Alfa Laval is turning circularity into action with the launch of ThinkCircularity, a take-back programme that recycles materials from its ThinkTop valve control units. The pilot project has been well received by customers and partners, and the company has already received its first returned products for recycling.
„Circular thinking is not just a buzzword for us – it is a responsibility, says Inger Bygum, Head of Sustainability at Alfa Laval Hygienic Fluid Handling and Heat Transfer Technologies. “With ThinkCircularity, we ensure that materials from old ThinkTops can be reused, recycled or disposed of in the most responsible and value-creating manner.”
ThinkCircularity initially focuses on plastic recycling. Each ThinkTop contains 500 grams of plastic, and the pilot project has demonstrated that this material can be recycled to produce new units without compromising quality. Tests confirm that the mix of reused and virgin plastic in future units meets all performance standards – from tensile strength to durability.
Furthermore, other materials and components from the ThinkTops – such as valuable metals and electronics – are responsibly recycled.
First ThinkTops returned
In food, dairy and pharma industries, there is an ongoing focus on process optimization and resource savings. For instance, by upgrading their existing ThinkTop control units, which can save 90 % on water and energy used for cleaning-in-place. This is also the case in Norway, where Skala, the Alfa Laval Master Distributor, specializes in servicing hygienic industries. They recently introduced the ThinkCircularity take-back scheme to their customers and have already sent back several hundred units.
„Our customers care about water and energy efficiency – and sustainability,” says Owe Barsten, Responsible Manager at Skala Components. “Upgrades mean that older units are scrapped, but now we can offer a truly circular solution where old ThinkTops give life to the next generation.”
First step in a broader circularity strategy
Key elements in Alfa Laval’s circularity strategy include designing products for durability, high efficiency and long lifetime. With ThinkCircularity, the company now closes the loop by offering an end-of-life solution that ensures that old products are scrapped responsibly and new products in the future can be made from recycled plastic. Inger Bygum emphasizes that this pilot project is only the start: „Recycling plastic from old ThinkTops is just a small drop in a vast ocean of circular opportunities. Still, this pilot project is important to us and has taught us valuable lessons that will help us develop new business models, partnerships and methods to scale reuse and recycling.”
So far, the ThinkCircularity initiative has been launched in selected European countries.
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.
AIJN joined forces with NMWE, UNESDA, the Changing Markets Foundation and Zero Waste Europe to call on EU decision-makers to create the right enabling policy framework and help our industries accelerate the transition to a circular economy.
AIJN, together with Europe’s non-alcoholic beverage industry represented by Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE) and UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, and leading NGOs, including Changing Markets Foundation and Zero Waste Europe, call on EU decision-makers to create the right enabling policy framework to help accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Europe. Our organisations underline the need to ensure resource-efficient waste management systems to enable close-loop recycling. We also call for a “priority access”, or a similar mechanism that guarantees a “right of first refusal” to beverage producers to facilitate their fair access to the food-grade recycled materials coming from the products they placed on the market and which were successfully collected.
The EU Circular Economy Action Plan has the ambition of accelerating the transition to a circular economy. This will require significant changes in the way we collect, reuse, recycle and incorporate recycled materials. Achieving fully closed and resource-efficient waste management systems for all materials should be the primary objective. The more closed-loop a system is, the more resource efficient it will be by delivering quality recycled materials which can be re-used multiple times for the same application. Therefore, for each sector, the ultimate goal should be to achieve «closed-loop recycling». With the right enabling policy framework this can be achieved.
Read the recommendations here and see the position paper attached below as well.
