PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2011

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 8 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 06/11 www.petpla.net Gerolsteiner gets together with Strautmann A partnership of the first water Gerolsteiner has for many years enjoyed the status of a popular brand of mineral water. Gerolsteiner mineral water owes its special quality to its origins to the unique geological properties of the volcanic Eifel region. Every day up to 2.3 million glass and PET bottles are filled with mineral water and with natural soft drinks on a mineral water base. As a rule the recyclable PET containers are separated out after eight trips when they have to be sent for recycling. In the past the bot- tles used to be disposed of by compressing into bales, now the company is investing in fully automatic briquetting instal- lations with an automatic distribution system. The systems were installed with no interruptions to production. One special feature of the system is the satellite distributor at the bri- quette discharge point. Up to three containers can be filled to a uniform level. Delivery to the handover points is a fully automatic operation featuring level scanning. The signals relating to the level to which the containers are filled can, if required, be transmitted directly to the container company and the haulier. Strautmann also supply distribution systems with integrated calibrated scales so as to ensure that the effective load is determined at the point of collection. The high quantities of material for compaction call for a reliable machine. 24/7 availability As Gerolsteiner produce round the clock, those responsible have decided in favour of 2 redundant devices with reduced capacity. Main- tenance and service work can there- fore be carried out during current production and there is resulting idle time. The press is filled automatically via the suction unit. In addition, up to 1,000 bottles can be incorporated in a single fill using a tilt and turn forklift. Decision Criteria A number of reasons prompted Gerolsteiner to go for the Strautmann option.  Servicing and maintenance are regularly carried out by Straut- mann.  Thanks to the optimisation of inter- nal logistics there are savings of 2-3 hours in working time, as the need to use a forklift is eliminated. The line is fully automatic meaning that operation of the presses is one shift per day.  Transport costs are reduced.  Finally the briquettes are highly marketable. Compaction of foils and cardboard packaging Gerolsteiner also use a compart- ment baling press made by Straut- mann for disposing of foils. In this way bale weights of up to 550kg can be achieved. Bales of foil BrikPress: manual and automatic filling of the two presses using a hopper