PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2022

No.09 2022 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 29 . 08 . 22 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey All about caps: cap producer, supplier of moulds, machinery and inspection systems Page 39 Page 10 Page 26 Page 57

ClipAside, drink, love! Tethered ClipAside closure wins high acceptance Contact us and arrange your line trials now! www.bericap.com PET 38 PET 29/25 PCO 1881 PET 33 PET 26 PET 26 GME 30.40 A recent consumer real-life “diary study” conducted in France found a high level of acceptance among consumers for the innovative new closure. After just one or two experiences, even the youngest and oldest users could handle the smart closure without difficulty – often with one hand. What’s more, many praised the eco-friendly nature of the cap, which remains on the bottle neck and avoids creating additional plastic waste. Best of all for you, this premium product can be integrated into most lines and any popular bottle neck format without major modification of your production equipment.

www.corvaglia.com We think about your caps, so you can think of everything else. Visit us at the Trade Fair Munich, Germany September 12-16, 2022 Hall C5/Booth 275

imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Hubweg 15 74939 Zuzenhausen, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@petpla.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Anthony Withers WikiPETia. info petplanet@petpla.net MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@petpla.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@petpla.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur | exprim.de Matthias Gaumann READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@petpla.net PRINT Chroma Druck Eine Unternehmung der Limberg-Druck GmbH Danziger Platz 6 67059 Ludwigshafen, Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | www.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net Dear readers, On our current Editour, we visited many recyclers and found that the recycling rates for PET bottles within the packaging industry are very high. Of course, we don’t have a 100% cycle worldwide, but in whatever country in the world, the cycle is working, whether as a deposit system in some countries, or voluntary collection in Switzerland, for example, or as manual collection in emerging countries. The same applies to the polyolefin bottles. Where it doesn’t work at all is with multilayer packaging. As important as this is to the quality of the bottled product, multilayer packaging is not recyclable. Here the industry is producing a world full of litter with a vengeance. Collection and separation systems are plentiful, today’s technology can laboriously sort this packaging out of the trash, but in the end, at best, it goes to incineration. In emerging countries, it ends up in the environment more often than not. At the K fair, we will find many good approaches to packaging recycling, but no industrial solutions for multilayer packaging. Enzymatic recycling may offer a way forward - but only for PET - there are mealworms that eat plastics; then there are bioplastics from waste from the paper industry for packaging, such as from Tecnao, which can go in the compost bin, and so on. But the multilayer option is the cheapest for the industry because environmental pollution is not priced in. The association endofplasticwaste, representing the raw material and packaging industry, sweeps aside the problem thanks to its gigantic advertising budget. “The bad consumer just has to collect intelligently and then it will all work out” is the credo. Such problem-diverting measures by industry show that governments need to intervene as a matter of urgency. Politicians worldwide should only be promoting recyclable packaging in the sense of a closed cycle, they should release recycling materials for food packaging and should be setting binding quotas. Politicians must ban packaging that cannot be recycled or that can only be thermally recycled, or impose such high taxes on such material that it makes no economic sense to use it. The European Union’s circular economy package makes a start. From 2030 onwards, only plastic packaging that is one hundred percent recyclable will be allowed on the market. The international community has proved over and over that it can tackle environmental problems efficiently across continents. Against the will of the industry, it got the ozone hole and acid rain under control through bans and legal regulations. Why shouldn’t the same be done with packaging? I doubt whether banning plastic straws and mandating tethered caps will be significant or important enough steps to get us moving in the right direction. Yours, Alexander Büchler

PETcontents 4 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 09/2022 Page 12 EDITOUR 10 “No multilayers, please!” - Post-consumer PET tray recycling 12 Multinational drinks giant expanding its capacities - Increased PET bottle production with technology from Neutraublingen 16 Highest turnover despite pandemic 18 High speed assembly machines 64 Automatic adjustments MOULD MAKING 20 A growing Indian company with international interests BOTTLE MAKING 22 PET milk packaging in India 24 Wine in PET MARKET SURVEY 39 All about caps: cap producer, supplier of moulds, machinery and inspection systems TRADE SHOW PREVIEW 26 Drinktec 2022: floorplan 28 Highlights at Drinktec 2022, part 3 43 Processing rPET without losing quality 44 No need for chemical decontamination 45 Moulding of returnable & refillable PET bottles 46 Preforms, labels and driving towards the circular economy 48 Technologies for PET treatment 50 More ECOnvenience - Sustainable and user-friendly closures 52 Closure solution and smart drinkware 54 Vision inspection systems - News in index markings, wash-down design and seperation methodology 55 Turnkey solution for PET fillers 57 K’ show 2022, preview part 1 EVENT REVIEW 66 Petcore Europe annual conference 2022 68 PETinar: Spotlight on circularity for recycled PET 70 Plastics Recycling Show Europe 2022, part 2 BUYER’S GUIDE 72 Get listed! INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 71 PET bottles for beverage + liquid food 78 Outer Planet Page 34 Page 64

