BOTTLING / FILLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 05/22 www.petpla.net 36 KHS develops modular PET fi ller platform More flexibility and future viability The demands made of beverage producers regarding product variety and quality have grown immensely over the past few years. With its new PET filler platform, the KHS Group now offers its customers a modular setup to their requirements which can be reconfigured or expanded as needed. Other benefits include low energy consumption, low carbon emissions and a hygienic machine design for optimum product quality. Bottlers today face a number of economic and ecological challenges regarding the packaging of their products. One factor is that they are under a great deal of pressure in relation to time and cost: new and ever more powerful packaging systems and technologies need to be developed and commissioned as quickly as possible; materials, media and energy consumption needs to be further reduced yet efficiency and productivity increased. A second consideration is that the beverage industry is currently very much the focus of specific legislation and has to answer to increased regulation. Doing their bit for the protection of the climate is the kind of commitment which is also increasingly being expected of them by consumers who, however, neither wish to do without a high variety of products nor packaging that is both practical and affordable. PET block systems In light of these developments KHS offers its customers a range of block systems, particularly for the filling of products into PET bottles. These include its latest stretch blow moulding technology – with or without fully recyclable barrier protection – and a powerful labeller. The filler is naturally a core component of these systems. What’s new about the Dortmund systems supplier’s PET filling equipment is the modular, configurable and expandable platform. Consistently implemented on its glass fillers in 2020, its machines for plastic bottles now satisfy equally demanding customer requirements for adaptability and future viability. “The beverage market is undergoing an extremely dynamic process of change as regards its products,” says Manfred Härtel, filling product manager for KHS. “Where possible, bottlers want to and must therefore keep all options open when investing in their production technology so that their portfolio can be tailored to consumer demands at any time.” The aspects of flexibility, sustainability, product quality and efficiency are thus very much in focus – in combination with smart technology that ensures trouble-free production monitoring and control. Greater flexibility “Nobody can predict which trends will still prevail in the industry in five years’ time,” Härtel maintains. “This is why we’ve made our platform so modular that it can be converted to other beverages or PET containers at any time according to market requirements.” Individual components can thus be bought in at a later stage and integrated into the existing machinery with relatively little effort, according to KHS. “Depending on which filling system a customer goes for, they can react to changing market requirements. Thanks to the modularity of the filling systems, functions and features can be easily added.” KHS’ DRV system, for instance, can process both carbonated and still beverages. For the non-contact filling of water and the hot filling of juice at temperatures of up to 95 °C, there is the NV filling system. And for beer and mixed beer beverages, the Dortmund systems provider has its DVF and DRF longtube filling systems. Flexibility is also enhanced by the high degree of automation during format and product changeovers. “Even now, for example, operators don’t need more than a quarter of an hour to change a 0.5-litre bottle over to a 1.0-litre PET bottle,” Härtel says. More climate protection Customers can achieve energy savings and low CO2 emissions with the new PET filler platform, the company says. “On the DRV filling system, for instance, CO2 consumption has been cut from 150 g per hectolitre to practically zero,” explains Härtel. “We also no longer use CO2 as a pressurisation gas, instead favouring sterile air.” The KHS Innofill PET DRV filler for the filling of carbonated soft drinks
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