08.495 KHS Journal 02_08 engl_US.qxd - KHS GmbH

KHS 

VALUE ADDED BOTTLING 

TURNKEY PET LINES 

KHS Offers Customers Complete Competence 

2°2008 

journal 

New Belgium Brewery: 

Premiere in the U.S.A 

Strong Partners 

Asahi Group: 27 Filling Systems from KHS 

Beer for the World 

Coca-Cola Içecek 

Dry ACF for Coca-Cola 

Precise. Flexible. Future Proof. 

Perfect Pouchers 

English

editorial 

THE KHS PORTFOLIO IS COMPLETE: 

VALUE ADDED BOTTLING IS A STRONG PLUS. 

Dear Readers, 

Earlier this year the media reported that Salzgitter AG, the majority shareholder of the KHS parent company Klöckner 

Werke AG with a share of around 86%, acquired SIG Beverages, a worldwide leading specialist for PET blow 

molding technology (slogan: value added bottling). Today I would like to tell you about the state of the cooperation 

and in particular about opportunities for KHS. 

Right from the beginning, it was clear that the merger provided the KHS Group with outstanding PET expertise 

that will enable KHS to offer complete systems from one source in the dynamically growing market for plastic 

bottle technology. This includes a transparent, uniform market presence. Accordingly, the individual companies 

have since been renamed to KHS Corpoplast (stretch blow molding technology), KHS Asbofill (aseptic filling of 

sensitive products), KHS Plasmax (barrier coating), and KHS Moldtec (mold production). At the present time, 

our teams are additionally coordinating their sales activities, laying the foundations for close technical cooperation 

and dealing with a wide range of other integration issues. This process is carried out in a cooperative and 

constructive manner. Although the focus is on joint advancement of the strengths of all companies involved, 

our customers will continue to have access to existing contacts and persons they know. 

A key factor is that KHS is now able to offer all customers – around whom ultimately everything revolves – complete 

solutions from one source, because the expertise gained in development, production, barrier coatings, and 

aseptic filling in the PET segment over three decades essentially completes the KHS portfolio. World-renowned 

KHS competence for filling and packaging meets unique competence in the field of PET. The Group is thus able 

to offer customers even more sophisticated, interface-free, environmentally and economically sustainable solutions 

over the entire product cycle of the machines. I am convinced that value added bottling is a strong plus 

for the future of KHS and will quickly make a positive contribution to the continuing success of the group. 

In conclusion, the results of the KHS Group for the previous financial year 2007 are certainly impressive: a significant 

increase in sales of 32.4% led to revenues of almost 1 billion euros, incoming orders exceeded the 

already successful previous year by a further 7.8%, and the operating profit reached around 39 million euros. In 

a word: 140 years after the company was established, KHS remains a solid and successful trusted partner. 

Yours truly, 

Valentin Reisgen, 

Chief Executive Officer of KHS AG 

» World-renowned KHS competence for filling and 

packaging meets unique competence in the field of PET. «

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people+markets 

news 

Customers, Know-how, and Contacts 

Focus on: 

Value added bottling: Comprehensive PET expertise from a single source 

Turnkey PET Lines 

dossier 

Pouch filling and packing: KHS offers everything from one source 


dialog+opinion 

Interview mit Dr. David Bosshart 

“Globalization Enters a New Phase” 

task+solution 

The Asahi Group now operating 27 filling systems from KHS 

Beer for the World 

Coca-Cola Içecek relies on new technology 


Anton Hübner, provider of innovative health products, 

labels perfectly 

Stick-to-it-iveness 

Kumbok-Ju relies on soju – and KHS 

Traditionally Progressive 

Karlsberg Brewery invests in highly flexible KHS system technology 

Made to Measure 

New Belgium Brewery in Colorado places trust in KHS 

Strong Partners 

Kulmbacher Brewery: Focus on quality and environment 

The Beer Experts 

Brauerei Hacklberg combines tradition and innovation 

Firm Roots 

technology+innovation 

Innofill NRS: Worldwide new principle for bottling convenience drinks 

Focus on Wellness 

For non-alcoholic beverages: Now integrated hot-fill version for PET 

Hot Stuff 

Product line harmonization at KHS: 

Packaging technology for the future 

As Flexible as the Alphabet 

Technical terms in practice: Don’t be afraid of statistics (Part 1) 

Magic Numbers 

stopover 

Don’t miss the opportunity 

04 

10 

18 

39 

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contents ° 2°2008 02*03

Left Logistics Day at TU Dortmund: Volker Till, Chief Technical Officer, KHS AG, announces the endowment of a professorship for filling and pack- 

aging processes. Right Discussion session: (from left) Volker Till, Dr. Volker Paetz (CEO ThyssenKrupp Materials International), Michael Brock- 

haus (CEO Rhenus AG), Norbert Przystupa (Managing Director of forty-five Personalberatung). 

KHS ENDOWS PROFESSORSHIP FOR FILLING AND PACKAGING PROCESSES AT TU DORTMUND 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUNG TALENT 

“The purpose of endowing a professorship 

for filling and packaging processes at the 

Institute for Intralogistics and IT as a center 

for scientific research into technical 

logistics is to contribute toward promoting 

consistent basic research,” said KHS 

CTO Volker Till at a press conference during 

the Logistics Day on 17 April 2008 in 

Dortmund. The new KHS endowment for 

TU Dortmund, which will initially run for a 

five-year period, will focus on integrated 

networking of technology and IT in logistics 

processes. 

KHS sees this as a contribution to 

the expansion of logistics expertise at Dortmund, 

with the intention of engaging with 

key topics in research and education. Volker 

Till: “By working together on research projects 

relating to filling and production 

processes we intend to strengthen the 

robustness and performance of our products, 

speed up the formation of know-how, 

and promote specific project ideas.” Prof 

Michael ten Hompel, Chair for Conveyor 

and Warehouse Systems at TU Dortmund, 

Managing Director of the Fraunhofer Institute 

for Material Flow and Logistics IML at 

Dortmund, and founder of the new Institute, 

emphasizes, “KHS is contributing a 

wealth of expertise in filling and packaging 

engineering, process design and organization 

and logistics for modularly interlinked, 

integrated production systems.” 

This is an ideal basis for successful joint 

research and development projects. 

In this way, KHS promotes young talent by 

providing high-quality academic education 

while gaining access to bright graduates and 

scientists who research, study, and work at 

the new Institute as part of international 

activities. For Volker Till, student programs, 

dissertations, theses, site visits, and traineeships 

therefore represent important potential 

links: “The international outlook of the 

Institute offers scope for recruiting suitably 

qualified individuals into our team.” 

Praise for KHS: Professor Michael ten Hompel, TU Dortmund (second from left)

KHS DRY TECHNOLOGY AT GEHL FOODS, INC., U.S.A. 

FDA ISSUES LETTER OF NON-OBJECTION 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who responsibilities 

include protecting the public health by assuring the safety of the 

nation’s food supply, has issued Gehl Foods, Inc., Germantown, WI, 

U.S.A., approval (letter of non-objection) for a high-performance 

ACF bottling machine from KHS. The technology of the Innofill 

ACF is based on a special aseptic filling system developed by KHS 

that operates with hydrogen peroxide according to the principle 

of fully automatic dry sterilization and offers numerous production 

and cost benefits (see page 26). 

Gehl Foods, Inc. is a leading, widely diversified dairy facility 

in the U.S. that has pioneered in the production and packaging 

of shelf-stable dairy products and since 1970 has successfully 

relied on aseptic cold filling. This KHS line (600 8 – 14-oz. bottles 

per minute) increases the number of low acid product lines in 

operation at the company to a total of 16. The cutting-edge filler 

meets the growing demand for non-refrigerated dairy products and 

features a unique, re-sealable cap that avoids the foil seal method. 

John Gehl, CEO of Gehl Foods, charts the future direction of the 

company: “With the rising cost of refrigerated distribution, we are 

seeing even more desire for non-refrigerated products. Gehl’s plans 

to take advantage of that demand and remain the preferred leader 

in our industry.” 

KHS PROMOTES VLB BERLIN 

MINI PASTEURIZER FOR RESEARCH 

In May this year, the Research Institute for Brewing and Malting 

Technology, Berlin (VLB Berlin) put a test Innopas C pasteurizer 

into operation donated by KHS. This is an investment in the 

future for KHS and intensifies its cooperation with VLB regarding 

research and development in the field of PET pasteurization. The 

Berlin-based institute is involved in trend-setting research in this 

field. Because of the ever-increasing market demand for PET bottles 

for biologically sensitive beverages, the researchers are striving 

to optimize the temperature-time profile and develop bottles 

capable of withstanding the conditions prevailing in tunnel pasteurizers. 

This is very well possible with the test pasteurizer from 

KHS which is able to reproduce the complete pasteurization process 

on a footprint of only about two square meters while providing 

the same flexible functionality offered by its big bother of the 

Innopas C series. 

people+markets ° news 04*05 

Close ties with KHS since 1958: Jörg Wallmüller (center) with KHS CEO 

Valentin Reisgen (right) and Helmut Weber, Chairman of the Joint Works Council. 

KHS IN-HOUSE 

JÖRG WALLMÜLLER 50 YEARS AT KHS 

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry believed “Being true to others means 

being true to yourself,” long before Jörg Wallmüller joined KHS. 

Wallmüller, now a sales engineer in the Central Logistics / Purchasing 

Dept., began his training as a machinist on April 1, 1958 with 

a company to which he has remained loyal for 50 years. On completion 

of his training, Jörg Wallmüller (born in 1943) worked 

first in the chain construction final assembly department and 

then the packer and palletizer construction departments. In 1965, 

he attended a private engineering night school for three years in 

addition to his full-time job. Now a construction technician, he 

was then promoted to a position as a technical employee in 1968 

and worked as an administrative assistant in the packer spare parts 

department. Wallmüller, who has been working as a sales engineer 

with a wide range of tasks since 1973 is respected and well-liked 

by both colleagues and customers. The Executive Board and the 

employees of KHS AG thank Jörg Wallmüller for his commendable 

commitment to his KHS over past half-century. 

