PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2014

BOTTLING / FILLING 22 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 09/14 www.petpla.net PET nibbles away at cardboard packaging Pfanner, the Austrian fruit drinks manufacturer, is increasingly coming to rely on PET. Until now, only about 1/5th of its beverages have been packaged in a PET bottle but a new Krones Contipure aseptic line with preform sterilisation for still and carbonated drinks is set to change all that. It replaces an Ultraclean line that dates back to 2003 and will be able to package up to 90% of all Pfanner products, including iced tea and fruit juices. “The Contipure´s big advantage is that its the preform that is steri- lised, which means the bottle shape is not important any longer. This also means that its not necessary to vali- date every new bottle shape“ says Günter Feusthuber who is responsible for engineering and production at all the firm´s plants using the new line, together with managing partner Her- mann Pfanner. The company currently fills more than half of its production output in soft packages. About a quar- ter goes into cans, which are predomi- nantly contract-filled. Around a fifth of sales leave the plants in PET bottles, while glass containers account for just 4-5% of the total. “PET is increasingly driving soft packages off the market even though, in the fruit-juice market in particular, the soft package definitely has its legiti- mate place”, Günter Feusthuber com- ments. “But PET is nibbling away at the soft-packed product’ market share.” In his eyes, there will probably be no end to further design enhancements in the field of aseptics. “We could well imagine a faster change-over from the 28-mm to the 38-mm neck finish in the future, for example, but as things stand now, the Contipure constitutes a very sophisticated state-of-the-art machine for filling still and carbonated bever- ages, one that is highly future-compati- ble, into the bargain.” According to Canadean, the market research institute, the Austrian Pfan- ner brand is the Number two among Europe’s ice-tea brands. PET-bottled ice tea must be filled aseptically, if it is to be sold without preservatives. But ice tea is just one drink out of the many that contribute to Pfanner’s continuing success. The family firm, which is in the safe hands of the clan’s fifth generation, is one of Europe’s biggest fruit proces- sors: apples, pears and red fruit form the foundation for fruit juices, fruit squashes, fruit-juice-based drinks, and ice teas. Total production output amounted to around 450 million litres in 2013. Traditionally, consumers know that Pfanner products come in 1l and 2l beverage cartons. For quite some time, the gable-top carton had been something of a hallmark for Pfanner’s portfolio. But that was changed, step by step, after the installation of the Krones UltraClean PET bottling line in 2003. Its first PET line was rated at Pfanner’s Enns plant now has a Krones Contipure system with preform sterilisa- tion installed.