PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2017

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 01+02/17 www.petpla.net 34 Dr Christian Compera, Head of Bottling Technology at Krones, on the advantages and current status of liquiform technology Filling while forming and forming while filling by Gabriele Kosmehl and Kay Barton In the late summer of 2016 it became known that Krones, as a licence holder, was entering the world of liquiform technology. This form and fill technique brings together both stages of the process for shaping a pre-form and filling in one process stage. PETplanet went to BrauBeviale to meet the person with overall responsibility for bottling technology, Dr Christian Compera, and spoke to him about the potential of the new technology. PETplanet: Dr Compera, can you give us a brief outline of the reasons why Krones has got into liquiform technology as a licence holder? Compera: Bottle filling technol- ogy is our core business and liquiform has the potential to increase our core technology. Undertaking the forming of the plastic bottle to match the prod- uct that goes in it is actually obvious, as it brings many advantages with it, in terms of economy and efficiency. Users then experience a functional integration between the two stages of forming and filling in a single process. We look at liquiform as a sensible expansion to our portfolio and think that the classic two-stage and liqui- form will exist alongside each other for a long time. PETplanet: Can you explain the advantages of liquiform in a bit more detail please? Compera: Firstly, the process brings cost savings. Compressed air is very expensive and, because of the compressibility, it cannot be used as exactly as liquids. We also have sav- ings in the electricity and energy areas. Depending on the use, production costs can definitely be brought down by about 10-20%. A second impor- tant advantage in addition to the costs structures is product flexibility with the starting material. In addition to PET, the shaping of HDPE containers would definitely be possible. Even rPET can be considered. The limits here must be explored in more detail. Another advantage lies in the fact that addi- tional functionalities can be shaped which, for example, lie in the area of mechanical characteristics such as robustness. All in all, preliminary con- sultations look very promising. PETplanet: Can you say some- thing about output figures? Compera: In general they will fall within the current levels. Right now we are filling water, for example, about 81,000bph. We won’t start with that but basically there’s based on our current knowledge nothing to prevent this figure being achieved or even surpassed. PETplanet: Do you see water as the main application for the liquiform process? Compera: Yes. It’s here that the process initially enables a huge leverage. In the water sector, clients are up against low margins and are seeking for further TCO reductions to have a profitable business. The advantages of liquiform mentioned above are directly reflected here. At the same time, bottling water undoubt- edly poses the fewest challenges compared with CSD or aseptic filling, where the complexity is greater. For that reason, in the drinks segment we shall probably start with water. PETplanet: To date the process is still in development. Are customers already showing any interest? Or do they have reservations? Compera: The brief announce- ment we made a few months ago pub- licising our liquiform licence caused something of a stir, to an extent that took us by surprise (see PETplanet Insider No. 09/2016). Client interest is definitely there. Nor has the sector expressed any reservations. There may be some concern amongst consumer groups that the taste of the product may be affected by using it to form the preform under high pressure. As a result, a number of extensive studies were carried out to allay these concerns. All the stud- ies showed that consumer concerns about the taste being affected were completely unfounded. PETplanet: With all the interest – when will we see the technology on the market? Compera: At the moment we are still developing the process and it would be too early to throw an exact date into the discussion. To get a next update, drinktec 2017 would be good event. PETplanet: Dr Compera, thank you very much for talking to us! Compera: Thank you for your interest! www.krones.com Dr Christian Compera, Krones, with Kay Barton (left) and Gabriele Kosmehl (right)