Coating process for soft drinks: KHS FreshSafe PET triumphs in India
The KHS Group looks back on an exceptionally successful month. In July 2016 the Group, headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, was able to record several big orders. Much of this success was attributable to the sale of two FreshSafe PET TriBlock lines to a major soft drinks producer in India. In combination with the lines the interior glass coating system is also being used on this important growth market.
Talking about the special follow-up order from India Prof. Dr.-Ing. Matthias Niemeyer, chairman of the KHS Executive Management Board, explains, «Each market has specific requirements which we can provide the right system solutions for, such as here.» The major soft drinks producer will be using the innovative FreshSafe PET coating system from KHS Plasmax on its two new PET lines. It is part of two compact TriBlocks, each of which consists of stretch blow molder, coating system and filler/capper combination. With FreshSafe PET the PET bottles are given an ultra-thin glass coating while remaining fully recyclable. The process gives the containers it produces – in this case handier small 0.25-l bottles – much improved product protection. The technology has been in use as a single machine at the site in India since February 2016 and, thanks to its convincing advantages, has resulted in this follow-up order. The beverage producer achieves a longer beverage shelf life and is thus able to cover a greater distribution area. In this way companies can produce at a central location, in turn saving costs for warehousing and logistics. On large growth markets in particular, such as India, this is an enormous advantage for beverage producers. With the use of this innovative technology economic and also ecological aspects are combined, making production more sustainable.
One of the other systems KHS also sold in July was a high-performance PET hot fill line to Southeast Asia which is especially suited to the bottling of sensitive beverages. Orders for four turnkey glass lines in Central America were also received during the same period. These reliable systems are equipped with the powerful Innofill Glass DRS filler. All of these major projects will be completed in the shortest time thanks to KHS’ use of standardized modules, machines and processes.
«Projects like these send out an important message»; says Prof. Niemeyer, adding, «our strategy continues to bear fruit and confirms that we are on the right course». In doing so the Dortmund company chiefly focuses on its extensive line expertise throughout the entire market, with its glass and PET lines in particular excelling in July 2016.
