Skip to main content
First Circle

Pioneering packaging excellence,
packaging reimagined.

We design and manufacture bespoke bottles tailored to the needs of our customers. We pride ourselves on our constant investment into R&D, to create intelligent, lightweight and high-quality packaging solutions. Decades of bottle-making and a string of UK industry firsts.

Our capabilitiesIndustry firsts

R&D, the First Circle way.

Decades of product investment, research and development pioneered by our remarkable people.

  • Lightweighting

    Less material. Same reliability.

    We design bottles to perform with less plastic, without compromising the strength, handling or product protection our customers need. By reducing weight where it matters, we help improve efficiency across production, transport and the wider supply chain.

  • Design intelligence

    Engineered before it is made.

    Every bottle starts with careful thinking. Our team uses experience, software and analysis tools to review shape, size, strength and performance before a mould is cut, helping customers move from idea to production with confidence.

  • Material innovation

    Smarter materials. Better packaging.

    We work with HDPE, PET and PCR materials across dairy, food, homecare, personal care and industrial markets. From recycled content to layered structures and tailored polymer blends, we use decades of bottle making knowledge to create packaging that works in the real world.

Extrusion blow-moulding cell in operation

6 steps to extrusion blow moulding.

Our rigid plastic packaging is manufactured using extrusion blow moulding, the most effective process for reclosable liquid containers with narrow necks and pouring elements, which is most of what our customers ask us for.

  1. 01

    Extrude the parison

    Heated polymer is extruded over a die to form a parison.

  2. 02

    Clamp and seal

    The tool closes around the parison, clamping to form a seal.

  3. 03

    Blow to shape

    A blow pin injects air into the parison, shaping it to the tool.

  4. 04

    Cool and trim

    The bottles are cooled in the tool and waste trimming is recycled.

  5. 05

    Test and inspect

    Bottles are leak tested and visually inspected by engineers.

  6. 06

    Pack for filling

    Bottles are finally packed into bags or trays, ready for filling.

UK industry firsts.

Moments where our R&D shifted the wider industry. Each from one team, one company. Reimagining packaging as we know it.

  • 2007

    Recycled HDPE for dairy.

    A world first. We introduced rHDPE to the dairy industry, opening the door to closed-loop milk packaging at scale.

  • 2012

    Lightweighting at scale.

    Lightweighting introduced to the UK dairy sector. Material savings without sacrificing strength or shelf-life.

  • 2013

    30% rHDPE four-pint.

    The first four-pint milk bottle made with 30% recycled material. A UK industry first.

Where to next.