Coca-Cola invests in returnable PET line in Bad Neuenahr, Germany
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany (CCEP DE) is planning to re-commission a currently unused returnable PET line at its German Bad Neuenahr site next year for the bottling of carbonated soft drinks such as Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite and the sugar-free variants. To this end, the company is investing about 15 million euros in new plant components. Central components of the line – the filler and the washing machine – are already in place.
Constantly high demand for returnable 1-litre PET bottles
The returnable PET line is to be put back into operation due to the constantly high demand for Coca-Cola beverages in the 1-litre returnable PET bottle. The existing production capacities for beverages in returnable PET bottles at nine of Coca-Cola’s 14 regional production sites in Germany are heavily utilised. With the additional line, seasonal peaks in demand as well as maintenance and repair work on the other 12 refillable PET lines in the German production network can be better cushioned in the future.
Delivery of the new line components in summer 2024
Until the beginning of 2021, mineral water of the Apollinaris brand was bottled on the line in Bad Neuenahr. From autumn of next year, it will then be carbonated soft drinks. In order to be able to produce the soft drinks, new components and line parts such as a fill level meter, bottle inspectors and packers and unpackers have to be installed and the connection to the supply areas such as the syrup room has to be established. The new line parts complete the existing centrepieces at the site – the filler and washer. They are expected to be delivered in the summer of 2024.
Beverages in returnable PET bottles
The filling line will have a capacity of up to 36,000 bph. From Bad Neuenahr, customers in the west of Germany will increasingly be supplied with Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Mezzo Mix as well as the sugar-free variants in 1-litre PET returnable bottles. With the re-commissioning of the production line, almost 30 new jobs are to be created at the site in production and related areas such as quality assurance, warehousing and maintenance.