WWW.KHS.COM/INDIA 

SPECIAL WEBSITE FOR INDIA 

Because customers need to be well informed at the regional level 

as well, the KHS team has developed a special website for the booming 

subcontinent of India after completing a special website for 

the U.S. This website provides information on the incorporation 

of the country into the company group as well as special knowhow 

in India. Including among other things information and 

facts on the location, points of contact, services, customer events, 

trade fairs, and news. For KHS, the Indian site Ahmedabad is an 

important strategic location for other Asian markets as well. A new 

plant was recently opened in Ahmedabad in 2007 according to KHS’ 

globally applicable quality standards. Look for the India website 

under Quicklinks on the KHS homepage or click on 

www.khs.com/india.

FLASHBACK: KHS AT THE INTERPACK 2008 

ALL-ROUNDER FOR POUCHES 

KHS has just recently introduced a far-reaching innovation to the 

market for pouches. By integrating ExpertPack into this sector, 

KHS has now become a complete and turnkey supplier now offering 

a product line that includes everything from form / fill / seal 

machines, to pouch packaging systems, up to and including a cartoning 

and palletizing program. 

As the many visitors to KHS’ booth saw for themselves at 

this year’s Interpack in Düsseldorf (2744 exhibitors, 179,000 visitors), 

the focus was on innovative technical solutions for processing 

pouches, a new version of the modular packer for disposable 

packaging, and the wrap-around packer especially designed 

for the entry and medium capacity ranges. In brief, 

The new Innopouch K series poucher combines the functions 

of manufacturing pouches and filling them with product in 

one work step. Special features: The system processes either flat 

rollstock or fills pre-made fin-seal or stand-up pouches in a wide 

range of sizes at speeds of up to 105 packs per minute in single 

mode. The horizontal motion mode of operation ensures maximum 

leakproofness of the fin seals even for the most sensitive of products 

(see page 14). What’s more, the innovative KHS packer concept 

provides exceptionally gentle pouch handling coupled with 

plenty of flexibility. 

With its Innopack Kisters TSP tray shrink packer, KHS 

presented a completely redesigned, and in many aspects further 

developed, packaging machine in the modular product series featuring 

outputs ranging from 35 to 135 cycles per minute. Harmonizing 

the product range makes future conversions even easier 

and faster (see page 53). 

Lastly, KHS presented a new generation of shrink tunnels 

that in addition to electric operation can also be heated with 

gas, which is not only more economical but also sensible from an 

ecological standpoint. Depending on the installation location, 

users can save up to 50 percent on energy costs and reduce the 

CO2 output by up to 60 percent (see KHS journal 1/08). 

The new Innopack Kisters WP 030 wrap-around packer 

is designed especially for the entry to medium output ranges in the 

food, beverage, and non-food sectors. Special features include outputs 

of up to 30 cycles per minute optionally for wrap-around or 

tray packaging. The operator friendly machine flexibly processes 

cans, jars, glass and PET bottles, and pre-wrapped packaging. 

A great deal of interest in innovative packing technology was shown by 

the visitors to the KHS exhibition booth. 

CORNERSTONE LAID 

NEW ASSEMBLY SHOP AT KHS WORMS 

On June 6, 2008, KHS COO Dr. Ing. Johann Grabenweger 

together with Lord Mayor Michael Kissel and Jens Guth, member 

of Rhineland Palatinate’s parliament, laid the cornerstone 

for a new assembly shop at KHS’ plant in Worms. The 

shop is to be equipped with a 20-ton crane rail, will occupy 

and area of nearly 2500 square meters, reach an impressive 

height of 14.4 meters, and will be used to manufacture packing 

and palletizing machines. KHS’ competence center for 

packing and palletizing technology is thus making a lasting 

investment in the future. Dr. Ing. Johann Grabenweger, “Our 

intention is to achieve a breakthrough and increase our efforts 

in the food and non-food sectors in addition to the beverage 

industry.” Plant manager Peter Müller sees substantial 

potential worldwide particularly in the area of palletizing. 

“By expanding this plant, we want to be well prepared. And 

that includes providing 20 new jobs.” The assembly shop is 

planned to go into operation by the end of August. Incidentally, 

the stainless steel capsule sealed in the cornerstone 

during the ceremonies was made in KHS’ apprentices’ training 

shop. Tradition meets technology. 

Laying the cornerstone (from left to right): Michael Kissel, 

Lord Mayor of the city of Worms, Dr. Ing. Johann Grabenweger, 

Chief Operations Officer KHS AG, and Jens Guth, member of 

the Rhineland Palatinate state parliament.

KHS AROUND THE WORLD 

CUSTOMERS, KNOW-HOW, AND CONTACTS 

KHS has been represented in world markets by its engineering and the proficiency of its employees for 

140 years. The company stands for absolute customer-orientation, problem-solving competence of its 

high-tech experts, and the know-how of a consulting staff that contributes expertise on economic 

issues. The KHS team demonstrates this worldwide day after day. 

COCA-COLA IÇECEK, TURKEY 

NEW LOCATION – NEW LINE 

The order placed by the renowned bottler Coca-Cola Içecek (CCI) for its new 

mega plant in Elazig in southeast Turkey was bitterly contested. A number 

of suppliers wanted to install the first line at this site. KHS, who has had 

good business relations with CCI for many years, was awarded the contract. 

For this high-performance system as well, the bottler once again placed its 

confidence in the perfect project management and robust machines from 

KHS. The line fills all five bottle types including 1.0-, 2.0-, and 2.5-liter 

contour, straight wall, and Fanta Splash bottles and is optionally capable of 

processing the 0.45-milliliter type of packaging in the future as well. The 

line is comprised of: 

* A BLOWMAX 20 blow molder from KHS Corpoplast that feeds bottles to the 

filler inline directly over an air conveyor. 

* An Innofill DRV 162 VF/N filler (also suitable for non-carbonated products) 

equipped with a sanitary room enclosure complete with HEPA filters that 

has been designed with adequate space to accommodate an ionized air 

rinser later. 

* The two-lane dry area – comprised of two Innopack Kisters SP shrink 

packers, two robot grouping stations, two palletizers, and two pallet stretch 

wrappers – includes a compensating distributor so that production can be 

run from packer 1 to palletizer 2 and vice versa. 

BOSTON BEER COMPANY, PENNSYLVANIA, U.S.A 

HIGH-TECH MEETS THE TRADITIONAL 

Boston Beer, the largest and leading brewery for craft-brewed beer in the 

United States, is receiving from KHS a complete new 280 keg-per-hour Till 

TRANSOMAT 5/1 keg racking line for its plant in Miscellaneous Allentown, Pennsylvania. 

This turnkey line includes robots for palletizing and depalletizing. 

The Allentown brewery took over Boston Beer from Diageo to position this 

brand it as its flagship for traditional brew. 

people+markets ° news 

ELDE CANNED FOODS, ZACHOW 

QUALITY OF SERVICE ALSO 

COMPELLING 

For the first time, ELDE Konserven in Brandenburg’s 

Zachow near Parchim has decided in favor of KHS by 

ordering two rotary Innoket ROLAND 8/4 labeling 

machines, each designed for an output of 6,000 jars 

per hour. The more than 100-year-old still active producer 

of high-quality canned foods is convinced by 

the high quality of KHS machines and the comprehensive 

service provided by KHS that also includes unproblematic 

spare part procurement. Here, “KHS has the 

leading edge.” With a workforce of currently 170 employees, 

the company produces approx. 30,000 tons of raw 

goods on 4 production lines operating on a floor space 

of 7,000 square meters. Forty percent of ELDE Konserven’s 

sales are realized in other European countries. 

06*07

HOCHWALD, THALFANG, GERMANY 

PACKER FOR “BÄRENMARKE” 

Hochwald Nahrungsmittel-Werke is receiving an Innopack Kisters 

TSP 050 tray shrink-packer for its plant in Weiding (Mühldorf) to 

process cans and jars of “Bärenmarke”, its internationally wellknown 

brand of condensed milk. The system processes all variations 

of the variety of packaging at an output of 500 cans per minute 

(30,000 per hour) on one or two lanes depending on the formation 

and output. This is Hochwald’s first decision in favor of packing 

machines from KHS. The extremely high level of flexibility and 

the forward-looking technological concept of the system were the 

decisive factors. Hochwald saw for itself the great potential of 

the packing machine on inspection tours and at the open house 

exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of KHS’ Kisters plant 

in Kleve. 

CROWN BEVERAGES, UGANDA 

PREMIERE IN KAMPALA 

The internationally renown Pepsi franchise bottler CROWN BEVER- 

AGES LIMITED of Kampala, Uganda has made a first-ever decision 

in favor of a KHS turnkey bottling line. The line is designed to fill 

0.3-liter refillable glass bottles with Pepsi products and tonic water 

at 40,000 bph. The components: Innopack PPZ crater / decrater 

(24-bottle plastic crates), Innoclean KW crate washer, Innoclean 

DM double-end bottle washer (with extra long treatment and submersion 

periods), Innopro CMX Paramix, Innofill DMG VF filling system, 

fill level checking, and manual palletizing. 

