PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2013

PET products 38 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 12/13 www.petpla.net Flextronic modular platform Sipa used the opportunity presented by drinktec 2013 to launch Flextronic, its new modular platform. Sipa has, at the same time, developed new EVO filling valves that are designed to be fully integrated and interchangeable on the new platform. The specific model shown at drinktec was Flextronic C, which can handle carbonated, still and hot-fill products, with or without pulp, all on the same line. It can also handle a range of container types; Sipa says it is a simple matter to switch from one neck size to another, for example. The Xfill configuration that was demonstrated has no on-board product tank. When the unit is used for carbonated drinks, the mixing unit tank is used as a buffer. The company claims that the integration of the mixing unit with the filler enables the production of a high quality, stable finished product, with a consequent improvement across the entire filling process, and that its flexibility minimises product loss during flavour changeover. Sipa further asserts that the machine’s new electronic management system reduces total power con- sumption, that carbon dioxide use is cut, and that product losses from the snift circuit have been minimised. The company says that Flextronic C’s improved stability of the product during filling is especially positive for carbon- ated drinks and that the new valve has larger channels for the passage of carbon dioxide and for improved operation with liquids containing pulp and fruit. The valve has been designed for ‘dry’ pressurisation through a separate channel, which enables for faster and steady decompression. Sipa maintains that the Flextronic C integrates very well with its SincroBloc blowing/filling monobloc. www.sipa.it 81,000bph output Krones has announced that several beverage plants in the USA and elsewhere are producing 81,000bph on a single Contiform 3 SC high-speed stretch-blow-moulding machine and dressing and filling them. The monobloc line comprises a blow-moulder, a labeller and a filler and this output level is believed to be the highest ever achieved in the world. Krones says that the latest generation of the Contiform 3 series enables customers to buy small cavity (SC) machines that will produce up to 81,000 containers/hr, subject to a maxi- mum size of 0.75l. the machines are fitted with a newly- developed blow-moulding station that operates entirely without lubrication, which reduces the downtime needed for manual lubrication of the machine by 75%, compared to the previous model, and thus boosts uptime as well. Four Contiform 3 SC machines are already delivering this output at a bottler in the USA. Two more machines have been ordered by another bottler. All six high-speed stretch blow-moulding machines produced so far have been integrated into the Krones ErgoBloc L wet-end monobloc, which also includes Con- tiroll labelling technology with a Multireel automatic reel magazine plus fillers from the new Modulfill series. The individual machines had been optimised before- hand with carefully chosen developments for deployment in a monobloc configuration, and mutually networked using an intelligent control system. Krones says that these design improvements enable the ErgoBloc L to run with total operating costs up to 10% lower than for con- ventional bottling lines, and with a 30% smaller footprint. www.krones.com Multi-role labeller PE Labellers has announced the launch of a new label for the application of tubular roll-mounted sleeve labels. The company claims that its new “compact machine” has the capacity to label containers of any shape and size, made of any material, at production rates up to 30,000bph. PE Labellers further claims that the machine can adapt to varied packaging needs and can shrink labels to a reduced thick- ness, which will save on material costs. The new machine will was premiered at the 25 th edition of the Simei exhibition, in Milan in November 2013. www.pelabellers.it