Agr International blower facilitates transition to rPET

Agr International is equipping German fruit juice manufacturer, Eckes-Granini, with its Agr Process Pilot blow moulding machine. Commissioned in January 2021, the automated control system is used on line 2 of the manufacturer’s 100% rPET bottle manufacturing and filling plant.

The line has been configured as a block, integrating the blow moulding, application of a Plasmax protective liner and the filling operation. The German company’s top priority was to avoid excess recycled resin in a preform, to manage the variability of rPET. « Failure to manage rPET variability results in non-compliant bottles and creates downstream problems, such as jams in the labeller due to tilting, » says the company. Thanks to granular control, powered by algorithms, the Process Pilot machine is able to counteract these irregularities. To optimise quality verification, Eckes-Granini has also installed Agr’s Pilot Vision+™. The vision-based quality management system examines the sealing surface, sidewall and base of the bottles as they leave the mould. Any non-conforming bottles are diverted from filling, preventing product from being wasted and preventing them from reaching the market. Eckes-Granini has installed Process Pilot in a KHS Series IV stretch blow moulder with reheating, which produces around 30,000 containers per hour. Design elements such as a long neck, dimples, or embossing adorn the fruit juice manufacturer’s rPET bottles.

Part of 665 issue – February 22. All rights reserved except agreement written by Emballage Digest or mention of the magazine