PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2010

BOTTLING / FILLING 22 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 06/10 www.petpla.net New 3-litre bottle with recessed grip Henkel plant in Vienna launches new PET bottle line Henkel’s Vienna plant has recently brought a new KHS Cor- poplast InnoPET Blomax 8 CL PH line into production, which is designed to meet the company’s specific requirements for various PET bottles between 1l and 3l capacity and with a new design of user-friendly recessed grip. The new line has resulted in lower manufacturing costs, more flexible produc- tion planning and a further reduction in the production area footprint. Detergents and cleaning agents for Austria and Eastern Europe The Henkel plant in Vienna manu- factures detergents and cleaners, which are distributed in Austria and 18 countries in Eastern Europe, includ- ing Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. About 20% of production is for the Austrian market. Henkel says it is the leading manufacturer in Austria for detergents and cleaning agents, with Persil, Dixan, and Weißer Riese among the top five detergent brands. It also makes Pril liquid dishwasher detergent; Somat dishwasher deter- gent; Silan fabric softener; Fewa spe- cial detergent; and other products for Eastern European markets. The Vienna plant produces 140,000t of liquids and about 80,000t in powder form each year and is the largest Henkel laundry detergent and cleanser plant in the world. Produc- tion is planned to increase to 230,000t during 2010, led by liquid and gel laundry detergents and cleansers. Productivity gains have to come from efficient and space-saving plant tech- nology. ‘Next-generation’ stretch blow moulding The Vienna plant already has four KHS Corpoplast stretch blow mould- ers and a fifth is on order. An InnoPET Henkel and KHS Corpoplast have been working together for decades. Those involved in the part- nership include Wolfgang Hlavacek, engineering manager at HCEE (Henkel Central Eastern Europe, left), Martin Bachmayer, production manager at the Henkel plant in Vienna (right), and Björn von Leng- erke, general sales manager for KHS Corpoplast. Henkel is an international com- pany employing about 50,000 employees and with a distribution area covering 125 countries. It is active in three business sectors: detergents and cleaning agents; cosmetics and body care products; and adhesive technology. Its plant in Vienna, Austria, began producing stretch blow moulded PET bottles for liquid products in the mid 1990s. Until then, it had manufactured polyethyl- ene, polypropylene, and PVC bottles by extrusion blow moulding. The factory is limited by its surroundings to just 31,500m² (340,000 sq ft); the change to the simpler stretch blow moulding process enabled the site to produce its own PET bottles in less space and to eliminate dependence on converters. Process costs were also reduced and the factory became able to manufacture PET products with more aesthetic appeal.