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PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net Innovations and sustainability in plastic bottles and containers The 6th edition of the Blow Moulding 2022 International Conference, Exhibition and Networking Event will take place in Brussels, Belgium, on 30 November - 1 December. This annual event brings together the entire supply chain: from brand owners and retailers to suppliers of raw materials and additives – not forgetting manufacturers of packaging and packaging components (preforms, bottles, caps & closures, labels & sleeves, etc.), equipment manufacturers, recyclers and sustainability experts, testing and certification agencies, academics and researchers. The 2022 edition features keynote speakers from Danone, Friesland Campina, Nestlé, Pepsico and the European Commission. The presentations will address a broad range of topics, including innovations, as well as insights, trends, developments and outlooks in this industry. Each presentation will be followed by a short Q&A session. The presentations programme is interspaced with networking opportunities, designed to enable participants to meet up, expand their network of industry contacts, discuss issues and explore potential new collaborations. The conference is accompanied by an exhibition, where suppliers will showcase their latest developments in terms of products, services and technologies. Registrations are accepted online, via the conference website: www.blow-moulding.com Manjushree Technopack acquires Hitesh Plastics Manjushree Technopack, India’s largest manufacturers of rigid plastic packaging backed by Advent International, has acquired Bangalore-based Hitesh Plastics. According to the agreement, MTL will acquire the business operations and manufacturing facilities of Hitesh Plastics. Hitesh Plastics is the leading manufacturer of plastic caps and closures in India. MTL enters the specialised caps and closure market with this acquisition, bolstering its position as an end-to-end integrated rigid plastic packaging player. Hitesh Plastics processes over 1,200 t/a of PP and PE to produce over 10 billion CSD, hot-fill, warm-fill, and water closures. It is a major supplier to companies like PepsiCo, Tata-Himalayan, Amul, and others. MTL will also add the acquired company’s two new plants in Jalgaon, Maharashtra, to its existing list of 21 plants in India. This will push MTL’s total manufacturing capacity beyond 200,000mt/a. Manjushree was advised by Khaitan & Co on this deal while HPPL was advised by Lumiere Law Partners. KPMG was the exclusive financial advisor to HPPL. www.manjushreeindia.com

7 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net Sidel expands in East Africa with new Nairobi office opening Sidel has expanded its presence in Africa with the official opening of a new office in Nairobi, Kenya on July 28. The move is intended to increase its support for its customers in East Africa, a key market for Sidel and one of the continent’s fastest-growing regions. Sidel has been serving the African market for many years. Building on this, the new East Africa office will enable it to drive development in the region by working more closely with customers to provide them with dedicated engineering capability and on-the-ground customer service. The East Africa region is made up of 15 countries, from Eritrea in the north to the island of Mauritius. Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia have some of the highest levels of GDP and disposable income growth on the continent, indicating significant potential for years to come. The new Sidel office is located in the heart of Nairobi’s central business district alongside sister company TetraPak as well as the African head offices of other international companies. Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastesturbanising population and has the potential to become one of the major sources of global growth. At more than one billion, sub-Saharan Africa’s population is currently growing at around 2.7% a year – more than twice as fast as South Asia and Latin America. www.sidel.com Gerhard Ohler new CEO of Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR) Next Generat ion Recycl ingmaschinen GmbH saw a personnel change at the top management. Gerhard Ohler took over the role as CEO of Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), based in Feldkirchen, succeeding Wolfgang Steinwender, who has held this position since May 2020. Ohler, a 54-year-old industrial engineer, has many years of internat ional experience in extrusion technology and plastics recycling. Among other positions, he served as General Manager of Krauss Maffei in Shanghai and Managing Director at Greiner Packaging International. Before joining NGR, the native Upper Austrian was responsible for the management of the Greiner Extrusion Group as CEO since 2013. In his private life, Gerhard Ohler is married and has two grown-up children. Josef Hochreiter, CEO of Next Generation Group: “I am delighted to have gained an experienced manager for us in Gerhard Ohler. With this appointment, we will not only be able to successfully continue along the path we have chosen, but also to break new ground in plastics recycling. We have now created the best conditions to realise our mission ‘working for a better future’ together with a highly motivated team and to continue to develop and build highly efficient recycling machines for our customers in the future.” www.ngr-world.com Gerhard Ohler, new CEO at Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH

