Asahi Breweries, better known for its beer products overseas, has engaged KHS to equip it with sophisticated InnoPET Blomax Series V Stretch Molder for its Asahi Soft Drinks subsidiary which produces the well-known Rokko water brand.
Not many people know that Asahi is also a major player in the Japanese soft drink market with sales of up to €3 billion (US$3.25 billion) in 2018. With over 8 production sites, Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd. offers a wide selection of products from ciders and teas to milk beverages, still and carbonated mineral waters. The company bottles its ‘Rokko No Mizu’ water at the location of the same name which is not far from the cities of K?be and Osaka. Rokko was one of the very first mineral waters produced and it is now filled into PET bottles to also meet consumer demand for a simple, safe and sustainable container.
KHS InnoPET Blomax Series V was exhibited at the BrauBeviale trade show in Nuremberg, Germany, in November 2018. Prior to the event, Asahi constantly kept up to date with KHS’ new developments and was one of the first customers to decide to commission the new series. As early as 2008, a prototype of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV had already found its way to Japan. Twelve years later, the new and more established Series V is now producing 600ml to-go bottles and large 2-litre receptacles of still Rokko mineral water. A total of around 200 million containers a year are manufactured on the KHS system.
A spokesperson from Asahi Soft Drinks said, “We’ve built up a trusting relationship with KHS over many years. At no time have we regretted investing in the new series.”
The InnoPET Blomax stretch blow molder has always been one of the most reliable and efficient machines of its kind. The Series V saves up to 40% in energy compared to its predecessor through the implementation of a completely new heating concept. The near infrared (or NIR) heater centrally installed in the closed reflector tunnel forms the nucleus of this. In the heater, the preforms pass the centrally arranged heating units to both the left and right. This means that every single NIR heater is used twice, so to speak.
In the Series V, KHS has supplemented its patented AirbackPlus air recycling system for an up to 40% saving in compressed air with its new EcoDry air management system. This uses the residual air from the blowing and recycling process to replace a separate air drier in the base mold area and in the blow wheel, again yielding significant savings in energy.
“When a large Japanese company like Asahi trusts in us thanks to the notable efficiency and reliability of our machines, then that’s a great honor indeed,” said Matthias Gernhuber, Head of Area Sales and Product Management for Asia-Pacific at KHS Corpoplast GmbH. “For saving energy in the interest of the environment and the demand for product quality are of special importance to the Japanese.”
Convinced by the system performance and in order to meet its own requirements and keep up with its rate of growth, Asahi has recently announced plans for a 2nd stretch blow molder from the new series. The KHS Group is one of the leading manufacturers of filling and packaging systems for the beverage and liquid food industries with an annual sales revenue of €1.161 billion (US$1.26 billion) in 2018.
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