COCA-COLA ENTERPRISES, BELGIUM 

ROBOT CREATES FLEXIBILITY 

KHS is installing an Innopal RK 6 palletizer with robot 

grouping for crates at the Ghent plant of Coca-Cola 

Enterprises, Belgium. After the bottles are sorted, 

the system conveys the production bottles to the filling 

system and then segregates the filled bottles (three 

types) and packs them in crates. The crates are fed over 

three crate conveyors to the KHS palletizer with robot 

grouping where the crates are put into formation and 

loaded on a separate pallet. This ensures maximum 

flexibility with the advantage that complete layers of 

crates can be palletized on three separate pallets and 

not palletized crate by crate. As an articulated robot, 

the Innopal RK provides a large 360° working radius on 

a minimum footprint, has no dead spots, and thus allows 

a high degree of freedom when planning conveying system 

projects.

NORTHERN BREWERIES, SABMILLER, ZAMBIA 

42,000-BPH REFILLABLE GLASS LINE 

For the first time, Northern Breweries (1995) PLC in Ndola, Zambia, KHS’ longstanding 

business associate is taking delivery of a complete KHS refillable 

glass bottle line for carbonated beverages. The company is a member of the 

SABMiller Group. The line processes 0.3-liter (crown corks) and 1.0-liter bottles 

(screw-on caps) at 42,000 and 21,000 bottles per hour, respectively. The 0.3liter 

bottles are packed in twenty-four bottle crates while twelve-bottle crates 

are used for 1.0-liter bottles. The line is equipped with automatic palletizing and 

depalletizing, a crater and decrater, a bottle washer, a crate washer, an Innofill 

DPG VF filler, and an Innopro CMX Paramix. 

KOMPANIA PIWOWARSKA, POLAND 

ALL GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES 

KHS is now delivering the third 100,000-cph canning line to the well-known 

Kompania Piwowarska brewery group in Poznan, Poland (another 50,000-cph 

line is also operating successfully). The line ordered is designed to process 0.5liter 

cans. The company is a subsidiary of SABMiller and with an output of approx. 

14 million hectoliters (2007), is the leader of the Polish market (breweries: Browar 

Dojidy, Lech Browary Wilkopolski, and Tyskie Browary Ksiazece). By sales volume, 

the key brand Tyskie is one of Europe’s top ten best selling brands of beer. 

people+markets ° news 

DEL MONTE FOODS, PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, U.S.A. 

COMPLETE CONVEYING SYSTEM 

KHS has installed a complete conveying system at the 

headquarters of world famous and heritage-rich Del 

Monte Foods in Plymouth, Indiana. After the successful 

startup of the system, Del Monte Manager John 

Matthews praised the installation as the best ever in 

his 30 years of working for the company. 

CARLSBERG, DENMARK 

KEG LINE FOR TUBORG BEER 

Carlsberg Danmark AS in Fredericia has ordered a complete, 

310 keg-per-hour turnkey keg line for Tuborg 

Bryggerierne. 

NAFCA, LÜNEBURG, GERMANY 

WHERE QUALITY PREVAILS 

Lüneburg-based Nafca GmbH, a company committed 

to offering only high quality products has ordered a 

rotary Innoket ROLAND 10 H labeling machine (10,000 

bottles/hr) and an Innoket VARIANT 1 labeler designed 

for an output of 6,000 bottles per hour. The top quality 

of KHS products was the reason for the company’s 

first-time decision in favor of KHS. 

UNILEVER CR, CZECH REPUBLIC 

PALLETIZING TECHNOLOGY AT ITS FINEST 

Unilever CR located in the Czech town of Nelahozeves is expanding its 

previously installed KHS lines by adding cutting-edge palletizing technology. 

The machines in detail: one Innoline pack conveyor, Innoline 

pallet conveyor, Innopal handling robot each, and two Innopal LH 

palletizers, each with a capacity of maximum 1500 packs per minute. 

Unilever in the Czech Republic thus relies for the first time on palletizing technology 

from KHS in addition to the simple as well as economical technology of the new LH 

palletizer. Both palletizers are used for the Knorr wellness product “VIE”. An Innopal 

handling robot supplies both palletizers with the necessary cardboard slip-sheets. 

With this solution, Czech Unilever is cutting the cost of palletizing significantly. 

08*09

Value added bottling: Comprehensive PET expertise from a single source 

Turnkey PET Lines 

A valuable addition to Klöckner-Werke AG took place on April 2, 2008: 

The KHS Group, together with the four former SIG Beverages companies, have 

now combined their complementing PET expertise under the slogan 

“value added bottling” and now comprise the field of packaging solutions. 

KHS customers will benefit from this newly acquired PET knowledge 

by way of an attractive offering: Turnkey PET lines 

The companies of the former Beverages Division – Corpoplast, 

Plasmax, Asbofill, and Moldtec – are known 

around the world for their many years of proficiency 

relating to all aspects of high-quality plastic bottle solutions. 

Their comprehensive service package, Bottles & 

Shapes, takes into account all aspects of a complete 

bottle development – from the first design proposals 

to industrial production, while complying with the 

defined specifications. Corpoplast manufactures stateof-the-art 

stretch blow molding machines, Plasmax is 

a specialist for barrier coatings, and Asbofill supplies 

linear aseptic filling technology. 

These companies have long since not just seen 

themselves as machine builders, but have been very successfully 

active as modern service providers for PET packaging 

solutions. All individual packages, like the interplay 

under the “value added bottling” promise, have a 

single objective: calculable added value coupled with 

maximum availability and precise production resulting 

in minimum overall operating costs for the customer. 

BOTTLES & SHAPES: OVERALL PRODUCTION 

PROCESS IN FOCUS 

What characteristics must a bottle have in order to 

provide optimum protection for the product, to be able 

to be filled safely during production and, at the same 

time, effectively assist its marketing? The answer to 

this is given by the Bottles & Shapes service product. 

A brief summary of the core philosophy: 

* As early as the bottle design stage, bottle designers, 

PET experts, and line specialists take into 

account the entire process that the bottle goes 

through on its way to the point of sale. 

* Even the most sophisticated bottle design must 

result in a lightweight and at the same time stable 

bottle, which can be produced, filled, labeled, and 

transported efficiently. 

* The PET specialists take into account all influencinfactors: 

– At what points can easily less material be used 

without affecting the stability? 

focus ° 

10*11

CORPOPLAST: Precision stretch blow technology with maxi- 

mum availability and minimum energy consumption. 

– How can the stretchability of the PET material be 

optimally utilized in order to decrease heating 

energy and air consumption? 

– How do the bottles behave during filling, on conveying 

systems, and on pallets? 

When all aspects have been taken into account, the customer 

is presented with an optimum bottle tailored to 

BOTTLES & SHAPES: Lightweight 

packaging solutions for plastic bottles with 

perfectly matched characteristics. 

PLASMAX: Wafer-thin, crystal clear barrier to 

protect sensitive products. 

his requirements. High-precision blow molds are developed 

and manufactured in parallel with the bottle design. 

Because of the high demands on perfection and availability, 

the molds are made by Moldtec in Essen. 

CORPOPLAST: LIGHT WEIGHTING AND PRECISION 

PRODUCTION 

An example of the Bottles & Shapes approach: In order 

to keep the overall operating costs as low as possible, 

cost-cutting measures include minimizing the use of 

materials. In times of skyrocketing oil prices and intensive 

competition, one thing is becoming more and more 

important especially in the water sector: Light weighting 

– reducing the bottle weight. When manufacturing 

100 million bottles, only one gram less weight leads 

to a saving of 120,000 euros in material costs alone. 

At the same time, the bottles must continue to 

be stable enough to enable customers to produce and 

transport them in a continuously repeatable process 

with maximum efficiency. Finally, the optimized plastic 

containers are manufactured on the standardized 

BLOMAX Series III modular high-speed blow molding 

machines from PET pioneer Corpoplast. These machines 

mean optimum process reliability, maximum availability, 

precise production, and minimum energy and spare 

parts consumption. 

PLASMAX: LIGHTWEIGHT AND CRYSTAL CLEAR 

FOR OPTIMUM PRODUCT PROTECTION 

Plasmax provides a special barrier solution for bottling 

in plastic bottles for the complete range of sensitive 

products including fruit juices, beer, and wine. 

For optimum shelf life and quality of these products, 

Plasmax has developed a unique process that coats

ASBOFILL: Innovative filling systems for 

sensitive products – linear, aseptic, flexible. 

the inside of the PET bottle with a crystal clear, pliable, 

and completely inert layer of silicon oxide (SiOx). 

This wafer-thin PLASMAX coating gives the lightweight 

plastic bottle the barrier characteristics of glass that 

protect the contents against oxygen pick-up – just like 

a glass bottle. The PLASMAX coating protects the product 

against CO 2 loss, a decisive criterion particularly in 

the case of small containers. An additional plus is that, 

unlike alternative barriers such as multi-layer or blends, 

PLASMAX-coated bottles are 100 percent recyclable. 

This reduces preparation costs and protects the environment. 

ASBOFILL: INTEGRAL ASEPTIC ZONE FOR MAXIMUM 

SAFETY WITHIN A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF SPACE 

Asbofill completes the value-added bottling chain with 

a reliable, aseptic filling method for microbiologically 

sensitive non-carbonated products. The ABF 610 and 

ABF 710 linear aseptic fillers from Asbofill provide an 

absolutely safe filling process for low and high acid 

products such as fruit juices, liquid dairy products, 

and neutraceuticals while taking up a minimum amount 

of space. The compact, integral aseptic zone of the 

filler with only 0.9 cubic meters not only increases the 

aseptic safety but at the same time also cuts investment 

and operating costs. In addition, a non-contact filling 

process provides increased protection. 