8 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net Help us shape the circular economy! Technically-minded and keen to protect the climate? Relish a challenge and want to help find the right people to do something about the plastic waste on our planet? Then Krones Recycling Solutions is the right place for you! For more than 20 years, we have been developing innovative technologies to keep valuable packaging materials within a closed loop – and to take our vision of a sustainable industry from Flensburg out into the wider world. There is more to do than ever, which is why we are now looking for committed individuals to join our team – for example in the following areas: Mechanical/electrical design and automation Process engineering Product management Erection and commissioning at customers' premises worldwide Employee management Maybe you share our vision of a waste-free world, but don't see your abilities reflected fully in any of these job areas? Then why not send us an unsolicited application? Because job titles are not what matters to us. What is important is who you are and what you can do. Any questions? Please contact Astrid Schwartz (astrid.schwartz@krones.com) for more information. We look forward to receiving your application (including all relevant documents). These can be uploaded in just a few clicks on our careers portal at www.krones.com. Amut completes recycling project in Romania Amut has completed the commissioning of a recycling plant for Pet Star Recycling, part of Pet Star Group, together with Pet Star Holding, a leading producer of preforms for PET bottles, in Romania. The company developed a customised solution aimed at delivering high performance. The new washing line fork PET processing with 3,000 kg/h total output is equipped with Amut’s patented De-Labeller together with the Friction Washer and presents the front-end sorting system sized to sort clear/light blue bottles from a stream including up to 14/15% of coloured ones suitable to treat 5,500 kg/h of inlet material. “From the very beginning, we have implemented the bottleto-bottle concept to increase the recycling potential of untapped plastic waste and its reuse in a new production process. That’s why we chose a strong partner, Amut, which provided us modern and innovative sorting and washing technology which allows us to be more efficient and to minimise water consumption for each kilo of high purity flakes we produce”, declared Mirela Dragoi, CEO Pet Star Recycling, Romania. www.amut.it Bariq to build a large rPET factory in MENA by 2023 In late 2021, Bariq was acquired by Intro Resource Recovery, a member of Intro Group, to strengthen its waste management portfolio. In February 2022, Bariq announced its sustainability strategy and plans to be the biggest recycler in the region by adding a washing and upgrading line to its portfolio. The new Starlinger recycling system, a RecoStar PET 215 HC iV+ including a ViscoStar 350 SSP reactor, reaches an output of 2,700kg/h and will enable Bariq to increase its total production capacity to 35,000 metric t/a of food-grade rPET pellets. The ViscoStar 350 SSP reactor (biggest size of the latest reactor generation) provides extended processing capacity and residence time while it keeps the footprint of the new recycling line compact like the first Starlinger PET recycling line Bariq installed in 2012. Bariq will also upgrade its existing Starlinger RecoStar PET 165 iV+ recycling line with a new melt filter doubling the filtration area allowing finer filtration through production and an additional SSP reactor ensuring high quality pellets. This setup increases the line’s output and allows the production of rPET types beyond the regular bottle-to-bottle grades, guaranteeing best decontamination results and 24/7 production of rPET with highest quality specifications, states the company. As the core strength of Bariq’s pellets is the quality, detection tools are one of the main assets of their laboratory. The laboratory is installing an Agilent GC-MS combined with a Markers Centri fully automated multimode extraction platform giving flexibility for efficient extraction and enrichment of VOCs. Bariq’s investment also includes the latest bottle & flakes sorting equipment from Tomra Recycling to ensure optimum quality of the input material. In addition to the sorting equipment, a Max-AI robot is added reaching a fully automated washing line from bales to flakes. Founded in 2011, Bariq is the first foodgrade rPET producer in Egypt and the biggest in the MENA region. The company started production of food-grade rPET recycling lines in 2012 and holds a positive EFSA opinion and an FDA Letter of NonObjection (LNO) among others. Exporting 100% to global players in the packaging sector for bottle and food container producers throughout Europe and North America. Bariq recycles 1.6 billion PET bottles per year on the foundation of two sustainability pillars of being economically justified and environmentally sound. The company has recycled approx.15 billion PET bottles into food and non-food grade pellets, which contributed to saving more than 250,000 t of CO2 and helping marine life avoid non-degradable plastic issues. www.bariq-eg.com Recycling plant at Pet Star Recycling, Romania (photo: Pet Star Recycling)

9 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net ! "# $ #

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 10 Post-consumer PET tray recycling “No multilayers, please!” June 2022 We met: Michael Heitzinger, CEO at Erema When Erema talks about plastic recycling in the sense of “cycling”, i.e. a circulation system, it’s pretty credible. For 39 years, the company has been manufacturing recycling systems. We spoke to CEO Michael Heitzinger about the latest developments in more than just the rPET field. Tour Sponsors: PETplanet: Mr Heitzinger, Erema has been building recycling systems for almost 40 years? For how many years have you also been active in the rPET sector and where is the trend going? Mr Heitzinger: We have been working on the rPET product application for a good 20 years. Plastic recycling is booming overall, especially PET recycling. We notice that the shift to ever larger plants is progressing very rapidly. A few years ago, recycling plants were in the range of 1 t/h and 2.4 t/h per machine. Of course, this varies from PET to polyolefin. Now, in early summer, we have just finished testing and delivering our first 6 t/h PET line in our factory hall and the machine is now already installed at our German customer. Besides the great political pressure to build up recycling capacities, securing the material flows is the first big barrier or gateway for recyclers to be able to grow. The processing logistics for used PET bottles are already lagging behind the required and desired rPET volume and the lack of mass flow is already limiting larger investments. Only those who can secure the material have the opportunity to earn money with rPET. In parallel, the processing of rPET material is becoming increasingly important and intensive. The progress in technical processing, pre-sorting, sorting, washing (hot or cold) has been implemented and only needs to be used more. PETplanet: The proportion of recyclate in bottles is increasing. What does this mean for the system manufacturers? Mr Heitzinger: Today we are talking about up to 100% recyclate in a bottle, which means that yellow and grey haze must be avoided. For this reason, in Vacunite, our rPET system, the material is never heated above 150 °C if atmospheric oxygen is still present. Above that, only nitrogen mixture is used to prevent yellow discolouration of the material, because this discolouration property cannot be reversed. In addition to discolouration, material quality in terms of constant IV and cleanliness is becoming more and more important, because the weight of PET bottles (0.25 l) is moving from 24 g/bottle to 8 - 9 g/bottle as at Niagara Waters in the USA, which increases the challenge in production. The separation of the coloured bottle flakes is an important part of the processing, prior to extrusion, and is usually carried out on our own extruder lines. Due to higher recycling rates and increased awareness, more and more PET bottles are being made transparent and the “colour” is applied to the label. Basically, coloured rPET granulate still finds good sales markets in the staple fibre industry. But also in the fibre industry there is a growing awareness to use more recycled material. So we already have more than 30 plants processing PET bottle flakes into high-quality POY fibre. Unfortunately, this is a “material loss” for the real closed loop process from bottle-to-bottle. PETplanet: Your latest project is the processing of PET trays? Mr Heitzinger: Yes, this is a material stream that is still difficult to handle and must be specially prepared and processed. A thoroughly difficult product niche, since the material cannot be collected so easy by type like the PET bottle and has a high potential for multilayer components. Nevertheless, a material stream of the future. “From niche existence to musthave.” These are just a few words to describe the development that plastics recycling has undergone in recent years. The plastic packaging manufacturer Faerch from Denmark and Erema customer in the field of Michael Heitzinger, CEO at Erema Alexander Büchler enjoys the overview of a large Vacurema system.

