PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2020

PACKAGING / PALLETISING PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 01+02/20 www.petpla.net 27 mann. Finally, the system passed its factory acceptance test and was shipped to Saint-Galmier. Here, the KHS team replaced the old KHS Kisters shrink packer from 1986 with the optimised packaging machine. “At first we weren’t able to fully achieve the required packaging quality with the combination of shrink film and machine used,” admits Stuhlmann. The specialists therefore spent the fol- lowing months working on the various machine components, further devel- oping, constructing, installing and testing them time and again. Significant development for the entire Danone Waters Group One major further development on the new generation of machines was to distribute the hot air supply more accurately on both lanes. The optimum alignment of the hot air flow on both sides of the multipacks loosely wrapped in film also had top priority for KHS. “Both are crucial for crease-free pack quality as the opti- mum processing window for the partly inverse effects was extremely limited,” Stuhlmann explains. The Dortmund company solved this problem with the help of a number of further devel- opments, one being the specially designed central tunnel nozzle which will also be available to other projects in the future. The special air nozzles with their optimised perforated nozzle plates also help to create crease-free packs. Furthermore, the KHS Kisters shrink packer can now process films of a much lower thickness. The machine uses an optimum width of film per pack thanks to film web con- trol. Badoit and its operators benefit from fully automatic film web control which is easy to handle. “With this new technical feature we were able to achieve the goal set by the customer, namely of providing optimum pack- aging quality while using the lowest possible amount of material,” smiles Stuhlmann. The team of experts also managed to boost the packer’s per- formance. On the further developed shrink packer up to 37,000 bph can be formed into packs of six on two lanes at the existing line speed. The final acceptance test at the beginning of 2019 was performed to the full satisfaction of all involved. “KHS has met our requirements in every respect. The packaging quality has considerably improved compared to what it was,” explained Marie. “Thanks to the improved quality we’ve been able to double the size of the lettering on the packaging,” Marie relates. “This is a great advantage as regards product presentation. Our brand is now more visible to our cus- tomers.” The management of Danone Waters is also convinced by the final result. The French parent company considers the project to be an excel- lence reference for the entire com- pany group. www.khs.com 25-26 March 2020 RAI, Amsterdam www.prseventeurope.com Incorporating The Plastics Recycling Show Europe will take place at the Rai, Amsterdam on 25th-26th March 2020 The Exhibition and Conference for the European Plastics Recycling Industry Register Now for free entry at prseventeurope.com