

More importantly, those raised lines provide a more even distribution of force during the tightening process, and also provide a small deformation space when the cap cools and shrinks, thus ensuring a better fit of the sealing ring!

He frantically searched his memories of his past life.

The diamond-shaped anti-slip pattern that can be seen everywhere since the 1980s, the solid resistance felt by the fingertips when opening the lid, and the near-zero loss sealing miracle on the production line.

At that moment, in the context of Hong Kong Island and even the global supply chain landscape in 1978, this solution combining microstructural mechanics and ergonomics was a blank slate.

Behind this technological gap lies the beverage giants' compromise with the existing supply chain, and even more so, their ingrained mindset that "bottle caps are nothing more than sheet metal with a sealing ring."

"Professor Zhou!" Chen Bingwen suppressed his excitement, "We don't need to find a replacement!"

"Let's build one ourselves!"

He grabbed the paper and pen on the table and quickly began to sketch.

A standard aluminum bottle cap outline appears, but on its side, it is decorated with dense, evenly spaced diamond-shaped raised patterns! The pattern is perpendicular to the direction of unscrewing to ensure maximum friction.

“Look! Like this!” Chen Bingwen pushed the sketch in front of Professor Zhou. “Add this dense anti-slip texture to the side of the bottle cap!”

The material is still aluminum, but the structure has changed!
This texture greatly increases the friction between your fingers, making it easier to open the lid.

More importantly, these protrusions provide better stress distribution and space for micro-deformation during tightening and cooling, potentially significantly improving sealing performance!

Professor Zhou stared at the sketch, his eyes widening in disbelief!
As a professional, he instantly understood the brilliance of this design!
Increasing friction is obvious, but the idea of ​​stress distribution and micro-deformation space breaks out of the traditional mindset!
"Genius! Mr. Chen, this is simply a brilliant idea!" Professor Zhou's voice trembled with excitement. "This kind of micro-innovation in structure is entirely feasible!"
And it's not difficult to implement! It only requires modifying the stamping structure of the bottle cap mold!

"Immediately!" Chen Bingwen said decisively. "Ah Hai! You go yourself and find the best mold factory in Hong Kong!"
Show them this sketch and tell them that I want to see a sample of this anti-slip textured bottle cap as soon as possible!

money is not a problem! "

The mold factory responded faster than expected.

At Chen Bingwen's request for "expedited processing and high compensation," the first batch of aluminum bottle cap samples with diamond-shaped anti-slip embossing was urgently delivered to the R&D center just three days later.

In the laboratory, everyone's heart was in their throat.

Professor Zhou personally performed the high-temperature sterilization and vacuum degassing of the prepared mango pomelo sago, and then carefully poured it into specially made glass bottles.

The scalding hot sugar water was poured in, and the bottle opening was instantly enveloped in hot steam.

The worker, wearing thick gloves, picked up a bottle cap with a brand-new anti-slip texture, aligned it with the bottle opening, and screwed it on tightly.

The textured surface clearly pressed against the fingertips, providing an unprecedentedly secure grip.

The tightening process was exceptionally smooth, with even pressure.

"Sealing complete!" the worker reported.

　Thank you everyone for your support!! First order reached 1280. Absolutely perfect!
　　Many thanks to Brother Tiger KK and Brother Kai_eB for their generous and long-term support!

　　Thank you so much, Big Green Duck, for the generous donation!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)