EDITOUR 11 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 recycling was the first company worldwide to successfully integrate the recycling of post-consumer PET trays and containers into its own production process. This business segment of PET tray recycling will grow all the more the less multilayer products are used in the trays. Design for recycling should thus arrive in reality as soon as possible. PETplanet: The topic of PVC in PET comes up again and again. What does it look like today? Mr Heitzinger: As a rule, PVC gets into the PET quota via the labels. False PVC batches themselves are hardly to be found any more, or the pre-sorting systems have improved considerably in order to find more false batches in the process. This pre-sorting technology should be used as much as possible in order to be able to produce the necessary top quality in the end. We have already mentioned dyed PET. Another obstacle that can be solved is the direct printing of PET bottles and the direct printing of PE/PP caps on PET bottles. This is because this colour issue deteriorates the quality of the raw material, cannot be filtered out and remains in the recycling cycle or accumulates in the recycling cycle. PETplanet: You also produce systems for typical post-consumer plastic waste. What is the focus here? Mr Heitzinger: A simply question for a very diverse and large recycling area at Erema. We have seen a huge increase in orders for rPET systems, but the classic polyolefin share at Erema is still around 60% - 70% of the order intake. We are going in three main directions with our customers. One of them is to bring well-sorted, processed material streams in the film fraction up to the quality level of virgin material. Here, paper labels, tags and adhesives are the core problems that need to be worked on in processing. Perfect filtration and optimised pressures and mass temperaturs are essential here. The second main thrust goes into the reprocessing of classic post-consumer material, with varying degrees of moisture and contamination. Homogenisation capacity, power and filtration capacity of the plant are the key issues here. The third area is the professional processing of HDPE regrind with Regrind Pro Technology +Refresher for FDA approval. And the same applies to the polyolefin sector as to PET - no multilayers, please! PETplanet: A great finish. Many thanks for the interview. www.erema-group.com

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 12 Increased PET bottle production with technology from Neutraubling Multinational drinks giant expanding its capacities by Kay Barton June 2022 Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Deutschland GmbH We met: Mr Andreas Dederer, Operations Manager In Neureut, a district of Karlsruhe in Baden-Wuerttemberg in the south of Germany, the local site of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland – CCEP for short – is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Produced here are the 1.25 l Coca-Cola PET single-use bottles and other drinks cans. It supplies CSDs not only to the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg itself but also to neighbouring states, with some of the soft drinks also going to other countries in Europe. Tour Sponsors: Besides Coca-Cola, the brand’s “Monster” range of energy drinks are exclusively produced here for all of Germany. At the same time as the anniversary celebrations, the manufacturer is also launching its newly created capacities for drinks production, materials supply and logistics. The beating heart of the almost US$16 million expansion is a technologically completely reworked PET line, which is making the anniversary site fit for the future. Operations Manager for the site, Mr Andreas Dederer, spoke to us about origins, technologies and plans. Then to now In March 1980, the then CocaCola concession Getränke Troullier GmbH & Co. KG began construction of the factory at a cost of 18 million German marks. After its completion in November 1981, it was inaugurated in May 1982. The new factory was located on the “Kleines Bruch” industrial estate, where we find ourselves today. But before its construction, Coca-Cola had been bottled in Karlsruhe-Neureut since 1969 in a factory in Unterfeldstrasse. Relocation took place then because there was no option to expand there. “However, the connection between Coca-Cola and Karlsruhe dated back even further,” explained interviewee Andreas Dederer. “Their common history began over 85 years ago, when the Karl Troullier concession sold its first bottles of Coca-Cola in Herderstrasse in Karlsruhe. In the first year, they achieved sales of 9,000 cases.” Mr Dederer has been employed in the drinks industry for 25 years. In Deizisau, to the south-east of Stuttgart, he began his career as a Shift Manager at the Urbacher Mineralquellen glass and multi-use container site, a branch of Coca-Cola Erfrischungsgetränke AG (CCEAG), as it was at the time. After nine years, he transferred to the Urbach site to work there as Production and Maintenance Manager. In 2006, he was promoted to Operations Manager, initially provisionally, and from 2007 to 2010, he was made permanent in that role. He returned to the Deizisau site in that role and ran it for the following Freshly filled Coca-Cola PET bottles Andreas Dederer in his office

