The Nature MultiPack from KHS uses easily detachable adhesive dots to join beverage containers into a stable pack instead of shrink film, thus saving up to 90 percent packaging material. The environmentally friendly packaging alternative is now also available for high-performance filling.
Originally developed for PET bottles, the Innopack Nature MultiPack packaging machine was initially designed for an output range of up to 45,000 bottles per hour plus 20 percent over output. However, it quickly became apparent that the sustainable concept of using adhesive dots instead of shrink film to join beverage containers into a pack that was stable for transport but easy for the consumer to break up was also of interest to the can segment. In close cooperation with the Carlsberg Group, the solution was successfully launched in several European countries under the name “Snap Pack” as a four‑, six- and eight-pack for cans.
As cans are filled in the high-performance range with a capacity of more than 100,000 containers per hour, the Innopack Nature MultiPack was previously too slow. Setting up two machines in a line, as at Carlsberg, was therefore only an interim solution: firstly because of the double footprint — one machine is almost 25 meters long — and secondly because of the double investment costs.
In order to meet the requirements of the beverage industry in the best possible way, KHS is now also offering the Innopack Nature MultiPack for the high-performance range. It can process up to 108,000 containers per hour at over capacity, while the nominal capacity is up to 90,000 containers per hour. Depending on the format, the line outputs up to 450 four-packs per minute.
“The innovations already start with the conveying speed, which we’ve increased from 51 to 72 meters per second compared to the previous machine. In order not to have to double the speed — which would have meant a considerable amount of extra work — the pitch has been reduced in the separating module. In this way, more units run through the machine and we achieve our target performance range.”
— Dr. Matthias Caninenberg, Head of Nature MultiPack™ Technology at KHS
