PETpla.net Insider 08 / 2014

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 08/14 www.petpla.net gwk acquires former HQ of Battenfeld in Kierspe gwk have been designing and manufacturing their cool- ing and temperature control units in central Kierspe since 1967. Historically, the structure of the buildings has grown with the company. Not all the processes are in line with the logical flow of materials. The site and the factory premises have undergone further development. Partner Patrik Zeppenfeld explains: “As soon as the former Battenfeld plant in Meinerzhagen – just round the corner from us – came up for sale, we seized our oppor- tunity”. Helmut Gries, Managing Director, continues: “We are doubling our production area and in this way are doing everything possible to ensure future growth so that we can expand further to meet the needs of the market. For us, it’s more than simply moving offices, – it’s a step into the future“. The factory bays and the administration building meet the requirements of the Kierspe people. To go back to Zeppenfeld again: “At the end of the year the 13 production bays came up for sale. We had a preliminary look round, investigated more deeply and soon came to the conclusion that this would be a perfect fit. The big straight long bays, along with the offices and administration buildings, were exactly what we were looking for. In addition, the premises are extremely well equipped with all supply facilities and there are even a large number of cranes with very high load-bearing capacities. Battenfeld’s production activities there also featured a very high level of in-house manufac- turing. This, of course, is in line with our requirements”. The company is also making use of the move to opti- mise its processes and to introduce new manufacturing technologies. Gries: “We are modernising the site, and as plant engineers we know quite a lot about what’s involved in that. We are also looking at ways of re-organising our procedures generally, from the supply and flow of mate- rials, to the introduction of new production processes, information channels, in short, we are looking at a complete overhaul of what we do and how we do it. This necessitates considerable investment, for example in a new paint line set up which will be energy-saving and environmentally friendly. We will be bringing in 5-axis machining centres, a palletiser, a plasma cutting machine and we are also devel- oping a new test concept for quality assurance. Some of the acquisitions have already been put in hand”. www.gwk.com Sidel presents low-output aseptic technology at Aseptipak Europe 2014 Sidel took part at this year’s Aseptipak Europe Global Forum from 18 to 19 June 2014 in Warsaw, Poland and presented a case history on Fonti di Posina, the Italian co-packer who recently installed Sidel Combi Predis FMa with dry preform decontamination. Title of the presenta- tion: “Recently Launched Breakthrough Technology for Low-Output Aseptic Production of PET Bottles: A Cus- tomer Case Study”. The introduction of the Combi Predis FMa technology in 2014 at Fonti di Posina has removed the need for any bottle rinsing, eliminating the need for water and has enabled lightweighting of the company’s 1,5l bottles, with material savings of 20%. The aseptic PET Combi achieves 95% efficiency while allowing the doubling of the current aseptic production capacity. Fitted with an ecological oven, the system also features energy savings of 43% at the blowing stage. www.sidel.com Krones ranks among Western Europe’s 50 most trustworthy companies The prestigious US business magazine Forbes lists Krones, the global supplier of beverage filling and pack- aging systems, among the 50 most trustworthy compa- nies in Western Europe. With 98 points out of a possible 100, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, received the best rating of all companies analysed. The list is based on a study conducted by GMI Rat- ings, a provider of analyses and ratings, evaluating risks in connection with business management and balance sheet probity. GMI analysed more than 4,000 companies listed on Western Europe’s stock exchanges against around 60 different criteria, and arrived at an “Account- ing and Governance Risk” (AGR) rating. www.krones.com