PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2018

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 01+02/18 www.petpla.net 40 World premieres and digitalisation solutions for the beverage filling and packaging sector Digitalisation and flexibility The major focus of Krones presentation at Drinktec was on solutions that on a smaller foot- print enable the same output to be achieved, provide ever higher levels of individualisation and flexibility, and impart additional sustainability to the production operation – with digitali- sation playing a key role. Concept study: Bottling on Demand Is Batch Size 1 a realistic option on a bottling line? And if so, can it ever be commercially viable? If you ask the development people at Krones, then in both cases the answer is yes. In order to substanti- ate this assertion, they were at the Drinktec showcasing the Bottling on Demand concept study, which explores the limits of practical flex- ibility. Its core elements include a newly developed filling valve. But what dif- ferentiates this filling valve from the others is its versatility. The water is supplied through the main pipe into the valve, each of the individual flavour components is dosed to the correct amount and added through the secondary pipes. Thus, soft drinks and other mixed beverages can be produced individually and directly in the filler itself. There’s also an option for feeding in different final syrup variants via the valve’s secondary channels. This enables the client to switch back and forth between different products without a make-ready routine being required. For everyone who wants to exploit product individualisation to the full, the system features an additional option: it is possible to provide different com- ponents via the valve’s secondary channels, and to determine individu- ally the precise composition of the beverage for each bottle. “Here we’re thinking primarily of the premium or luxury segment at brand owners,” explains Stefan Pöschl, Head of Technology Development at Krones. “It would be conceivable, for instance, to adapt the recipes of sport or medici- nal drinks to precisely suit the con- sumer’s needs and preferences.” This does not entail any problems in terms of evidencing the constituents involved: direct printing on each bottle enables the client to individually identify what recipe the consumer ultimately holds in their hands. How specifically the principle of Bottling on Demand is implemented in a line will depend upon many different factors, particularly the products and goals of the plant concerned. Dynafill Dynafill had been originally invented for the filling of beer. This filling process enables the bottle to be filled with beer within just 0.5s. If you add in the crowning operation, then the entire process takes 5s. The number of filling valves is reduced from 100 to 66, and this while retain- ing a rating of 36,000 containers per hour. The CO 2 consumption is claimed to be 20% lower than with conven- tional systems. The Dynafill can handle beverages in both coldfill and warmfill (tem- peratures of up to 30°C) modes – the process duration is in both cases less than 5s. The filling process remains stable. Digitalisation & digital direct printing Overall, the combination of machines and lines, clouds and data, played a paramount role in Krones’ presence at the fair. With cloud computing, big data, smart data, the internet of things and much more. The digitalisation solutions from Krones provide data, know-how and fast com- munication. Designed to upgrade still further the efficiency of the lines con- cerned to make comprehensive use of all potentials along the entire value creation chain. Thus enabling genuine added value to be generated in the In the Dynafill, beer bottles are filled in 0.5s.