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EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 14 eight years. In 2018, he finally moved as Operations Manager to Karlsruhe. “I was attracted by the exciting task of expanding the site, the large-scale production and the opportunity to build a new team fit for the future,” he remembered. Part of being fit for the future included the single-use PET line, just coming into operation. “Initially, we combined the investment in the site’s new line with production capacities,” said Dederer. “At the CCEP site in Liederbach, near Frankfurt in Hesse, we couldn’t see any expansion options and so decided to bring the single-use PET line there dating from 2013 into line with the latest technology and relocate it to Karlsruhe, where the necessary expansion options were available. The plan was to further extend the factory for strategic reasons, with the aim of expanding PET manufacturing, but nevertheless to keep production in the south of Germany, which was possible through this relocation. Here in Karlsruhe, this enabled us to increase the overall efficiency of the company, i.e. greater volumes and more staff, and we created around 70 new jobs,” summarised Andreas Dederer. Currently, a total of 248 employees work on the 56,000m2 Neureut production site, where there are further expansion possibilities. Production, products, key figures Coca-Cola and Coke Zero account for about 80% of the overall production, some 15% for Fanta Orange, Sprite, Mezzo Mix, and Coke Light and circa 5% for other products - all in 1.25 l PET bottles. Up to 36,000 bottles pass through the bottling system every hour. Almost 2.5 million leave the factory each week for the south and west of the country. For its upgraded Liederbach lines, operation relies on blowing and bottling technology from Krones. PCO1881 preforms of 31.5 g are produced inhouse on six Netstal PET-Line systems, not at the Karlsruhe site but at the site in Halle. Blowing in Karlsruhe is on a Krones Contiform Bloc C316. CCEP purchases the caps from Bericap and these are to be gradually replaced by tethered caps. Mr Dederer said: “In Karlsruhe, we are planning to adapt the PET line accordingly in calendar week 9. This line conversion should take place on site over 2.5 weeks.” To supply the new production lines and so we can produce more on the can lines, production-related supply areas have also recently been modernised and expanded. This includes the tanks in the Coca-Cola syrup room that can now supply two production systems at once with syrup for drinks bottling. Water treatment has also been reworked and expanded so two production lines can be operated at once. Six new loading ramps have been constructed in logistics, which should ensure that from now on, twice as many lorries can be loaded at the same time. Furthermore, the company fills 330ml sleek and standard cans, as well as the Monster Energy range in 500ml and 568ml. A total output of 342 million cans and 115 million PET bottles is planned for this year. Mains water is used and in 2021, consumption was around 2.377 litres per finished drink, we were told. Trends, sustainability and coronavirus lessons Compared to last year, water consumption has increased slightly, Mr Dederer explained. “This was caused by installation, new process techniques and validation processes. But the aim in 2022 is to reduce water use by 25 per cent. Furthermore, we have our own mineral well available, which currently isn’t in operation. However, this will also be used in future for reasons of sustainability and efficiency,” continued Mr Dederer. “We are also pursuing the aim, besides converting to tethered caps, of manufacturing our entire CocaCola bottle portfolio from 100% rPET in the upcoming years.” In 2019, the company responded to a generally stronger demand in the glass sector by investing US$5.3 million in a new 1l glass multi-use line in Deizisau. The Neureut site offers the opportunity to expand further in future but there are no expansion plans, at least for the moment. The pandemic that started in 2020 was an endurance test for the drinks manufacturer. “We’ve learned to work more flexibly with regard to time and location. But it was a challenging time overall for the factory,” said Dederer. “However, we’re proud of our employees because they all pulled together, which has had a positive effect on team spirit. As the only factory in Germany producing the Monster products, we were under particular pressure to maintain production and

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 15 CCEP’s chronology 1981 New-build “Im kleinen Bruch” and installation of a KHS line for 330ml and 500 l multi-use glass bottling 1996 Adoption into CCE AG 2013 Upgrading of the KHS multi-use glass line to 1 l PET RR (glass and PET combi-line) 2015 Uninstalling of the KHS line and, after nine months of conversion time, start of the new KHS can line with capacity for 120,000 cans/h and reorganisation of the production area 2016 Start of Monster production with 4 flavours on the KHS can line, bottling of Monster and Coca-Cola products 2017 CC export business to Italy 2018 CC export business to Norway 2019 Start of Monster Mega Can 568ml production 2020 Start of standard 330ml can for Denmark with 6 flavours Increase of Monster flavours to 17 Monster export business to Denmark 10-pack Monster 500ml for Germany 2021 US$16 million investment in production, supply areas and logistics, creation of a total of 60 new jobs Installation of a second line (normal resistance PET), relocated from Liederbach to Karlsruhe Introduction of 24/6+ shift system (20 shifts/week) in Q2 2022 Introduction of 24/7 shift system on Jan 01, 22 Start of second line (normal resistance PET) therefore the supply for Germany. We managed well. Even during the coronavirus pandemic, the energy category experienced very strong sales growth. In the last 12 months, the category has seen double-digit growth in sales compared to the previous year so is stronger than all other categories of non-alcoholic soft drinks, such as juices. The drinks are very popular primarily with young and affluent adults, who are also very open to innovation. In the last five years, Monster Energy has been a growth driver in the energy category and grew even more strongly than the energy drinks category overall.” www.cocacolaep.com