SYNERGIES BRING ADVANTAGES FOR CUSTOMERS 

The recently acquired PET expertise now makes it possible 

for KHS to offer PET lines as turnkey projects for 

the first time. In doing so, customers benefit not only 

from machine and conveying know-how, but also from 

a plastic bottle that is adapted and designed to suit the 

• WEBSITE www.valueaddedbottling.de 

focus ° Value added bottling 

requirements of their lines, whether it be for high-speed 

rotary fillers or linear, aseptic filling systems. What is 

more, the combined expertise will enable new projects 

to be implemented even more quickly in the future. The 

experts in the company group are working at full speed 

on the development of monoblock stretch-blow bottling 

lines. Two ongoing projects are scheduled for 

installation this fall. 

The result: Together with the “value added bottling” 

experts Corpoplast, Plasmax, Asbofill, and Moldtec, 

KHS is the ideal PET turnkey partner for the beverage 

industry as well as the food and non-food sectors. In 

the future, the “value added bottling” promise will supplement 

the KHS motto “Filling and Packaging – Worldwide” 

for any type of PET line – from the first bottle 

design idea to the ready-to-deliver product range coupled 

with minimum operating costs. 

Matthias Damm, Marketing & Communications, KHS Corpoplast 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• CONTACT 

Matthias Damm, Marketing & Communications, 

KHS Corpoplast, Hamburg 

Tel: +49/40/679 07 350 

E-mail: matthias.damm@khs.com 

12*13

Pouch filling and packing: KHS offers everything from one source 


The pouch boom is continuing unabated. With the 

new Innopack CMP packaging machine and the proven 

Innopouch K pouching machine, KHS now offers all 

sectors a complete range for a widest variety of pouch 

types. The modes of operation of the systems are 

consistently practice-oriented: precisely, flexibly, 

and with an eye to the future. 

There are trends that take time to become established worldwide. 

And there are trends that virtually zip around the world. Above 

all, the flat pouch is the current trend in the filling and packaging 

industry. Or, more precisely, the trend toward fin-seal bags, 

stand-up bags (also referred to as Doypacks or pouches), blockbottom 

bags, or flow packs. The food and beverage industries as 

well as the non-food industry are selling more and more products 

to the customer in this kind of pouch. Today, anyone Googling for 

the term Doypack will find around 128,000 entries – just two 

years ago, there would have been only 88,600 hits. 

Experts are accordingly forecasting worldwide growth rates 

for the popular pouch of more than ten percent per year. Because 

when attractively and eye-catchingly printed, they initially signal 

added value for the product they contain. Furthermore, they perfectly 

suit the lifestyle of the customer: as single or family pack 

and with convenience attributes such as special sealing systems 

and maximum ease of opening. And lastly, pouches take up hardly 

any more space than that occupied by the filled product itself. 

Thousands of companies are therefore now saying that the pouch 

is a must, instead of the classical can, bottle, or carton. 

With the newly designed Innopack CMP pouching machine 

and the group’s existing cardboard box and palletizing know-how 

complementing the successful Innopouch K poucher in the marketplace 

(see Page 16), KHS now offers a complete and comprehensive 

range. 

PRECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUTURE PROOF.

Top Cartridges: In the closed conveying position and in the open 

loading position. The fins suspended between the pouches compensate 

for different pouch thicknesses. Bottom Innopack CMP: 

View of the machine outfeed. Display boxes packed with stand-up 

pouches leaving the packer. 

dossier ° 

INNOPACK CMP: WIDE CAPACITY RANGE 

The Innopack CMP processes 60 to 250 pouches per minute depending 

on type and design. Pouch sizes may range from 90 mm wide 

and 100 mm high up to 200 mm wide and 250 mm high. Other 

package sizes can be processed without difficulty. Cartons can be 

filled with pouches at a maximum output of up to 30 cartons per 

minute. 

INNOPACK CMP: HIGH FLEXIBILITY 

Maximum flexibility is important for the pouch type of packaging. 

KHS is therefore prepared for all eventualities. Regardless if pouches 

arrive horizontally with the wide side first, horizontally with the 

narrow side first, or upright – the system responds accordingly. If 

pouches enter the packaging system with the narrow side first, 

they are turned 90 degrees by a corner turntable, and those that 

are not exactly in line are perfectly re-aligned. 

Horizontal pouch packs pass to an uprighting module with 

the wide side first. The machine handles packaging and product 

extremely gently. What happens, however, if the contents shift, 

as in the case of powdery and chunky products? The system then 

equalizes the pouch contents in an upstream vibration segment 

to save space later in the carton. This is all done with minimal 

pressure without harming the product or damaging the pouches. 

INNOPACK CMP: EXACT POSITIONING 

Whether powdery, chunky, pasty, or liquid products, all pouches 

pass horizontally conveyed by two vertical parallel belts (feed unit) 

directly into the packer designed in the form of a carousel. The 

belt system not only conveys less sensitive liquid and pasty products 

accurately into the cartridges provided, but at the same time 

also equalizes the pouch contents. The feed unit is always configured 

exactly to suit the type of pouch to be processed. Spindles 

are used to make adjustments for product and package 

changeover. 

The system now pushes the pouches into cartridges that 

are comprised of several vertically arranged plates. While the outer 

14*15 

PRECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUTURE PROOF.

2 

POUCH FILLING: ONLY WITH INNOPOUCH 

More than 55 years ago, KHS already recognized what the market was demanding more than ever and has already installed more 

than 3,900 horizontal form / fill / seal machines. With the Innopouch K model range, a generation of machines entered the world 

market that combines the experience of the company with the specifications of big-name multinational customers. It was the users 

and operators of such machines that defined the requirement specifications for the development of these machines. In a nutshell: 

KHS answers all issues relating to filling with the Innopouch K 

• liquid products such as soups, sauces, ketchup, and juices, 

• pasty items such as marzipan or puree, and 

• dry products, ranging from instant soups to baking powder 

COMPACT PRESENTATION: THE SIX HIGHLIGHTS 

The Innopouch K product range processes either from flat rollstock 

or filled pre-made pouches. The operator can quickly switch to the 

appropriate mode. Here the distinguishing characteristics of the 

machine in brief: 

1. Broad spectrum. Fin-seal and stand-up pouches 80 to 350 

mm long and 80 to 360 mm wide / 105 pouches per minute in 

single mode. 

2. Exceptionally well sealed. The new pouch forming method 

enables the sealing pressure to be applied linearly, while the servo 

motor direct drive enables processing of both very thin and very 

thick wrapping materials. The sealing parameters are displayed 

reproducibly on the operator panel and are monitored by the control 

system. A form / fill / seal machine, which is also suitable 

for producing so-called retort pouches, is available for the first 

time. These are pouches made of materials that allow them to 

be sterilized after filling at temperatures ranging from 121 to 

128 degrees Celsius. The sealed seams meet maximum requirements 

for leakproofness. This is particularly important when filling 

sensitive liquid products. 

3. Modular concept. Individual machine design according to the 

processed product / Fin-seal and stand-up pouches made from 

all common hot-sealable packaging materials / Up to four side- 

Left Horizontally conveyed pouches are continuously uprighted before entering the 

packing cartridges. Top Pouches held in cassettes, synchronized over an open display 

box, and placed in the box. 

by-side metering stations as standard equipment / Optional feature: 

sealing of pouring spouts and adapters and top seam sealing 

with ultrasound. Modularity also means that the machine produces 

and fills pouches both from the flat rollstock and also, after 

changeover, processes pre-made pouches fed from a magazine. 

4. Reliable control. Double gripper system receives the pouches 

/ They remain in a linear arrangement up to the pouch outfeed 

station / Reliable control at all times. 

5. Flexible filling / dosing. Up to four dosing stations can be connected 

in series as standard / Dosing and filling are both volumetric 

and gravimetric. Servo motor-driven filling nozzles or 

hoppers increase the standard machine output capacity by up to 

1.4 times, depending of course on the characteristics of the product 

to be filled and the rollstock. 

6. Fast cleaning. No corners or crevices of any kind underneath 

the gripper systems / Extremely short cleaning times. 

THE MARKET GETS WHAT IT NEEDS 

All in all, the KHS Innopouch K poucher is a technology that the 

market demands. In short: The modular design allows maximum 

flexibility and individuality complemented by maximum production 

reliability with consistent clean design in addition to maximum 

convenience in operation, cleaning, and changeover. 

RECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUTURE PROOF. PRECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUTURE PR

dossier ° Pouch filling and packing: KHS offers everything from one source 16*17 

Indexed into the packer: Pre-made 

display boxes still open at the top. 

plates are stationary, the adjustable inner plates can be exactly 

matched to the packs to be processed in each instance. When all 

cartridge compartments have been filled, the cartridge is conveyed 

to the carton packer by a friction drive. 

At the carton station, the carton blanks are erected, glued, 

and indexed simultaneously. Servo technology positions the cartridge 

directly above the ready and waiting carton. The cartridge 

then moves parallel to the continuously forward moving carton into 

which it is lowered and then retracted. The upright positions of 

the equalized pouches save space and improves the display effect 

versus horizontally packed pouches. 

INNOPACK CMP: MIXED PACKS POSSIBLE 

The trade is increasingly demanding mixed packs. The KHS packer 

is prepared for this eventuality. The system feeds two or even three 

pouches per compartment into appropriately designed cartridges. 

A plate distributor located ahead of the corner turntable or uprighting 

module ensures that the various types of pouch pass to the 

machine in the required order. Important: When processing mixed 

packaging, the pouches are fed from a storage or buffer area to 

ensure that the packer is continuously supplied with the correct 

type of pouch in each case. Faulty pouches are very simply ejected 

out of the system by a flap mechanism contained in the cartridge 

conveyor. 

