The KHS Group has added an environmentally-friendly system to its portfolio. With its tried-and-tested Innopack Kisters tray packers, the systems supplier now enables cans of food and beverage to be wrapped in paper.
This new technology provides an alternative to shrink film or wrap-around cartons. It also offers lower cost as cardboard requires less energy and fewer materials. With minor adjustments, existing machines can also be converted to the new setup.
Karl-Heinz Klumpe, Packaging Product Manager at KHS said, “The idea of using paper as a secondary packaging is not new. KHS first experimented with this around 20 years ago. Back then, this technology didn’t catch on as paper was a cost-intensive raw material and wrapping containers in film yielded better results regarding stability.”
However, present customers now want alternatives to the usual packaging systems such as film and they should be as ecofriendly as possible.
Paper wrapping has now been developed together with an international beverage producer. This type of pack can now replace shrink film or wrap-around carton packaging for transportation or sale on packs of 12 or 24 cans in the high-capacity range of up to 90,000 cans per hour.
In addition, to wrap cans in paper instead of film, just a few adjustments are needed to the Innopack Kisters tray packer, a machine well established on the market. “KHS is increasingly supplying modular systems and solutions that enable and ease the appropriate conversions to our machines. Klumpe said, “In this case, we have simply reengineered the process module for folding and wrapping. The standard components such as tray separation from the magazine, gluing or can feed are identical to those on the hundreds of proven KHS machines already on the market.” This allows beverage producers to have the tray packers already in operation at their plants converted simply by adapting certain modules, making a full new investment unnecessary.
Wrapping cans in paper has many advantages over other materials – it is more environmentally sustainable and paper biodegrades in the environment after a few weeks. In addition, fewer packaging materials are used. Instead of a sturdy wrap-around carton or film packs on trays, packaging cans in thinner paper only needs a flat, stable corrugated card pad as a base – with identical results regarding stability. Cost is also lowered by up to 15% with lower energy consumption. In addition, paper has a clear advantage in terms of fully protecting the pack contents, while dirt can get into film packs with small side openings.
The KHS Group is one of the leading manufacturers of filling and packaging systems for the beverage and liquid food industries with a turnover of €1.260 billion (US$1.47 billion) in 2019.
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