PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2016

BOTTLING / FILLING 20 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 07+08/16 www.petpla.net FILLING SPECIAL After glass and carton: aseptic filling system for still and carbonated juices in PET Designed to be aseptic Based on an article by Laurent Olivier, Krones SARL On the fruit-juice market, especially when it comes to large container sizes sold at food retailers, the soft-carton package still has a special justification – for the time being. But PET is visibly catching up and nibbling away at the carton’s market. This development made the French producer of fruit and vegetable juices Jus de Fruits d’Alsace (JFA) sit up and take notice, triggering the fruit-juice producer’s decision to enter the PET bottle market. They invested in a new bottling line in fully aseptic design from the blow-moulder to the filler. JFA had been founded back in 1956, originally as a marketing initia- tive for the regional apple-growers. Over the decades, the company then changed hands internationally several times, until the French family firm LSDH (Laiterie de Saint-Denis-de- l’Hôtel) integrated JFA into its group of companies in 2008. Since then, around 40 million euros have been channelled into the facility in the Alsa- tian village of Sarre-Union. One major focus was the installation of a high- bay warehouse, supplied by Krones in 2012 complete with the building that houses it, which provides space for 35,000 pallets. Laser-controlled robot vehicles, each able to carry four pallets, constitute the link to the filling hall. The second major invest- ment was channelled into a new syrup kitchen, and finally, the third moderni- sation step, taken in April 2015, cover- ing a new aseptic line from Krones for filling PET containers. Market shift to PET Up until then, JFA had been con- centrating its filling operations on soft packages. On 15 cartoning lines, the company produced around four fifths of its output, with a non-returnable- glass line supplementing the produc- tion kit. So the mix, until that time, comprised 80% carton, 20% glass. The LSDH Group was, of course, aware of the market shifting away from the carton and towards PET: it had been filling PET containers for several years already in another plant. What was now involved at JFA, however, was a strategic decision. Daniel Eva had been the long-serving factory manager in Sarre-Union and was crucially involved in the installation – although retired but still playing a role in the “aseptic PET line” project. “The aim here was to optimise the production operation logistically,” he says. “JFA’s plant is situated in the vicinity of the German border and the Benelux coun- tries, a fact that offers us good oppor- tunities for the future. Its geographical location predestines it for expansion north- and eastwards.” Hitherto, LSDH had been supplying its PET products almost exclusively to French customers. Two thirds of JFA’s output are deal- er’s brands for the major players on the French retail market, and about 20% are well-known fruit-juice brands that the company produces under licence. The rest consists of contract-filling and a small number of own-brand products such as the LSDH brand Cidoux. With the new aseptic line for PET contain- ers, a second major investment target was achieved: “We can now optimise the container mix for our key accounts. Because we have an option for provid- ing products in soft packages, glass and in PET in a single truck consign- ment,” explains Jérôme Buhler, Daniel Eva’s successor. “The third goal was to be able in future to fill not only dealer’s brands but branded products as well into PET, thus boosting the latters’ acceptance among consumers,” adds Daniel Eva. Dry aseptics – process of the future There is a basic principle at the parent company LSDH when it comes to sensitive beverages: either asep- tic, or in the cold chain. So it was one of these two, and nothing else, for JFA as well. “Hotfill has never been a viable alternative for us,” emphasises Daniel Eva. “Aseptic filling is quite simply more gentle on the products. When we were considering our invest- Dry preform sterilisation with hydrogen peroxide in combination with the aseptic blow-moulder