German headquartered packaging and bottling machine manufacturer, Krones AG had been chosen by smoothie and juice manufacturer, innocent to deliver 4 complete PET bottling lines in the Port of Rotterdam for its greenfield project a few years ago. With sustainability being a key focus for innocent in building this CO2 neutral bottling plant, Krones has also been contributing to the project through its aseptic systems that can additionally help its customer innocent save on total ownership costs.
Read: June 2023 Issue of Food InfoTech Magazine.
In an exclusive interaction with Claus from Food Infotech, Ms. Navaporn Chuencharoensuk, Communications Manager, Krones APAC shares more details about Krones’s contributions to innocent’s CO2-neutral bottling plant at the Port of Rotterdam, including about their aseptic equipment portfolio, ContipureAseptBloc DA. She also speaks about Krones’s future plans that would include its focus on delivering solutions aimed at addressing the major challenges of climate change, food security and responsible packaging.
Excerpts Below:
Would you please begin by telling us more about the recent contributions made by Krones to innocent‘s CO2-neutral bottling plant at the Port of Rotterdam?
In our current operations, we have four PET lines running at the blender, primarily catering to the filling of juices and smoothies. However, we have taken future possibilities into account and have allocated ample space in the plant to accommodate a potential fifth line if the need arises. The main criteria in awarding the contract for the Greenfield project were, of course, sustainability – for example, minimizing the consumption such as operating materials and water as well as reducing preparation times. Additionally, we placed great importance on the safety and reliability of the equipment and the quality of the product and final product packaging.
Could you explain for us more about the turnkey MES concept developed by Krones’s subsidiary, Syskron for innocent to digitalize the entire processes in the CO2-neutral factory and the benefits that innocent has been able to receive from such move?
Our team of digital technology experts devised a comprehensive solution known as the turnkey manufacturing execution system (MES) for innocent. This innovative concept seamlessly integrates innocent’s new plant’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), process control, and warehouse management systems by leveraging suitable interfaces.
These include various IT solutions from Krones’ SitePilot portfolio, including the Planning production planning system, the Line Management order and material management system, and Line Diagnostics for data acquisition and analytics. Moreover, through our Share2Act Services, innocent will benefit from the implementation of Connect, a digital platform that ensures the smooth dissemination of essential information such as shift schedules to all employees.
Can you please share more details on the ContipureAseptBloc DA and its features with us? Further, please let us know how Krones has been able to assist innocent in saving on total ownership costs?
The Krones aseptic systems family includes experts for all kinds of different sterilization methods and products to be filled. One of them is the Contipure AseptBloc DA. Regardless of whether you are blow molding, filling, or capping, with the Contipure AseptBloc every production step is safely included in an aseptic processing chain. That was very important for innocent. And the great thing is: it also saves on total ownership costs possible. Let me just mention the pinpoint production here: The Contipure AseptBloc is filling to the last drop. The system uses the remaining product quantity in order to calculate exactly how many more PET containers and caps are still to be sterilized. In addition, the system scores with low compressed air consumption, low number of handling parts, quick tool-free change-over and further aspects.
At innocent, the Contipure AseptBloc DA blow-molder-filler block consists of a Contiform 3 Pro stretch blow molder and a Modulfill Asept aseptic filler. The Contipure D preform sterilization module features an especially sustainable design that uses very little hydrogen peroxide, steam, and energy and requires very short preparation times, thereby ensuring a low total cost of ownership (TCO).
With sustainability becoming a major focus for building this plant, can you please take us through some of its special features that make it operate as a carbon neutral facility?
innocent plans to reduce energy requirements as much as possible by using waste heat, solar cells and even wind turbines starting in 2024. Already, our fully electric trucks are effectively transporting orange juice from an nearby warehouse to the Big Blender, where it undergoes processing and bottling, resulting in zero emissions. The strategic election of the port of Rotterdam location was no random choice, as it offers convenience to the logistic network and enables the company to reduce the total kilometers traveled in supply chain by 20 percent, consequently curbing emissions.
Being one of the first carbon neutral factories in the world to have introduced several technological innovations and designs, can you name some of the innovations brought in to the facility that have also been helping reduce carbon emissions in innocent’s operations?
At innocent, the company has successfully achieved a harmonious integration of total cost of ownership TCO savings and sustainability. This is evident in our approach to Contipure AseptBloc DA, where the answer aligns with our commitment. As previously mentioned, the Contipure D preform sterilization module boasts an exceptionally sustainable design, resulting in minimal energy consumption and a consequent reduction in CO2 emissions.
Additionally, our stretch blow molder has been optimized to minimize compressed air usage and heating energy requirements. This is made possible through an energy-efficient heating chamber with an adjustable bottom reflector, as well as the implementation of the Air Wizard technology, which maximizes the recovery of the blowing air. These examples are just a glimpse into our ongoing efforts to prioritize sustainability and drive efficiency for the company.
Finally, a bit about your future plans for our readers.
With the construction of one of the world’s first carbon-neutral factories, innocent is pursuing the same goal as Krones: to deliver products that align with a climate- and environment-friendly lifestyle.
Looking ahead, Krones is committed to providing digitalized, flexible, efficient, and sustainable solutions for our customers. We recognize that sustainability is a key driver of innovation, and it has become increasingly important in our customer’s operations. As a turnkey supplier with a global presence, we have the expertise, technologies, and reach to make a substantial contribution to addressing three major challenges facing humanity: slowing climate change, feeding the world’s population, and using packaging responsibly. We have also expressed this in our new target picture.
To achieve these ambitious goals, we have formulated a target picture that outlines our vision and the strategies we will employ. By focusing on sustainability, we aim to deliver solutions that benefit our customers, humankind, and the planet. This includes developing sustainable processes and technologies in areas such as process technology, filling and packaging technology, and intralogistics.
In addition to sustainability, digitalization and fully comprehensive services will play a pivotal role in our future plans. We recognize the importance of incorporating digital solutions and services to enhance performance and reduce resource consumption at our clients’ facilities. By leveraging digitalization and offering comprehensive services, we can help our customers optimize their production processes while minimizing their environmental impact.
In summary, our future plan for the food infotech readers revolves around offering digitalized, flexible, efficient, and sustainable solutions. We are committed to using our innovative power to promote a sustainable and successful industry, while also addressing the pressing challenges of climate change, global food security and responsible packaging.
