Plastic bottle crates such as this one, are closely tied to the global circulation of soft drink bottles. Not just functional, they also serve as brand ambassadors. Having slowly replaced the old wooden crates, these containers emerged in the mid-20th century. According to some sources the first inventor of plastic crates was the German Alexander Schoeller, who was a producer of wooden crates for beverages. In 1959, he first began to use plastic to hold beer bottles. The increased interest in plastics and technology of plastic injection – moulding machines made possible the rapid acceptance and production of such crates. With changes in bottle shapes and sizes, the crate designs also slowly changed. Light, functional and easy to grasp, these containers could also be stacked easily by the retailers.