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 16 Highest turnover despite pandemic July 26, 2022 We met: Josep Jimenez, Sales Manager Side S.A. Spanish plant manufacturer Side S.A. is a good example of lockdowns and pandemics not having to be the worst-case scenario for a company. Through pre-emptive action and close collaboration with customers, the company not only managed in 2021 to generate the best sales in its company history, but at the same time launched several innovations in the SBM and maintenance sectors. Side S.A. is known as a mediumsized supplier of blow moulding machines, especially those that produce bottles with complex technical refinements, e.g. oval bottles, bottles with complicated designs for cosmetics, or large-volume bottles with handles. But recently, in L’Ametlla del Vallès near Barcelona in Spain, a system series is also being produced that relies more firmly on speed and maximum efficiency. “We are a small company but we are listening to what our customers are saying,” says Josep Jiménez, Sales Manager at Side. “And bottle makers are interested in speed.” So the company has developed the new Series 3000, which comes with up to 8 cavities and has an output of up to 18,000 bph (see also Drinktec preview report p. 32). The company’s customer base, mainly in the water, edible oil/condiments and detergents sectors, is happily adopting the new product. Three systems from the 3000 range have already been installed for customers in Brazil, Spain and the Dominican Republic. Depending on customer requirements, Side also undertakes complete installation including blowing, rotary filler and capping monobloc systems. This customer base from the water / beverages filling sector is a particular target for the high-speed lines. But to the pleasant surprise of the company, simple bottle producers are also showing an interest in the new high-speed solutions for more niche customer orders. Innovations are also abundant in the existing machine park. As a further development of the 2-cavity machinery 1002e, on which bottles up to 2.5 l can be manufactured at an output of up to 3,800 bph, Side also brought onto the market the enhanced model 1022e 160 with an output of 4,000 bph and up to 80mm neck finish. Bottles up to 3 l in volume can be blown thanks to an increase in the centre distance of the moulds inside the machine. To meet the design demands of customers from the detergent industry, it has also been possible to enlarge the surface area. Also launched this year was the 2002eG XL system, which is driving the expansion of large-volume bottles for water coolers or edible oil. Bottles up to 25 l or up to 20 l as singleuse variants are manufactured on the 2-cavity machine at 2,500 bph. “This is the highest speed for these volumes currently available on the market,” says Jimenez. Using extreme situations correctly With so much desire to innovate, it’s no wonder that Side has generated the highest turnover in its company history with growth of 20% in the pandemic year of 2021. Of the 20 million euros, around 35-40% is attributed to the growing blow moulding department. With regard to electronic components, it plays into the company’s strengths that they can rely on inhouse products from the Side Automatización business unit; other companies are currently enduring long waits for these. “When Side was founded in 1974, it was a company for industrial electronics cabinets,” explains Jimenez. “And like never before, electronic components make up a significant Tour Sponsors: Josep Jimenez and Gabriele Kosmehl by Gabriele Kosmehl Josep Jimenez explains the double booster system which increases the diameter of the preform before blowing.

