KHS has added the BottleClip Carrier application to its Innopack Kisters Advanced series. The new module allows PET bottles to be grouped into multipacks using a cardboard carrying handle, according to the company, positioning it as a resource-conserving alternative to plastic handle variants.
“At the moment, the packaging and beverage industries find themselves navigating their way through a demanding market environment: in addition to geopolitical uncertainties and economic volatility, the acute lack of specialist workers and increasing regulatory requirements worldwide are dominating strategic corporate agendas,” said Johannes Look, group team manager of special design engineering at the KHS competence center in Kleve, Germany. To address these demands, KHS said the Innopack Kisters Advanced series is designed to offer flexibility and a high degree of automation.
At interpack, KHS exhibited the Innopack Kisters TSP Advanced, which packs beverage cans and PET and glass bottles on trays and pads and in film. The machine can now also produce PET bottle multipacks using the BottleClip Carrier module. Users can choose between flexible format sizes of two, four, six or eight identical bottles, as well as mixed variety packs.
The module is said to be compatible with PET bottles made from virgin material or up to 100% recyclate, and can also handle lightweight containers. According to KHS, the machine can produce up to 4,800 packs per hour.
The company positions BottleClip Carrier as an alternative to plastic carrying handles, which it says face increasing regulatory restrictions globally. “Lots of countries already have strict quotas governing recycling and the use of recyclate; some states even totally forbid certain types of packaging such as plastic carrying rings,” said Look.
KHS said the application does not require energy-intensive processes such as heating in a shrink tunnel. Instead, the cardboard handle is clipped onto bottles via a rotating application wheel in continuous operation. “With this, we give our customers a great economic benefit, especially in view of the high global costs for energy and raw materials,” Look said.
The module is available for all standard models in the Advanced series, and existing machines can be retrofitted where certain technical requirements are met, according to KHS. Operator-prompted format changeovers are said to take only a few minutes to complete.
KHS said the tool changeover process has been designed with ergonomics in mind. “The packer travels to an ergonomic position independently, allowing the operator to change the snap-closure tools with just a few manual adjustments,” Look said. The blanks loading process is similarly designed to allow loading at a back-friendly height, after which the machine sets up and starts production automatically, according to the company.