Sponsored Post – Resources are becoming increasingly scarce, the markets ever more agile and processes ever more complex. In this dynamic world, holistically conceived systems that provide a smart combinati-on of technology, data and artificial intelligence are needed more than ever in order to upgrade efficiency levels, respond to changes with the requisite flexibility and save valuable resources.
In Halls B6 and C6 at drinktec in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, Krones will show how all of that can be achieved.
The focus will be on smart and sustainable data-based or data-defined solutions that can be responsively adapted to each individual requirement, regardless of whether small batches or large volumes are involved. The days of focusing on single machines are long since over. Now, it’s all about ensuring the perfect inter-action of all the components in a line, which must be intelligently connected and flexibly scalable in order to achieve clear goals: reducing operating costs, enhancing resource-economy and creating processes that are even more reliable and more sustainable.
The lines of the future
One of the special highlights at the fair will be the fully automated and digitally connected line of the future. What was still just a vision in 2022 is now reality. The line of the future features many innovations that take efficiency, flexibility and resource-economy to new heights. And although the line exhibited is for PET bottles, the Krones team is already working on futuristic connected line concepts for glass and cans as well.
Great variety of technologies for all container types
A canning line, for example, will in future have a substantially smaller footprint: The newly developed LinaFlex eSync needs up to 40 per cent less space, reduces maintenance outlay and thanks to its single-lane conveyor ensures gentler container handling. The portfolio of canning kit also includes innovations in inspection and filling technology as well as seamers of the Modulseam series, which score highly not only with excellent standards of hygiene and fast handling-part change-overs but also with a new high-speed variant that is able to seam up to 135,000 cans per hour.
The well-thought-out solutions that Krones will be showcasing for glass containers range from a new bottle washer boasting particularly gentle bottle handling, a smaller footprint and enhanced energy and media efficiency to design upgrades for filling valves for beer and spirits right through to innovative approaches aimed at ensuring flexible, cost-efficient filling.
The filling-kit exhibits presented at drinktec are supplemented by new labelling technologies and by comprehensive solutions for the Compact Class from Krones’ subsidiaries Kosme and Gernep.
And Krones will be setting new benchmarks not least in the fields of digital transformation and intralogistics. Connected systems, smart intralogistics and AI-based process control systems bring more digitalisation to production sequences, thus rendering them more transparent and more efficient and assuring optimum resource allocation.
Hall C6 – PET Point for closing the plastics loop
Another highlight is the drinktec PET Point in Hall C6. Here, everything is focussed on achieving circularity for plastics, showcasing innovative technologies from Krones Recycling, Netstal and MHT. The three subsidiaries will team up to present solutions that don’t just close the loop but reinvent it. Compact, holistically conceived systems factor in each and every step in the process, from plastics recovery and processing right through to reuse.
Bearing the big picture in mind – from raw material through to the finished product
Krones is taking things forward. Together with its subsidiaries Steinecker, Milkron, HST, Evoguard, Ampco Pumps, Perfinox and GHS, the company will present the full range of process technologies: for water, CSDs, beer, wine, alternative foods and much, much more. Each part dovetails neatly with the rest, and all of them are in pursuit of the same objective: ensuring the long-term viability of your production operation.
Reliability throughout the equipment’s life cycle
However, stable line operation is not just based on state-of-the-art technology alone but also on a can-do service concept. Krones’ Lifecycle Service provides customers with comprehensive support over their line’s entire life cycle, starting with commissioning and ranging from predictive maintenance, reliable spare parts supply and digital remote support right through to continuous optimisation when the line is up and running. That is instrumental in minimising downtimes, maximising line availability and cutting total cost of ownership on a sustainable basis. The biggest support package offered in this context is Lifecycle Alliance, a scheme in which Krones provides full service for the line in cooperation with the customer and is responsible for its performance.
Dialogue is key to future success
Sharing knowledge, giving fresh impetus, shaping the future together – that is the aspiration of the Krones Forum at drinktec. Inspiring presentations and discussions on all aspects of lines of the future, digital transformation and sustainability as well as trends and visions make space for an exchange of views and for mapping out new perspectives and possible shopfloor solutions – on each of the five days of the fair.
As this overview shows, drinktec 2025 is far more than just a trade fair for Krones. It is a landmark on our shared journey into the future, taking us to connected and sustainable production operations.
FEVE – the European Container Glass Federation elected its Presidency team for the 2023-2025 term of office at its Annual General Assembly on Thursday 15th June.
Martin Petersson, CEO Ardagh Glass Packaging – Europe: one of the world’s leading glass packaging manufacturers – has been elected President of the EU container glass federation.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Petersson said: “I am honoured to take up this important role and look forward to contributing to FEVE’s work in collaboration with FEVE members, staff, and the national associations. We have challenging and exciting times ahead of us, but we are in a strong position to reach our sustainability goals and strengthen our industry’s Circular Economy model.
He added: “Glass is a material that has unique inherent sustainability benefits: it is a permanent material, endlessly recycled in a closed loop and it is inert, meaning that it protects the quality of products, it preserves their taste, and guarantees safety for consumers’ health. It is also uniquely versatile in adding value and premium positioning to products. However, all these qualities are often taken for granted in the marketplace. We need to be more proactive in defending and promoting glass.”
