"The configuration of our new technology has tripled the speed of the assembly process, and divided the labour content by ten," said Gérald Martines, Crown Risdon's sales & marketing director-Europe.
"This means that costs can be cut by between 15 and 30 per cent, depending on the application," he added.
Crown Risdon, the beauty branch of US and European packaging firm Crown, said it developed the new technology as a way to be able to provide lower-cost benefits to clients whose low product volume would not normally justify the development of an individual automated manufacturing process.
The biggest advantage of the company's latest technology is that the equipment can be adapted for use on different applications, with a quick, efficient changeover, according to Martines.
"We have looked at assembly in a different way, designing a series of independent modules based on independent functions. Unlike the previous generation of processors, which are still largely in use today, our processor can be adapted for use on all products that involve the assembling of two parts," he told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com.
"This has allowed us to provide our customers with the best of both worlds. They are able to benefit from very highly efficient equipment that provides advantages they wouldn't normally enjoy with lower volume. Essentially, they are less penalized for the complexity of their products and the often selective limited production required," he added.
The new equipment is being used for the packaging of new products from two high-end brands, due to hit the market in mid 2006, said Martines, though he could not reveal the company or product names.
Crown Risdon's new equipment is so effective, according to Martines, that it proved a more competitive option for these companies than the low-cost Chinese solutions they had been considering.
The packaging for Plastic Gloss, the new lipgloss products from Christian Dior, reflects the Dior tradition of "uncompromised quality and luxury," said the company in a statement.
The main characteristic of the product's packaging is the thickness of its bottle, which resembles glass rather than plastic, and projects an image of luxury.
This was achieved using a special molding technology, with the neck then added on through the use of an advanced sonic welding technique. This involves the application of high frequency vibrations to heat the chemically compatible materials and results in a "perfectly leak-proof" bond, said Martines.
The product's cap is plated in Crown Risdon's newly developed 'pale gold' colour, a light champagne shade, and is assembled with an acetyl rod and flock-tipped applicator. The cap, rod and applicator are all assembled using the company's new technology.