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 17 proportion of the company. Over the years, other activities have been added, such as motors, inverters and touchscreens, and also an in-house IoT service. And naturally, we also use this expertise in our blow moulding department.” This latter was added 28 years ago, when PET started playing an increasing role in the food and beverage industry in Europe in the early 1990s. Side’s owner at the time, Mr. Enric Birosta, decided to buy up a customer from the extrusion blow moulding machines sector and to refocus on stretch blow moulding machines. So the business unit Side SBM was founded. “This connection between business areas is now a great advantage for us. Most electronic components for our systems are available in our warehouse and we can also carry out certification ourselves. Our anticipatory stock management also avoid problems regarding availability and logistics, and we can maintain capacity of 25-30 SBM systems per year,” says Jimenez. If anything, increasing transport costs, a setback for many companies, have had rather a positive effect for Side, with bottle manufacturers preferring to open branches close to their customers to save on longer transport routes – branches that naturally need to be equipped with new Side systems. Close collaboration with the customer Side S.A.’s remote service system has also proved successful, particularly throughout the pandemic. Four employees supported customers in After Sales matters relating to the over 750 Side machines installed worldwide. Over 90% of servicing can be carried out remotely – a high proportion that also owes its acceptance to the lockdowns. “Basically, this is the normal evolution of things, but the pandemic has helped a lot to accelerate that,” says Jimenez and he adds: “We also offer our customers flexible maintenance contracts so that they don’t get into emergency situations in the first place. Via IoT, we check and optimise the system. This is a growing field that is very well accepted.” The app, too, which allows the customer operator to connect with the machine, relies on inhouse development. This not only provides all details for production but also data, for example about energy consumption. This is one of two hot topics among Side customers, and incentives to reduce energy consumption are being considered by Side in its new developments. This has resulted for example in the air recovery system, which is included as standard in the new 3000 Series and can be retrofitted for other models. Works with customers and the lab supplier regarding the oven are also targeting the reduction of energy consumption and these are reducing energy used by the oven by 20-25%. In its R&D Department, Side engineers are also implementing special bottle designs for customers, prototypes, and analysing the use of different materials. These can be organic-based plastics or different percentage levels of rPET – the second significant topic of concern for bottle producers. Besides the obvious reasons such as the circular economy or instructions from directives, Jimenez also welcomes the use of recyclates for another reason: “The use of rPET reduces the process power required. Many factors come into play here, for example the percentage proportion of recyclate or the use of additives, but at least 10% power can be saved in any case – simply because the darker colouring of the preforms better absorbs the heat of the infrared lamps.” Jimenez would view an rPET proportion of 80% as a good target and is regretful that “we are unfortunately still a long way from that.” www.sidemachines.com Assembly hall at Side’s premises near Barcelona

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 18 High speed assembly machines Contexo GmbH, February 2022 We met: Matthias Müller, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) When assembly of multi-part caps is complicated and needs to be done quickly, Contexo claimes to offer a good solution. These are particularly suitable for complex cut and cap geometries for tethered closures. Up to 72,000 parts per hour can be produced on this machinery. We visited the plant in Winterbach, Germany. Tour Sponsors: The family business is run by three second generation brothers: Jürgen, Matthias and Steffen Müller. Their parents Heide and Karl are also on hand to offer advice and support to the three siblings. In the beverages sector, the company has made a name for itself for closures such as sports and carton caps, as well as providing assembly solutions for pouch closures. The assembly of trigger pumps and spray nozzles is a particular speciality. The company offers two basic machine designs: rotary and linear. Both are force controlled, the rotary machine via gear wheels and the linear via a main shaft that runs from the start of the assembly to the finished product. The shaft is fitted with cams that control the assembly units above it. Rotary designs with feed satellites are ideal for high processing speeds for closures. Up to 36 mould stations can be driven on the rotary machine. In addition to the standard assembly, the stations can also be designed as adhesive, welding, laser, cutting, folding, printing or testing units, depending on product requirements. The positive drive eliminates material buffers between the stations. It is very fascinating to witness the speed and precision with which parts pass through the stations. At the end of the process, a tested, finished and usually complex component emerges. Ten years ago, machines were producing 300 parts per minute, whereas now they can manage up to 1,200 parts per minute. While the linear and rotary machines and stations can be designed and built by CAD, the parts sorters involve manual work. The parts to be assembled are supplied in bulk and have to be transferred to the assembly station via the sorter in the correct position. While sorters for preforms and caps are now standard, Contexo does not shy away from complex part geometries. These geometries constantly challenge the company, particularly in the pump segment for bottles and sports caps. Here, eight work stations are constantly being built, welded, bent, tested, discarded and refined. A particular feature is the socalled vibration feed with TE-Proof. This makes it possible to feed hot injection-moulded parts directly and gently without the dreaded stress whitening. The forced control of the station means that even round parts can be aligned with precision. A small mechanical edge on the component is sufficient to fit it into the correct position. This function is especially important for beverage closures that have to open in a certain way. Matthias Müller, CCO Contexo GmbH Detail of Contexo’s patented all-in-one machine for tethered caps

EDITOUR 19 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 Fig.1: Micky Mouse closures: the rotating tool axis allows the fast assembly of unusual cap designs. The machines also have solutions for new cut tethered caps that do not work on traditional sliders. As the cap rotates on the shaft, the closure runs past the knife, enabling bands to be cut that sit under noncircular caps. (Fig. 1) The fact that cap components sit on shafts and are not clamped from the outside means that even parts with sensitive surfaces, which are often required in the cosmetics sector, can be fitted without leaving any scratches. As well as the beverage industry, the machines are also used in the medical, beauty & home and consumer goods sectors. Contexo is currently focusing on sprayers for cleaning agents, an area in which the sons want to become global market leaders in the near future. www.contexo-gmbh.de Contexo is an international machine builder that designs and produces technical solutions for global brands and companies. Contexo specialises in building high-performance assembly machines for mass production. In 1982, Karl Müller, the family’s father, began building machines. His three sons have led the company since 2011. Contexo’s assembly machines are designed for good technical performance and versatility. Up to 65 production stages can be integrated in one system, for example: assembly, imprinting, joining, gluing, welding and lasering.