INNOPACK CMP: HIGHLY FUTURE-PROOF 

Not only mixed packs point to a flexible future. The packing system 

can also be adapted to new requirements at any time without 

difficulty. Case 1: As long as there is no change in the number of 

pouches in a carton, the plates in the cartridges can be adjusted 

by means of spindle to adapt taller, wider, heavier, or lighter weight 

pouches. A spindle adjustment is also used to adjust the infeed 

area. Only the carton erector needs a new set of format parts. Case 

2: If the number of pouches to be packed in each carton changes, 

a new format set is implemented simply by changing cartridges. A 

quick-release lock makes for rapid removal and installation. If an 

increase in capacity is planned, additional cartridges can be incorporated 

into the system. Each new format is stored in the controller 

by adapting the software. Thus, when changing formats, 

all that is necessary is to select the appropriate format on the display 

screen. 

INNOPACK CMP: MODULAR DESIGN 

The continuously rotating carousel accommodates up to seven 

cartridges. The modular system design is particularly suitable for 

those customers who are just starting with pouches and are not 

yet able to foresee their success. The slogan: Start with a few cartridges 

and simply upgrade with increasing success. If all available 

cartridges are exhausted, the modular concept enables users to 

integrate additional stand-alone carousels into the pouching system. 

INNOPACK CMP: PERFECTLY INTEGRATED 

The Innopack CMP is directly coupled to the KHS machinery installed 

upstream and downstream. There are no interface problems – the 

speed is controlled automatically. Not least because of its small 

footprint, the system can be perfectly integrated into existing technical 

solutions. In short, a technical solution that meets the market 

demand. 

Thomas Matheyka, Product Management Pouching Machines, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.khs.com 

• CONTACT 

Thomas Matheyka, Product Management, 

Pouching Machines, KHS AG, Kriftel 

Tel: +49/61 92/4 91 – 123 

E-mail: thomas.matheyka@khs.com 

OOF. PRECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUTURE PROOF. PRECISE. FLEXIBLE. FUT

“Globalization is entering 

a new phase” 

The Migros founder, Gottlieb Duttweiler, shaped Swiss economic 

history with a genius for business, tenacious fighting, bold ideas, 

and a strong sense of social responsibility. This description is 

taken from the GDI website (Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, Switzerland). 

Gottlieb Duttweiler established this independent research 

institute in 1962 at the age of 74. To this very day, the institute’s 

remit includes monitoring of developments in global markets 

and registering of trends and counter-trends that are relevant 

for the economy and society. As set out by Gottlieb Duttweiler, 

and in keeping with the guiding principle of “Focus on 

people, not capital”, the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute is today 

regarded as one of the leading European think tanks for economy 

and society. Reason enough for KHS journal to ask CEO Dr. 

David Bosshart which factors will decisively shape the global economic 

and social development in the future. 

KHS JOURNAL: The Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute is a global 

household name and has a reputation for identifying developments 

at an early stage. In its Agenda 2008, GDI states that 

“Globalization is entering a new phase”. Which new phase will 

this be? 

DR. DAVID BOSSHART: We are seeing a drastic increase in the number 

of issues that are relevant for companies. Let’s look at the 

financial markets, for example. Over recent years, we have seen 

a great many innovations, and private equity has become increasingly 

important. The banks have taken a leading position in the 

economy, while the influence of politics has been declining. 

This led to a growing gulf between the economy and politics. 

Recreating a balance in this area is a demanding task. In addi- 

Interview with Dr. David Bosshart, 

CEO of Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute, Switzerland 

tion, through today’s wealth of information sharing options we 

have reached an unprecedented level of communication. Take 

India, for example: Within the last few years, 350 million people, 

who previously had never even seen a conventional landline 

telephone, obtained cell phones and access to the Internet. On 

the one hand, this is progress, of course, but on the other hand, 

this progress has dynamic effects that are increasingly difficult 

to predict. After all, more information and more communication 

invariably also always means more potential for conflict. All in 

all, for me the new phase of globalization looks positive from an 

economic perspective, because globally, wealth is increasing, 

but on the other hand the political controllability is decreasing, 

and risks for companies in relation to production and the financial 

markets are increasingly difficult to narrow down. 

° What exactly does this situation mean for small, medium, 

and large companies? 

* The question of the right company size and the envisaged distribution 

area is becoming increasingly important in the future. 

This means that even for large companies it may not necessarily 

be beneficial to aim for global player status. Manageability, 

controllability, and risk reduction will become increasingly important, 

and it may well be advantageous to concentrate on markets 

offering high planning reliability. 

° What criteria should companies use as the basis for selecting 

suitable markets? 

* In the past, many companies felt they had to have a global 

presence, not least for prestige reasons. In reality, a rush towards

global presence is often not necessarily beneficial. Companies 

should examine the countries in which they are or want to be 

active from a long-term perspective. For the envisaged markets, 

the focus should not just be on current growth potential. Instead, 

companies should closely examine all stability indicators, including 

the prevailing value systems. 

° In this context, do you expect competition between the world 

markets to increase further in future? 

* Competition is definitely increasing. However, the real conflicts 

will take place in the area of supply. In my view, it is clear 

that, if we don’t get to grips with agriculture and energy at a 

global level, it will be impossible to sort out industrial issues. In 

theory, we can live without cars, but not without food and water. 

With increasing world population, these issues will become increasingly 

pressing. “From the region for the region” could be a guiding 

principle, which the food retail sector is already beginning 

to pick up, particularly in the developed countries. In addition, 

we need products that take proper account of environmental 

aspects, such as CO 2 emissions. 

° This sounds like a redefinition of values. 

* Exactly. In the future, competition will increasingly concentrate 

on a competition of values. Consumers will ask which products 

offer which values. In the developed countries, this has already 

started to happen. The Swiss Coop retail chain is a good example. 

Consumers for whom price is the key value will chose “entry-level 

products” labeled with a blue dot, which, although produced according 

to government regulations, do not incorporate values such as 

dialog+opinion ° 

Dr. David Bosshart is CEO of the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute in Rüschlikon, 

Zurich. The independent institute for economic and social studies is engaged in 

worldwide research activities. Speakers and guests who have shaped the GDI 

over the years include famous figures such as Ludwig Erhard, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, 

Václav Havel, Albert Alessi, Daniel Bernard, and many more. Dr. Bosshart 

has been CEO of the GDI since 1999. His work focuses on the future of consumption 

and social change, management and culture, globalization and political philosophy. 

He has written numerous international publications and is a multilingual 

expert and sought-after keynote speaker in Europe, U.S.A., and Asia. 

“organic” or “produced locally”, etc. Consumers seeking additional 

values can choose more expensive products with different labels. 

° You mentioned the risk of future food and energy shortages. 

This would mean rising prices. Doesn’t this mean that we will 

reach a point when the price will once again become the 

decisive value for consumers? 

* This is indeed the case in developing countries, where the 

focus is on meeting basic needs. In the developed countries, on 

the other hand, the basic needs are covered, and health is becoming 

one of the key values for which consumers are willing to pay 

more. Let’s take a brief look into the past: About 100 years ago, 

50% of income was still being spent on food in developed countries. 

Today this figure has fallen to 9% in Switzerland. Consequently, 

the last few generations have experienced an almost continuous 

reduction in food prices. This trend cannot and will not 

continue. 

° Does this mean that companies from the beverage and food 

sectors would be well advised to continue moving towards 

health and to focus marketing campaigns more on product 

quality? 

* Of course. More and more consumers are seeking quality and 

values associated with quality such as transparency, decency, and 

confidence. They want to know where their food, drinks, and 

other consumer goods come from, what they contain and under 

what conditions they were produced. In the new phase of globalization, 

consumers, the retail industry, and production companies 

will be called to account even more strongly than in the past. 

18*19

In this context, another key factor incidentally is the increasing 

responsibility of companies and the retail industry in terms of 

quality assurance at several levels. We need excellent product 

quality, service quality and innovation quality – in other words, 

we need quality as a whole. We need to look at the entire life 

cycle of each product, starting from design right up to disposal. 

° Which role do packaging and design play in this holistic scenario? 

* Packaging and design are key aspects. It goes without saying 

that the aesthetics of products and their attractive appearance 

also represent values, although this doesn’t mean that packaging 

has to be elaborate. The key is to omit anything that is superfluous, 

especially those things that don’t serve to highlight product 

quality from a consumer standpoint. The question is: How can I 

combine abstention and hedonism in a pleasurable way? 

° For many companies, ensuring quality at several levels is only 

possible if suppliers provide top quality. Is cooperation with 

suppliers therefore likely to become an even more important 

factor than it is already? 

* Absolutely. Cooperation with suppliers who have the same 

mindset is vital. Long-term cooperation on a firm basis results 

in win-win-win situations. Vertical cooperation will therefore 

undoubtedly become increasingly in future. 

° How important will creativity and innovational spirit be for 

business success in future? 

* Creativity and innovational spirit are decisive factors, particularly 

in Europe. Asian countries such as China have traditionally 

focused on cheaper production and copying. I consider America 

as particularly strong in marketing and in the field of hightech. 

It is difficult to predict how the picture will change in the 

“The small are the most resilient, vital, and in a true 

democracy, the strongest.” 

long term, although it is clear that we will see more and more 

interlacement. For example, acquisitions in the field of participation 

financing are likely to provide access to European creativity 

and European know-how. In this context, the recent takeover 

of the British carmaker Jaguar by the Indian car manufacturers 

Tata Motors had an almost symbolic character, because it could 

be regarded as a process of “reverse colonialization”. 

° “Focus on people, not capital” is a guiding principle of the 

Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute. Will this guiding principle 

become more significant in a new phase of globalization? 

* The focus will no doubt increasingly shift to social responsibility 

as a value that reaches into all activities of a company. A 

company generating a large proportion of its added value in a 

defined home market, reinvesting there, and ensuring sustainable 

job creation will place even greater importance on this than 

in the past. 

° How will the relationship between employees and companies 

change? 

* Employees will increasingly seek good employers offering 

maximum advancement. The times when job hopping every 

two years was fashionable are over. Employees who can identify 

with the corporate culture and see scope for advancement 

will stay. 

