PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2014

BOTTLE MAKING 30 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 04/14 www.petpla.net The Mexican soft drinks company Peñafiel, a subsidiary of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, placed an order with Krones in December 2011 for a PET line featuring an ErgoBloc, which went into production in August 2012. When designing this line, Krones joined forces with the client to create the large-size bottles as well, which had to be able to cope with the extreme conditions involved. After commissioning had been completed, Peñafiel got together with Krones again, this time to design an entirely new still-water bottle with a special base. Low preform weights - high carbonation There were special requirements to meet for container design when it came to the large-size bottles up to 3.0l, and also the wide range of differ- ent formats, with 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0l. The flavoured waters being bottled also exhibit a high CO 2 con- tent of up to 9g/l. At the same time, Peñafiel uses relatively low preform weights considering the high car- bonation involved. Because of the extreme climatic and geographical conditions in Mexico, the company laid down stringent specifications and requirements for the packaging. During transportation, a bottle can be travelling on Mexican roads for 22h in the south-east, and for 20h in the north (up to 2,100km in each case). 85% of the country consists of moun- tain ranges, plateaus and valleys. In the middle of Mexico, the average elevation of the volcano belt is 6,600ft (2km). The Sierra Madre Occidental Krones and Peñafiel develop 3.0l bottles with a low preform weight and high internal pressure Extreme conditions - extreme design Based on an article by Inigo Marchal, Krones AG