PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2014

BOTTLE MAKING 26 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 03/14 www.petpla.net segment. CCNNE’s InnoPET Blomax Series IV currently manufactures 12, 16 and 20-oz and 0.5l bottles, sup- plying both PET lines and currently covering about 60% of the company’s PET bottle requirements. CCNNE has been using KHS equipment since 1989, when one KHS filler and one KHS blender began operation on both of the then new lines (one for cans and one for PET bottles) at the newly- opened Londonderry plant. Both fill- ers and the blending equipment are still working - as are their other KHS Promix systems, ordered almost ten years ago. The equipment is kept busy with full three-shift operation. The company has embraced a policy of keeping line personnel closely identified with ‘their’ machines “The same operator has been responsible for the canner from day one and he really looks after it. Identifying with a machine like this is crucial if you want excellent performance and a long life cycle, I think.” This experience led to CCNNE’s decision to have all those who would be jointly responsible for the new investment intensively trained by KHS before the new InnoPET Blomax Series IV was installed at the plant. CCNNE sent a team of seven to KHS Corpoplast in Hamburg, Ger- many, where they were acquainted with the features of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV in both theory and practice. When the new machine arrived on site, the team was actively involved in helping the KHS service engineers install and commission the stretch blow moulder. Performance The InnoPET Blomax Series IV at CCNNE has 28 blow stations, each of which produces up to 2,250bph. The stretch blow moulder has the flexibility to produce bottles hold- ing between 0.2 and 2l. One of the features that was most striking was in the heater area, which just about halves heating times, compared with the Series III machines. It also takes up less than half the space of its predecessor. Series IV stretch blow moulders use near infra-red (NIR) or shortwave infra-red radiation. Pre- forms are heated by near infrared (NIR) or shortwave infrared radiation, which delivers extremely intense heat penetration of the preform walls. This effect is heightened by the preforms being conveyed through an enclosed heating chamber with all-round reflec- tion and the mandrels being very tightly spaced at just 37.7mm (mini- mum pitch). This heating technology achieves energy savings of up to 40%, compared with traditional heat- ing technology. “The short heater also ensures that only very few preforms have to be discarded if there’s an emer- gency stop,” said Russ Brunner, plant engineer at CCNNE. Compressed air usage by the InnoPET Blomax Series IV is also improved, by up to 15%, depending on bottle size. The stag- gered array of the blow stations on the new generation of KHS stretch blow moulders also saves on space, which means that the blow wheel diameter is smaller. Only one half of the mould on each blow station is opened, with a toggle mechanism to open and close the blow stations. The mould carrier no longer has to be locked, which leads to less mechanical susceptibil- ity and consequent higher machine efficiency. Another significant aspect for CCNNE is the short time needed for changeovers, when swapping from one bottle variant to another. The use of servotechnology means that the stretch die does not have to be changed or mechanically adjusted; new settings are communicated to the system by on-screen entry. Moulds are replaced in the blow stations very quickly thanks to their new design and the Speed-Loc quick-change system. Changeovers on the Series IV are around 50% shorter than those on the previous machine generation. As the company’s plan involves the manu- facture of more types of bottle, rather than fewer, quick changeovers are extremely important. It is also worth noting that start-up time is extremely short, thanks to the very quick preform heating process, which takes only 15s. Bottle quality is a particular consid- eration to CCNNE and to all com- panies belonging to Kirin Holdings, which has been recognised with no fewer than eight Coca-Cola Presi- dent’s Awards, the annual prize pre- sented to the most quality-conscious Coca-Cola bottler in the USA. “What’s also important for us is that this machine gives us a return on invest- ment in just three years,” said Rick Neal, head of the CCNNE production site in Londonderry. www.ccnne.com www.khs.com Rick Neal, head of the CCNNE production site in Londonderry (right), and Russ Brunner, Plant Engineer at CCNNE (left)