Martin Petersson succeeds Vitaliano Torno, O-I Glass President Business Operations & O-I Europe, who led the association for the previous two years. “Vitaliano did a great job in navigating the federation through recent years, marked by the global pandemic and unforeseeable market dynamics, but he also managed to maintain a united industry in shaping a common vision to face the major challenge of climate neutrality”, commented Petersson.
The FEVE members also elected Michel Giannuzzi, Chairman of the Board of Verallia, as Vice-President. Mr Giannuzzi commented: “Our industry is at a crucial crossroad on the path to the future. We should not be afraid to invest in the sustainability assets of our business model to secure our future as packaging leaders. I am looking forward to supporting Martin and the sector over the next two years in the drive to address climate change and the sustainability agenda.”
For the first time ever, European container glass manufacturers come together to build the first large scale hybrid electric furnace to run on 80 % green electricity.
The ‘Furnace of the Future’ is a fundamental milestone in the industry’s decarbonisation journey towards climate-neutral glass packaging. It will be the first large-scale hybrid oxy-fuel furnace to run on 80 % renewable electricity in the world. It will replace current fossil-fuel energy sources and cut CO2 emissions by 50 %.
For the very first time, the industry has adopted a collaborative approach where 20 glass container producers have mobilised resources to work on and fund a pilot project to prove the concept.
We are extremely proud to announce this joint-industry project”, comments Michel Giannuzzi, President of FEVE. “The hybrid technology is a step-change in the way we produce and will enable us to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of glass packaging production. The move marks an important milestone for the glass sector in implementing our decarbonisation strategy”.
Ardagh Group – the second largest glass packaging manufacturer in the world – has volunteered to build the furnace in Germany. It will be built in 2022, with an assessment of first results planned for 2023. The industry already works with electric furnaces in several of its 150 glass manufacturing plants across Europe, but they are small scale and exclusively used to produce flint (colourless) glass with virgin raw materials, therefore using very little or no recycled glass content. With this new technology, the industry will be able to produce more than 300 tonnes per day of any glass colour, using high levels of recycled glass.
“With this new technology we are embarking on the journey to climate-neutral glass packaging, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of manufacturing”, states Martin Petersson, CEO of Ardagh Group, Glass Europe. “We aim to demonstrate the viability of electric melting on a commercial scale, which would revolutionise the consumer glass packaging market”.
Bringing the ‘Furnace of the Future’ to life is an extremely ambitious project requiring significant financial and human resources and a wide range of expertise. For this reason, the industry has committed to work together. By adopting a sectoral approach, it also intends to gain the support of the European Commission through the ETS Finance for Innovation Fund Programme. Despite its key importance, this project is not the only one the industry is working on. Other pathways towards clean production technologies and climate-neutral glass packaging are already implemented and others are also being explored.
Michel Giannuzzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Verallia Group – one of Europe’s leading glass packaging manufacturers for the food and beverage sector – has been elected Vice-President of FEVE – the European Container Glass Federation – at its FEVE General Meeting in Rotterdam on June 15th.
“I am eager to put my experience at the service of this industry which has an unrivaled cultural heritage in Europe and a strong future ahead. Glass continues to be the packaging material of reference for many products despite competition.” says Michel Giannuzzi. “Our European industry association has a leadership role in federating forces towards circular economy”.
About Michel Giannuzzi
Starting from September 1, 2017, Michel Giannuzzi has been appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive officer (“CEO”) of the Verallia Group. Aged 53 years old, Michel Giannuzzi served as CEO of Tarkett, a worldwide leader of innovative flooring and sports surface solutions, from 2007 to 2017. During his tenure at Tarkett, Michel Giannuzzi pursued a profitable and sustainable growth strategy, which led to a successful IPO in 2013. Prior to that, Michel Giannuzzi held several leading positions within the Michelin Group and Valeo Group. He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and Harvard Business School.
Global roll-out underway of largest production-volume addition to Unifiller range, a system that features an accuracy rate typically double those of competitors.
JBT Corporation, one of the world’s leading solutions providers for the food and beverage processing industries, is pleased to announce the launch of the new, High Capacity Unifiller, a unit capable of filling 1,500 containers per minute at an unparalleled accuracy rate.
The High Capacity Unifiller, which can be synchronized with JBT’s 12-head seamer to provide an effective, high-speed canning solution, includes all the best features required for Total Performance Management (TPM), such as clear-guarding, enabling easy revision of the machine as it functions, and LED lighting. The system’s built-in Clean-In-Place (CIP) technology also means the system can be completely cleaned in around one hour, maximizing uptime and minimizing downtime in the process.
Jan Sundberg, JBT’s Produce Line Manager for the Americas, said: “When you have lines that are dedicated to one can- or container-size in high volume, this is a good fit. Eliminating older lines and combining them into a single line can improve efficiency and achieve cost reductions. If you look at the cost per container compared with a single high speed line, there are some big savings. If customers have to achieve the volume, this is the best way of doing it.”
Sundberg added that the High Capacity Unifiller also features an accuracy rate typically double those of competitors. “This adds up very quickly on high-speed lines like this,” he said. “If you are running 1,000+ cans per minute, we are talking about several hundred thousand dollars a year in savings.” To date, JBT has sold and installed four High Capacity Unifillers – two in Asia-Pacific, one in North America and one in South America. The new installations perform: high speed filling of Coffee Drinks in glass bottles, high speed canning of Evaporated Milk, and the fastest filling line of Sweetened Condensed Milk in the world.