° How would you envisage a corporate culture that attracts 

good people? 

* I feel we need a variety of different corporate cultures. Employees 

will choose the corporate cultures that suit them, because in 

the future good people will tend to choose their employer rather 

than the other way round. All corporate cultures should give 

employees a high degree of responsibility. Each individual should

make a significant contribution to the company’s success, and 

each individual employee can expect something in return. 

° What exactly do you mean by “something in return” 

* I’m particularly referring to respect, integration in a positive 

corporate atmosphere that is characterized by mutual trust, and 

performance-related pay. Additional benefits such as company 

cars, daycare centers, etc. will automatically be part of a functioning 

corporate culture. 

° The role of women in the world of employment is being discussed 

worldwide. How will this role change? 

* We are seeing this change already today: In countries where 

women don’t play a significant role in the economy, growth is 

automatically inhibited. It is quite easy to prove that women are 

generally better able to cope with complex tasks than men. We 

therefore need teams comprised of both men and women, particularly 

for complex projects. In my view, the role of women in 

the world of work will continue to gain in significance, both in 

developed as well as in developing countries. 

° Currently, we are still distinguishing between developed markets 

and markets in development. Is it possible to predict 

when market development will have converged? 

* In my view, the main aspect in a global scenario is peace. 

Progress is only possible if peace prevails. Progress should be 

steady, and never too fast. If the gap is too wide, the middle class 

will not be strong enough. A stable middle class is imperative 

for orderly growth, because middle class essentially means hope 

for a better life for the family. If the middle class dies off, hope 

also dies off. It is difficult to provide a general answer to the 

question of the time period for the convergence between developed 

and developing countries. Nevertheless, I think that, based 

dialog+opinion ° Interview with Dr. David Bosshart 

on an optimistic forecast, China as the largest Asian country may 

have reached the economic level of the United States by 2020, 

although in this scenario certain questions will no doubt gain in 

significance, such as: Will China be affected by overaging? Will 

there be enough healthy people in gainful employment in 2020? 

These aspects indicate the importance of investment in health 

and education in developing countries. 

° What is your view on a convergence of lifestyle habits in Europe? 

* Basically, I would like to state that it is good to have an economically 

strong Europe, although a cultural Europe must always 

be considered in addition to an economic Europe. One can’t 

exist without the other. In terms of cultural development, there 

are tremendous differences within Europe, which can’t simply be 

swept away over a few decades of prosperity. I see Europe as an 

experiment, and I have no doubt that genuine growing together 

will take longer than another generation. Incidentally, the process 

of growing together of European countries is very different from 

the situation in the United States, where the focus is on the “American 

way of life”, i.e. independent, success-oriented individualism. 

The key question long-established citizens and migrants 

alike are asking themselves is how they can implement the “American 

way of life”, and this is a strong integrating factor. 

° Can we conclude from your example that the history deserves 

close examination when companies enter new markets? 

* Of course. Both the political history and the culture are key 

criteria. I can’t stress this often enough: Companies who only 

take a cursory look at economic aspects when they enter new markets 

are taking a big risk. What counts is a holistic view of a 

market based on a carefully planned market entry strategy. 

° Dr. Bosshart, many thanks for this interview. 

20*21

BEER 

The Asahi Group now operating 

27 filling systems from KHS 

FOR THE WORLD 

The Japanese Asahi Group has ambitious aims: The company intends to 

become one of Asia’s leading suppliers to the beverage, food, and 

health sectors, and is well on its way to achieving this goal. 

Outstanding product quality and KHS technology play a significant role. 

The Japanese love their traditional cuisine. An extensive 

choice of beverages complements the wide range 

of local rice and fish dishes. One of the big players 

in the Japanese beverage market is the Asahi Group, 

which started off as a brewery. It is the undisputed 

market leader in the beer sector. Based on this success, 

Asahi is well on its way to becoming an established 

force in the Japanese food and health industry. 

The Group has a long-term growth strategy for 

these areas. Hitoshi Ogita, President and COO of Asahi 

Breweries, Ltd., has a clear concept: “We intend to 

make the Asahi Group the market leader in the bev- 

erage, food, and health sectors in Asia.” In the past, 

the focus has been on alcoholic drinks, as evidenced 

by sales figures. 2007: 69.1%, while non-alcoholic 

beverages had a share of 20.5%. The strongly growing 

food and health sector made a 4.6% contribution 

to Group sales. Around 6% of sales originated from 

areas such as logistics and restaurant management. 

An important aspect for the success of the company 

is its wide range of products. Asahi offers something 

for every taste. Take beer, for example, where 

Asahi has its roots: Established in 1889, the Osaka 

Beer Brewing Company received its first Grand Prix

Left Very popular in Japan: guided tours of Asahi breweries. 

Right KHS PU control: a key quality factor for the modular Innopas C pasteurizer solution. 

award for Asahi beer as early as 1893 at the World 

Fair in Chicago and again a few years later. 

During its long history, Asahi has repeatedly set 

new trends. For example in 1900, when the company 

presented Japan’s first bottled draft beer. Or in 1958, 

the year when Asahi was the first Japanese brewery to 

start filling beer in cans. In 1987, the company revolutionized 

the Japanese beer industry with the introduction 

of Asahi Super Dry, the first Japanese dry beer. 

TOP SUCCESS WITH TOP BRANDS 

Twenty years later, Asahi Super Dry still has an impressive 

70% share of Asahi Breweries’ beer, Happoshu and 

New Genre sales. But the company never relied only 

a single brand: In addition to Asahi Super Dry the product 

range includes Jukusen, Asahi Stout, Asahi Black, 

Kohaku no Toki keg beer and Kita no Shokunin, while 

Asahi also fills Miller Special and Löwenbräu under 

license and sells imported Bass Pale Ale, Tsingtao Beer, 

and Bellevue Kriek. 

Happoshu and New Genre beverages are specialties 

in the Japanese beverage market. Happoshu 

is a beer-like beverage produced with very low malt 

content, while no malt at all is used for New Genre. 

The Japanese love these new varieties. One reason for 

their huge success is the fact that in Japan beer tax 

is based on the malt content, among other parameters, 

so that the new beverage types are cheaper than 

conventional beer. Happoshu has a 12.3% share and 

New Genre a 6.1% share of total Asahi sales, with 

further strong growth expected. Asahi’s total sales 

figure for 2007 was nearly 24 million hectoliters, equiv- 

alent to a market share of 49.4%. In Japan, the Group 

has been the market leader since 2001. 

Asahi not only has ambitious aims for the 

domestic market, it also has a strong presence abroad. 

Asahi Super Dry is now regarded as one of the ten 

main beer brands worldwide. Internationally the company 

relies on a license production strategy, which 

offers advantages in terms of short routes, reliable 

partners, and local production. According to Noriyuk 

Karasawa, Director and Executive Officer, Senior General 

Manager Production Headquarters Asahi Breweries, 

Ltd., outside Japan Asahi will focus predominately 

on the growing markets in China and South- 

East Asia in future: “In China we expect significant 

growth, not least against the background of the 2008 

Olympics.” Asahi has already been active in China 

since 1994 with four joint ventures, brewing Chinese 

brands as well as Asahi Super Dry. In 2006, the four 

partner companies produced around 6.37 million hectoliters 

of beer. Further important foreign markets 

are Thailand (licensee: Boon Rawd), the UK (Sheperd 

Neame), Czech Republic (Staropramen), and Canada 

(Molson Breweries). 

Asahi sells around 63% of its beer in cans with 

a wide range of sizes between 135 milliliters and 1,000 

milliliters. Glass bottles in sizes between 334 and 

1,957 milliliters have a market share of 20%. A special 

highlight is that Asahi is one of the few breweries 

offering beer in aluminum bottles, which enabled 

the Group to attract a fine circle of connoisseurs. 

Around 17% of total sales are filled in kegs (5 to 30 

liters) for the catering trade. 

task+solution ° 

22*23

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: ASAHI 

* Nine production facilities in Japan 

* Market leadership with a 49.4% share of the market 

* History 

1889 Osaka Beer Brewing Company is founded 

1893 First award for Asahi beer the World Fair in 

Chicago 

1900 Market introduction of draft beer in Japan 

1958 Market introduction of canned beer in Japan 

1987 Asahi presents the first dry beer in Japan. 

* Strong brands Asahi Super Dry (68% share of turnover), 

Jukusen, Asahi Stout, Asahi Black, Kohaku 

no Toki keg beer, Kita no Shokunin 

PROVEN TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP 

Asahi and KHS have been brewing technology partners 

for decades. The partnership began in the early 

1960s. At the time, the company invested in mechanically 

controlled filling systems: “We were and continue 

to be very satisfied with these systems, although 

as a modern and innovative brewery new investments 

naturally focus on state-of-the-art equipment,” says 

Karasawa. Take electronically controlled filling systems, 

for example. This was relevant when investment 

in new technology was recently required at two locations: 

At the Fukushima brewery Asahi required new, 

gentle filler-rinser equipment, while at the Ibaraki 

brewery both an efficient filler solution and pasteurizer 

equipment with optimum hygienic performance 

were required. 

Left Noriyuki Karasawa, Director and Executive Officer, Senior 

General Manager Production Headquarters Asahi Breweries, 

Ltd.: “Besides the high quality of the technical solutions 

offered by KHS, we value the company’s know-how as a global 

player. Center Aluminum bottle. Right canned beer: The big 

seller for Asahi. 

Today a total of 27 KHS filling systems are in operation 

at Asahi breweries in Japan, 14 of which are used 

for cans, 8 for glass bottles, 4 for kegs, and 1 for aluminum 

bottles. Karasawa emphasizes, “In addition to 

the high quality of the technical solutions offered by 

KHS, we value their know-how relating to different 

markets as a global player for filling and packaging 

technology.” 

