Sustainable packaging solutions
How is it possible to transform the predominant mode of resource consumption into a sustainable circular economy and what options does the industrial sector have for accomplishing this change are the questions Krones AG are addressing.
The LitePac Top secondary packages from Krones, e.g. as a cardboard clip for non-returnable PET containers or cans, reflect this approach. The LitePac series is produced with a lower energy consumption and less wastage than with shrink-packs, claims the company. The packaging used in LitePac Top can be produced from recycled materials, and after consumption be recycled again.
LitePac Top can be handled using the Varioline 2M packer. The Varioline series offers flexibility with a combination of secondary and tertiary packaging. In all, more than 20 different packaging combinations can be created on a single machine. By using encapsulated, lifetime-lubricated bearings, electric vacuum pumps or a drive system where the braking energy is recovered and re-used for acceleration, the Varioline is claimed to unite sustainability, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Flexibility, brilliant colours and plenty of creative scope in terms of visual and haptic container design are offered by the DecoType direct-printing machine from Dekron. Direct printing enables new designs to be cost-efficiently applied to bottles within a minimised timeframe. By printing the motif directly on the container’s body, the labels, which often consist of plastics, can be dispensed with. Direct printing functions with both virgin PET and bottles made of recyclate. The imprinted bottles themselves can also be recycled again.
And for recovering the plastics involved as well, Krones has a solution in its portfolio. Because the MetaPure recycling systems not only enable PET bottles to be recycled into food-grade PET, but also plastic packages to be recovered and even upcycled.
Krones brought its Interpack booth with all of its exhibits to life in a digital format – true to the original and in 3D. It will be opened on 28th April.
