With the help of the current generation of KHS stretch blow molding technology, the bottler is taking energy savings in its PET bottle production to the next level. Coca-Cola replaced two older machines with the InnoPET Blomax, whose performance even exceeds expectations. The option of the groundbreaking heating concept of the DoGa double lane played a major role in this.
Around 6,400 people live in the municipality of Knetzgau in Lower Franconia, and not far from the idyllic center of the city on the Main is one of the largest Coca-Cola plants in Germany. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) employs around 500 people here and produces the well-known classics such as Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Mezzo Mix and Sprite on an area of around 200,000 square meters.
The company has set itself the goal of creating a more sustainable future and is pursuing a holistic approach. Saving energy, water and materials benefits the environment and at the same time reduces costs. The Bavarian site has now taken a further step in this direction by investing in the resource-saving InnoPET Blomax from KHS.
Near Infrared and Double Lane significantly reduce energy consumption
The latest generation of the proven stretch blow molding machine is not only characterized by its high performance, but also scores points in a direct market comparison with various energy-saving measures. Two in particular stand out: Firstly, the heater for heating the PET preforms uses so-called near-infrared radiation (NIR), which is already much more efficient than many of the other conventional infrared heaters. In addition, the InnoPET Blomax guides the preforms past the radiators in two lanes on both sides and without a primary reflector, which means that their energy is used much more efficiently for heating. In addition to the energy savings achieved, this double lane is also more compact than conventional preform heaters.
In Knetzgau, project manager Ralph Sauter looked into the investment in detail beforehand and compared various solutions on the market. Two old stretch blow molding machines built in 1998 were to be replaced, as they were no longer able to meet the requirements for energy efficiency and general spare parts availability. In the end, the decision was made in favor of KHS. “Due to the goals we set ourselves, energy savings play a major role. The new double-lane technology and the associated savings made this very interesting for us,” says Sauter. Now that the machine has been running for a few weeks since its successful acceptance, he expects electricity savings of up to 560,000 kWh/year. An impressive figure considering the constantly rising energy costs. “All suppliers understood the importance of the issue,” says Sauter, but “KHS had shown considerable additional savings compared to other solutions on the market.”
Design challenges mastered
“We are impressed by the functionality and performance of the new machine,” adds Sauter. “The Blomax delivers 20,000 containers per hour for the 2.0-liter format and 30,000 containers per hour for the 1.5-liter format and can be optimally integrated into our line due to its flexibility.”
The project manager also points out the special features of the location. The biggest challenge was converting the existing bottle air transport from the previous two machines to just one. Since the position of the air transport was fixed, the new system had to be aligned in the hall with centimeter precision. This is confirmed by Marc Harald Eysel, Sales Manager PET Technology at KHS: “That was an exciting task for us.” For KHS, it is a matter of course that such adjustments are implemented in the interests of the customer, he emphasizes. “We don’t just want to impress with system performance alone.” While the need in Knetzgau is initially covered by the new investment, KHS is seeing a rapidly growing demand for energy-reducing technologies such as the double lane. “Because even compared to more modern stretch blow molding solutions that were built up until the end of the last decade, we are achieving savings of up to 30 percent,” explains Eysel.
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