PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2021

BOTTLING / FILLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 03/21 www.petpla.net 30 Krones PET aseptic filling lines at Eckes-Granini A picture of health After installing a PET-Asept D system five years ago, Eckes-Granini Deutschland GmbH has now commissioned a PET-AseptBloc D with a block-synchronised blow-moulder at its facility in Bad Fallingbostel. FILLING The company’s ambitions are high: market leadership in all of Europe with premium products in the fruit-juice cat- egory. This is what the German family- owned company Eckes-Granini has successfully translated into hands-on reality. Throughout Europe, the group focuses on upmarket quality, with the aim of its brands being Number One or Two in the fruit-juice rankings. In Germany, Eckes-Granini Deutschland GmbH’s portfolio includes both of the market-leading brands: Hohes C and Granini. The Granini brand accounts for roughly a quarter and Hohes C for about a fifth of total group sales. Positive experience In its Bad Fallingbostel facility, Eckes-Granini started operation on a first aseptic line from Krones back in 2016, a PET-Asept D system rated at 36,000 containers per hour. It features dry-aseptic technology from Krones that lays claim to providing maximised sterilisation performance in conjunc- tion with minimised media consump- tion. “Our first dry-aseptic line is a perfect combination of efficiency and flexibility, with marked beneficial effects on our sustainability record. Compared to our previous wet-aseptic line, we achieved savings of 20% for electricity, 30% for water and waste- water and 50% for gas needed in steam generation,” explains Hen- ning Hanisch, project and process manager at Eckes-Granini. And plant manager Hermann Naumann adds: “Krones turned out to be the perfect vendor, with spot-on microbiological know-how and field-tested technology. Ultimately, though, it was the TCO, i.e. the total cost of ownership that helped tip the scales in favour of Krones.” Compact-size line for low outputs It was precisely this positive expe- rience gained in the past that made sure Eckes-Granini opted for another aseptic line from Krones. This second line installed at the Bad Fallingbostel facility has been dimensioned for a rating of 13,000 bph (1.0 l and 0.75 l bottles) and comprises:  PET-AseptBloc D with Contiform 3 Pro blow-moulder, H 2 O 2 sterilisation module and modulfill VFJ volumet- ric filling system: Whereas in the first line it was a third-party blow- moulder that was linked up to the sterilisation and filling modules of the PET-Asept D system by means of AirCo conveyors, Eckes-Granini has now chosen to buy the com- plete kit from Krones, including the blow-moulder/filler block.  Modularised starmodul labelling machine, block-synchronised with a sleevematic machine and a shrink- mat steam tunnel: Even though in the first line it was also possi- ble to dress the bottles in wrap- around and pressure-sensitive labels respectively, or alternatively in sleeves, two separate labellers were needed for that: a sleeve- matic and a modularised machine.  Variopac Pro FS packer with Vari- oshrink tunnel and an integrated handle applicator: Which affixes the carry strap directly to the film reel in the Variopac Pro FS. After that, the sixpack is produced by wrapping the film (with the handle already attached to it) around the containers. “This method obviates the need to install an additional machine, which cuts the kit’s foot- print,” says Henning Hanisch.  Modulpal Pro 2A palletiser with high-level infeed Henning Hanisch had also been actively involved in the installation work for the first dry-aseptic line. “We’d already planned and commissioned the first aseptic line from Krones with more or less the same project team. Here in our company that was seen as a big advantage. And things were similar at Krones: they knew who was responsible for what here on site, they knew their way around, and some of the people they sent to handle erec- tion and commissioning were the same who’d already worked on the first line. It was not least thanks to this good cooperation that we were able to implement the new line in next to no time. We were always ahead of the schedule,” he explains, and Hermann Naumann adds: “Our operators were also able to directly put their experi- ence gained with the first aseptic line to good use – they quite simply knew already how to handle the various machines. Same technology, same spares – you just cannot beat that.” The line includes a modularised Starmodul labeller, block-synchronised with a Sleevematic machine, so it is possible to dress the containers in wrap-around and pressure-sensitive labels respectively, or alternatively in sleeves.