Personal care product manufacturers are rapidly adopting advanced pigging systems to drive major efficiency gains and meet sustainability goals.
In 2024, there has been a notable surge in demand for HPS Product Recovery Solutions’ Advanced Liquid Product Recovery (Pigging) Technology among these manufacturers. The spike in enquiries reflects a broader shift in the industry towards more efficient and sustainable production methods.
Traditional practices, such as blowing product through pipelines or simply accepting product loss, are rapidly falling out of favour as companies seek to optimise operations and reduce waste.
Pigging technology, which involves using a specialist projectile (the ‘pig’) to recover liquid products from pipelines, has become an essential technology for manufacturers aiming to increase yields, minimise downtime, and enhance overall efficiency. Several factors are driving personal care makers to adopt HPS's advanced pigging systems:
Supply chain disruptions are motivating manufacturers to maximise resource utilisation. Global vulnerabilities exposed by events like the pandemic have led companies to implement pigging, recovering up to 99.5% of residual product from pipelines to mitigate the impact of supply shortages and delays.
Rising costs and inflation are also pressuring manufacturers to eliminate inefficiencies. Pigging technology provides a high ROI by significantly reducing product waste and the need for intensive cleaning procedures that consume time, labour, and resources.
One HPS client has manged to reduce their sanitisation times from 3 hours to 15 minutes using pigging technology!
Consumer demand for sustainably produced products has also increased in recent years. Today’s consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of their purchases and are favouring brands that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability.
Pigging technology supports this shift by enabling manufacturers to reduce their environmental footprint.
By recovering nearly all product from their pipelines, companies cut down on waste and lower their water, chemical, and energy consumption. This aligns with consumer expectations and helps brands to meet regulatory requirements and corporate sustainability goals.
Personal care manufacturers are responding to these pressures by integrating pigging technology into their production lines. The technology is particularly beneficial for manufacturers of viscous products like shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and creams, where even small amounts of residual product can result in significant losses over time.
With pigging, these manufacturers recover more of their product, ensuring that less goes to waste and more reaches the market. A manufacturer achieved 93% waste reduction using HPS pigging systems compared to when using IBCs.
Peter Elgar, Director at HPS Product Recovery Solutions, commented on the trend: “We’ve seen a dramatic uptick in enquiries from personal care manufacturers. They’re increasingly recognising the dual benefits of pigging technology – economic and environmental. Our systems hep them stay competitive in a challenging market while also addressing the growing demand for sustainable production practices.”
To find out more about pigging systems for personal care, contact HPS at info@hps-pigging.com or visit the website.