MOULD MAKING PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 20 A growing Indian company with international interests Acme Disys, which was established in 2002, is headquartered in New Delhi, India, where its manufacturing and sales organisations are also based. The company’s 70-plus employees work in a modern production facility equipped with in-house design and engineering resources. It uses advanced high precision machine tools, sourced from leading German and Japanese suppliers, to manufacture high performance injection moulds. Its factory complex also houses mould testing resources, equipped with contemporary injection moulding machines from leading global companies. Acme Disys sells PET preform, caps and closures moulds across India and to more than 30 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Cyprus and other countries. It has capacity for most light weighted preforms and caps, along with the latest neck finishes for water, juice, CSD, edible oil and wide-mouth jars for customers in India. Trends in moulds for preforms and caps Suppliers in India are working to become specialists in particular industries and offering dedicated, light weighted neck finishes. The latest varieties of necks and sizes are widely available for water, juice, CSD, edible oils and wide mouth jars for FMCG markets. Fridge bottles for household industries are also trending upwards. Decentralisation of production in India is accelerating, along with greater market spread and reach. Companies are establishing multiple production locations across the country, including in rural areas. The trend for PET preform moulds is towards higher cavitation, hot runner systems and quick interchangeability of stacks for various varieties and sizes to be offered. “In the cap and closure segments, we are observing a shift from compression moulding to injection moulding, with light weighting & tamper evident features as the key drivers. Adopting the post-moulding operation into the mould enhances the value proposition,” says Harbir Singh, Acme Disys’ Managing Director. Industries and market share Acme Disys serves packaging industry customers across all the main drinks sectors, including beverages, water, CSD, juices, food and FMCG. Although the fragmented nature of the industry makes it difficult to be absolutely precise, the company’s pan-India market share is estimated at 30-40% of the PET preform mould beverages segment. Preform and cap mould projects Acme Disys has delivered a number of special projects, in recent times. Among the highlights of recent projects were the delivery of a prestigious preform mould project for Parle Drinks in Nepal, to cater for their market for juice & CSD products, including Frooti and Appy Fizz, with PCO 2519 neck finishes. It also supplied one of the Indian market’s lightest preform and cap solutions, to a large mineral water company in Gujarat. Its 1 g cap for 26mm neck finishes, catering for 6.5 g, 9 g and 16.5 g preforms, is now an industry benchmark. The company supplied a high speed, productive solution for water preforms to a company in Gujarat that is an exclusive supplier to the Patanjali brand and the Rail Neer Mould assembly at Acme Disys Mr Harbir Singh, Managing Director Acme Disys

MOULD MAKING PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 09/22 www.petpla.net 21 Indian Railway brand. It created a new benchmark for the Indian water industry with a number of turnkey projects for very light preform and cap moulds for 200ml, 500ml and 1 l bottles, with non-nitro filled 26/22 necks. Acme supplies large-capacity bottle preform moulds, including the world’s first 12 cavity mould for five gallon/20 litre water bottles. The preforms have a 55mm bubbletop caps and weigh 750 g. The company has also supplied 72 cavity moulds, which are India’s largest, and, at the opposite extreme, it made the country’s fastest cap mould: a 48 cavity hot runner with a 4.4 s cycle time. The company developed and produced a dispensing pump (complete set of 7 moulds), making it the first company in India to offer a complete packaging and closure solution. In international markets, Acme Disys developed the world’s largest wide-mouth jar mould: a 12 cavity unit, producing 110mm necks, for the African market. In East Africa, it supplied a mineral water preform project to a leading international brand. The company can also claim another world first: a commercial mould for largecapacity preforms with handles, for Australia’s 2 l and 3 l juice market. In-house services Acme Disys’ inhouse resources include preform and cap product designs, prototyping and mould testing. Comprehensive in-house customer training is provided for mould assembly, maintenance and process optimisation. The company provides mould and hot half refurbishment of Husky, MHT, ASB, Sacmi and other international mould makers, as well as complete cold half and conversion kit serving of moulds of up to 96 cavities. Tethered caps are currently being developed and used in EU countries and elsewhere in the world. Acme Disys is already working to develop these caps in the near future, as required by individual markets. The company sees no major challenges with their development, having already worked on similar concepts. Neck finishes Acme Disys currently offers cap moulds for various standards, including: Water: 28mm Alaska, 26/22mm, 29/25mm, 30/25mm Juice and CSD: 1810 PCO,1810 PCO light weight,1881-pco,38mm Edible oil: CTC-26/10 with tamper evidence band for both right & left hand opening & then work as flip top Pickles and jar: 53mm with tamper evident band 20 l BT: 20 l bubbletop push-on cap with tear-off band PCO-2519, a standard similar to GME 30.40 (26mm) is in the development stage. Prototyping, testing and customer validation is under way. Product range  PET preform moulds: 2-96 cavities for bottles & wide mouth jars Bottles - catering to beverages - water, carbonated, juice, liquor, pharma & personal care applications. Wide mouth jars - catering to FMCG and food applications Caps & closures: beverage packaging - water, carbonated, drinks, juices, pharma etc. Dispensing Pumps: Acme Disys is the first company in India to develop and offer complete sets of moulds to personal care & FMCG industries. Medical technology: blood collection tubes up to 48 cavities. www.acmedisys.com MORE DATA BETTER QUALITY LESS DOWNTIME BOOTH A4/410 VISIT US AT:

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