RINSER-FILLER AT FUKUSHIMA: 

GENTLE AND FLEXIBLE 

The rinser-filler monoblock at Fukushima operates with 

a mechanically controlled Innoclean FR-EM singlechannel 

rinser and the computer-controlled volumetric 

Innofill DVF pressure filling system. The bottomup 

filling method with long filling tubes is particularly 

gentle and reduces oxygen pickup to a minimum. 

The flexible and future oriented solution system is 

already prepared for processing PET bottles in future. 

The only retrofit that would be required is a neck 

handling system for conveying the PET bottles. 

FILLING SYSTEM AT IBARAKI: 

EXACT AND EFFICIENT 

The new Innofill DVD can filling system installed at 

the Ibaraki brewery offers an optimum solution with 

regard to filling accuracy. The electromagnetic induction 

flowmetering system integrated in the computercontrolled 

volumetric filler ensures maximum filling 

accuracy. With conventional filling level systems, fill 

level variations were experienced in some cases when 

cans from different manufacturers were used. Karasawa 

is impressed by the new filling system: “The 

system offers high line efficiency, a factor that is very 

important for us. And in addition, this filling system

also offers scope for new can developments within the 

brewery group, which means we are already equipped 

for the future today.” 

PASTEURIZER AT IBARAKI: MODULAR AND 

PRECISE 

Ibaraki also invested in KHS pasteurizer technology 

and installed an Innopas C double-deck pasteurizer. 

Thanks to its modular design, the pasteurizer is able 

to meet all customer requirements down to the last 

detail. The system calculates the dynamic temperature 

profile for all products to be pasteurized and the 

respective packaging. This ensures the correct temperature 

and PU values and the associated heat consumption 

levels. Director and Executive Officer Noriyuki 

Karasawa sums it up, “With KHS pasteurizing equipment 

we are once again on the safe side when it comes 

to quality.” 

The highlight of the system is the KHS PU 

control with automatic program changeover integrated 

in the Innopas C. If there is a product or can 

changeover, the pasteurizer automatically detects the 

last container from the old batch and the first container 

from the new batch. It then creates a gap 

between the old batch and the new batch and adapts 

the process as required without interrupting the pasteurization. 

Mechanical pushovers at the pasteurizer 

infeed and outfeed regulate the necessary separation 

of products. “It leaves nothing to be desired, 

especially since, as usual, KHS integrated Japanese 

control technology into the overall package as 

requested,” says Karasawa. 

State-of-the-art KHS technology was recently 

also installed and commissioned at the Asahi plant in 

Suita (Osaka), including a combined unit for pre-wash- 

task+solution ° Asahi Group with 27 filling systems from KHS 

ing and main washing, an Innokeg Till CONTIKEG CKHR 

32/32 and an Innokeg Till CONTIKEG CFK 20/20 filler 

with a capacity of 1,100 kegs per hour, based on 19liter 

kegs. Key criteria for Asahi Brewery’s decision 

to use advanced KHS technology were the DCF system 

for optimizing the filling volume and the field satellite 

technology with minimum cabling effort and faster 

availability for production due to minimum installation 

and commissioning times. 

Oliver Schneider, Sales Manager, Business Area 

Far East/Australia, KHS AG 

Hideo Suzuki, President, KHS Japan Corporation 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.asahibeer.co.jp 

• CONTACT 

Oliver Schneider, Sales Manager, Business Area 

Far East/Australia, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 26 23 

E-mail: Oliver.Schneider@khs.com 

Hideo Suzuki, President, KHS Japan 

Corporation, Osaka 

Tel: +81/6/49 60/47 11 

E-mail: hideo.suzuki@khs.com 

24*25

Coca-Cola Içecek relies on new technology 


Coca-Cola Içecek (CCI) is number ten among the Coca-Cola bottlers worldwide. The Turkish company 

is the first Coca-Cola bottler to receive an ACF line with dry sterilization from KHS as non-carbonated 

beverages play a major role in the company plans. CCI has also ordered a PET line for carbonated 

drinks. A company that continues to grow. 

With six production locations, Coca-Cola Içecek 

in Turkey is the undisputed market leader 

for both carbonated soft drinks and noncarbonated, 

alcohol-free beverages. And 

the company is looking for new challenges 

in Eurasia and the Middle East. The idea is 

to further expand the Turkish market and at 

the same time to focus on interesting countries 

such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, 

Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Jordan, 

Syria, and Iraq. After all, CCI is today already 

one of the ten Coca-Cola bottlers with the 

highest sales worldwide. 

The Corlu plant, located on the outskirts 

of the mega-metropolis Istanbul with 

around 20 million inhabitants, is the company’s 

most important site. Here, CCI bottles 

Coca-Cola brand products and produces 

PET preforms and PET bottles. As a producer 

of PET preforms, Corlu ranks as one 

of the largest plants in Europe and supplies 

the other CCI plants with a wide variety 

of packaging types ranging from the 

0.33-liter to the 2.5-liter family-size bottle, 

which is extremely popular on the Turkish 

market. 

Coca-Cola is clearly the leading product followed 

in second place by Fanta. Other carbonated 

brands in the range include Sprite, 

Schweppes, and Sen-Sun. But CCI is also 

strong when it comes to non-carbonated 

beverages. Fruit beverages such as Cappy, 

tea drinks such as Nestea, sports drinks such 

as Powerade, spring water such as Damla – 

all are included in the wide range of products. 

CCI boasted 2-digit overall growth 

rates the previous year and the upturn is 

expected to continue due to the rapid 

increase in buying power in the Turkish mar-

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: COCA-COLA IÇECEK 

* Market leader in Turkey for carbonated and non-carbonated alcohol-free beverages 

* One of the top ten Coca-Cola bottlers worldwide 

* Six locations: Ankara, Bursa, Corlu, Izmir, Mersin and Mahmudiye 

* Wide range of varieties and containers 

* Two-digit international growth rates 

ket. High-priced non-carbonated beverages 

in particular have a great future. 

COMPELLING ACF TECHNOLOGY FROM KHS 

With an innovative technical solution, CCI 

is now well prepared to cope with the boom 

in non-carbonated beverages: the first ACF 

(Aseptic Cold Filling) line in the Coca-Cola 

Group worldwide working with dry sterilization 

has been put into operation at the 

Corlu site. Praise from Ahmet Nuri Yilmaz, 

Operations Manager at the CCI plant in Corlu: 

“For us, all aspects of the process are impressive. 

And we have assured ourselves of the 

highest quality with the latest ACF equipment 

from KHS.” According to Yilmaz, the 

decisive factor was initially the basic advantages 

of the ACF process: 

* It is suitable for the most sensitive beverages 

* It provides outstanding microbiological 

safety 

* It retains the natural taste, flavor, and 

color of the beverage 

* We can safely do without preservatives 

In addition, dry sterilization scores further 

plus points versus the conventional but 

likewise completely microbiologically safe 

wet ACF process: 

* It saves rinsing water for bottles and 

caps and therefore cuts costs 

* It takes up considerably less space (15 

instead of 65 cubic meters of clean room 

volume) 

Selim Mizrahi, CCI Engineering Service Manager, 

sums it up, “KHS was attractive as 

the first supplier of this technical solution 

to the Coca-Cola organization worldwide, 

because we think KHS probably has the most 

comprehensive experience in the industry 

when it comes to the ACF dry sterilization 

process.” 

task+solution ° 26*27 

Left Turkey: Still CCI Group’s strongest market. Largest of six 

production facilities is Corlu. 

Center Mini-isolator technology: Keeps the clean room volume 

within the ACF monoblock as small as possible. 

Right Rinser-filler-capper monoblock of the “classical line”: The 

rinser cleans bottles with ionized air. 

As a brand name producer, Coca-Cola not only 

relies on a wide variety of products and different 

bottle sizes, but also on differently 

shaped PET bottle styles. The dry sterilization 

process is particularly suitable for this 

purpose. The sterilization medium for bottles 

and caps is hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2). 

Bottle surfaces and caps treated with this 

medium are always completely wetted. The 

process even reaches any undercuts, edges, 

and angles, such as those found on ribbed 

bottles, and even sports caps. The stations 

of the line are described briefly below. 

Sterilization. The non-refillable 

PET bottles are conveyed by air conveyors 

to the ACF monoblock and then over an 

infeed plate that requires no format parts, 

to the sterilizer / activator area for internal 

and external sterilization with H 2O 2. 

Vaporized H 2O 2 is distributed evenly on the 

bottle surfaces by condensation. The 

appearance of condensation on all the inter-

Ahmet Nuri Yilmaz, Operations Manager of the production facility in Corlu (left), and Selim Mizrahi, CCI 

Engineering Services Manager, agree: “With KHS technology, we believe we’re playing it on the safe side. 

In KHS, we are dealing with a trusted partner.” 

nal and external surfaces of the bottle means 

that the condensation process is also very 

easy to check visually. The actual sterilization 

process starts as soon as warm air flows 

into the plastic bottle in an activator area 

connected to the sterilizer. The H 2O 2 displaced 

by warm air generates free radicals, 

which immediately attack the cells of 

microorganisms. At the same time, the H 2O 2 

dries without leaving any residue. Two activators 

are used at CCI Corlu to ensure that 

this is absolutely the case for all conceivable 

filling situations. 

Filler. After sterilization, the PET 

bottles pass directly to the pressureless freeflow 

filler. Depending on the product, the 

line fills volumetrically in one or two steps 

by means of electromagnetic inductive 

flowmetering for exact fill volumes. Other 

benefits: no time is lost for changeover when 

changing bottles types (data are stored electronically) 

and the central filler control is 

fully automatic. The result is process reliability 

at the press of a button – with the 

AIS plant information system. 

