Project Background & Existing Challenges

ALCA specializes in paper cup manufacturing. However, as local paper cup sales increased, demand for matching plastic lids also grew. They wanted to enter the cup lid market with a relatively modest initial investment, validate the market first, and expand capacity later as demand developed.

Therefore, the project presented several practical considerations:

• A complete high-speed, multi-station cup lid production line would require a substantial upfront investment, creating greater financial risk before order volumes were fully established.
• The customer needed to process PP, PET, and HIPS, while frequent changes in lid styles also placed pressure on mold costs.
• Most of the existing workshop space was already occupied by paper cup equipment, so a compact machine was required.
• As order volumes for the new business could fluctuate, the equipment needed to accommodate both sample production and small- to medium-batch manufacturing.

Project Timeline

In June 2025, the customer contacted Amtop after seeing a plastic thermoforming machine video on social media. After the initial inquiry, the customer visited Amtop’s factory and ran sample trials using PP, PET, and HIPS materials. After confirming the solution, they purchased the plastic lid thermoforming machine to establish initial cup lid production capacity.

Customized Solution

• The compact thermoformer keeps the initial equipment investment manageable, suitable for testing a new cup lid market before expanding capacity as demand grows and helping reduce investment risk.
• One plastic thermoforming machine can stably produce PP, PET, and HIPS cup lids, with convenient material changeover for different production requirements.
• Lower mold development costs and quick mold changes allow quicker response to frequent changes in lid styles.
• The compact design requires little floor space and can be installed in available areas of the existing paper cup workshop without major factory modifications.
• Flexible production capacity supports both sample development and small- to medium-batch production.

Project Outcome

This project enabled the customer to supply both paper cups and matching plastic lids while adding a new revenue stream with a relatively modest initial investment. The thermoformer’s multi-material production capability also allows the customer to meet different product requirements. At the same time, the customer can build up practical product and market data from its initial cup lid business, providing a basis for future capacity expansion.