Capper. Both classical plastic 

screw caps and sports caps are used. The 

caps are sterilized in separate units. Special 

features include separating the capping 

motion into the rotary movement of 

the cap and the vertical movement of the 

bottle. Each capping spindle is equipped 

with its own servo drive. The stations operate 

entirely without lubricants for maximum 

microbiological safety. 

Mini-isolator. To keep the clean 

room volume within the ACF block as small 

as possible, KHS uses so-called mini-isolator 

technology. The basic principle of the 

compact isolator technology involves containing 

only the PET bottle guide elements 

in the sterilizer and activator as well as 

the filling valve bells in the filler carousel 

and the capping heads in the capper. All 

moving parts are kept outside the sterile 

clean room. The system operates under 

clean room class 100 conditions only in 

the mini-isolator zone. HEPA (high efficiency 

particulate air) filters provide a constant 

supply of sterile air. An important 

aspect is that during antiseptic operation, 

the system measures and stores all actual 

process values, which can be called up as 

required at all times. A code on every PET 

bottle provides information relating to the 

rinsing, filling, and capping process as well 

as the inspection results should there be 

any queries from the consumer. 

Check. Fill levels and caps are 

checked outside the ACF block using 

advanced camera technology. Squeezers 

are used to check for leaks. 

Labeler. Two labeling machines 

feed the PET bottles alternatively with rollfed 

or shrink-sleeve labels. 

Packer / Palletizer. The bottles 

then pass to the Innopack Kisters SP shrink 

packer. The six-axis Innopal RK 6 articulated 

robot palletizes the packs (a roller carpet 

head handles the shrink packs with care). 

As this is the first ACF line with dry 

sterilization within the worldwide Coca-Cola 

Group, Ahmet Nuri Yilmaz expects many visitors 

in the near future. CCI Corlu could 

almost set a good example and serve as ACF 

training center. “Because,” says Selim 

Mizrahi, “we assume that there will be further 

investment in this new technology over 

the next few years – both in Turkey and 

worldwide.”

CLASSICAL PET LINE 

While the ACF line was being commissioned, 

CCI ordered yet another classical PET line 

from KHS to bottle carbonated soft drinks. 

Yilmaz says, “KHS has been our trusted partner 

since the production facility was set up 

in 1997. We are so satisfied that CCI Corlu 

has literally become a KHS stronghold.” And 

indeed, the Corlu plant is nearly exclusively 

equipped with KHS system technology – six 

lines in all are currently in operation. Mizrahi 

adds, “Although the ACF line is something 

special because of its novelty value, we are 

equally satisfied with our new soft drinks 

line, especially since it also offers many special 

features.” 

A very special rinsing system is used 

in the newly installed KHS line for carbonated 

soft drinks, for instance, which once 

again emphasizes the company’s high environmental 

friendliness. The computer-controlled 

Innoclean FR-ER single-channel rinser 

uses ionized air as the rinsing medium. The 

basic principle involves blowing out the bottles 

with ionized air to electrostatically discharge 

and clean them. Air serves as a carrier 

medium for ions that produce a con- 

task+solution ° Coca-Cola Içecek relies on dry ACF 

Left Labeling: a roll-fed labeling machine in the carbonated soft drinks line. Center Packing: shrink packs in both the ACF line 

as well as the “classical line”. Right Shrink tunnel: Temperatures are adapted to the film quality and pack size. 

trolled neutralization of the electrostatic 

charge in bottles. Once the electrostatic 

charge is neutralized, any particles clinging 

to bottle walls are removed. The main 

advantages of the system: 

* It saves precious water 

* It saves time 

* It can be implemented in rinsers that 

are half the size 

* It does not burden the product being 

bottled with remaining water 

* It ensures that the statically neutral bottles 

do not attract particles in the ambient 

air while being transferred to the 

filler 

The rinser is contained in a monoblock 

together with the computer-controlled 

Innofill DRV volumetric, pressure filling 

system that operates with exceptional precision 

without filling tubes using electromagnetic 

inductive flowmetering. Another 

highlight is the Innoket RF labeling 

machine. Each of the two labeling units 

is equipped with a double reel stand for 

fast reel changing to minimize machine 

downtime. 

The new KHS line for carbonated soft drinks 

is used primarily to fill the 2.5-liter PET family 

bottle. Yilmaz says, “To achieve the highest 

possible system efficiency, we pursue a 

strategy of switching bottle and product 

types as little as possible for all of our lines.” 

A strategy that pays off. 

Erhard Magin, Director Business Area Africa, 

Middle East and Southern Europe, KHS AG 

Hubert Schiffer, Sales Africa, Middle East and 

Southern Europe, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

28*29 

• WEBSITE www.cci.com.tr 

• CONTACT 

Erhard Magin, Director Business Area 

Africa, Middle East, and Southern Europe, 

KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 26 75 

E-mail: erhard.magin@khs.com 

Hubert Schiffer, Sales Africa, Middle East and 

Southern Europe, KHS AG Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 26 71 

E-mail: hubert.schiffer@khs.com

2 

Especially manufacturers of health products must be able to rely 

on perfect results in packaging. The technological keywords are 

flexible, gentle, durable, strong. That is why Anton Hübner 

relies on KHS labeling quality. 

Stick- iveness 

to-it- 

Anton Hübner, provider of innovative health products, applies labels perfectly 

Since time immemorial, human beings have relied on the power of 

herbs to fight disease. One of those people was the Black Forest 

priest Hurst, who in 1920 was looking for an effective way to fight 

respiratory disorders. At that time, manual workers suffered from 

these diseases, especially those in the domestic textile industry. 

Paging through a book of herbal remedies, Hurst stumbled across 

an herbal medication recipe written by his ecclesiastical counterpart 

Sebastian Kneipp. 

Hurst continued the development of that recipe, adding 

special Black Forest medicinal herbs. In the mid-1920s, Hurst joined 

forces with the pharmacist Eduard Hiepe to launch this natural cold 

remedy to market, under the name of “Tannenblut”. Its healing 

power was soon well-known, piquing the interest of businessman 

Anton Hübner, who purchased the license for Tannenblut in 1936 

and started industrial production of the medication. For about 25 

years, Tannenblut remained the only product of Anton Hübner GmbH. 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: ANTON HÜBNER 

1920 Tannenblut cold remedy is developed 

1936 Anton Hübner acquires Tannenblut license 

1968 Operations taken over by Wilhelm Oberle and product line expanded 

1988 Acquired by Wella AG 

2000 Acquired by Nordzucker AG 

2008 About 200 products, with a strong distribution channel through health 

food stores. Export to about 30 countries 

Eventful history … 

In 1968, the company gradually expanded its product line when 

Tannenblut was joined by new brands, such as Original silicea Balsam® 

and denk fit!. By the end of the 1990s, the company had 

changed hands several times, before Nordzucker AG took it over in 

2000. 

… with high-quality brands … 

Over the years, the silicea brand has become the company’s best 

selling product now representing about a third of Hübner’s total 

sales. The core of the brand is the Original silicea Balsam®. 

… with a unique silicic acid gel … 

One of the success factors of the silicea products is silicic acid gel 

that Hübner produces without preservatives using one of the world’s 

most unique sterile processes. The company utilizes the circumstance 

that the ingredient silicon turns into silicic acid gel when 

combined with water. Used externally, the gel helps to sooth sunburns, 

as well as minor skin injuries. But used internally, silicic 

acid reveals its beneficial effects, encouraging controlled nutrient 

transport to the skin cells, for instance. 

… with strong distribution channels through health food stores … 

Marketing silicic acid products is equally as unique as the company’s 

production process. Hübner sells its products in Germany primarily 

through health food stores with silicea as the single most-sold 

product in these stores. Sebastian Ott, Production and Engineering 

Manager at Anton Hübner GmbH & Co. KG, explains, “Hübner 

has grown up with health food stores as a distribution channel. 

In Germany, we’re sticking with that distribution route. Since there 

is no comparable health food store structure abroad, our sales activ-

Top Perfect labeling results: For Hübner, the main reason to decide 

on KHS labeling technology. 

Bottom Advantage of cam control: The lower chucks oscillate to 

ensure optimal brush-on label application. 

ities are oriented to each market entirely on a case-by-case basis.” 

Even today, Anton Hübner realizes nearly one third of its sales in 

more than 30 countries – and with an upward trend. 

… and a broad product range 

Today, Hübner offers an assortment of nearly 200 different products, 

ranging from nutritional supplements to cosmetics, and 

even numerous medications. All products must meet the same high 

quality requirements. That starts with the selection of high-quality 

raw materials, continues with gentle processing, and ends with 

perfect packaging quality. 

LABELING TECHNOLOGY FROM KHS 

Keyword packaging: Hübner’s decision in favor of KHS labeling technology 

was not coincidental as Sebastian Ott explains, “The label 

is our first communication with the consumer at the point of sale. 

Exactness is our uppermost principle. With KHS technology, we’re 

staying on the safe side.” The labeling solution must meet the 

following requirements to satisfy these high expectations: 

* High performance 


* Perfect results 

* Gentle package handling 

* Short product changeover 

A brief glance at the most important features of the Innoket ROLAND 

10 H labeler. 

HIGH PERFORMANCE: 9,000 BOTTLES PER HOUR 

The new labeler should also be prepared for future production expansion. 

The KHS Innoket ROLAND 10 H labeler fulfills that requirement 

perfectly. It is designed to label up to 9,000 bottles per hour. 

Today, Hübner labels about 13,000 bottles per day. That leaves 

plenty of room for growth. Ott says, “Growth, which would exhaust 

any conceivable labeling performance is absolutely possible here 

at Hübner in the medium term.” For more than 20 years, KHS and 

Hübner have been technology partners in the field of labeling. The 

old labeler was only retired because its performance could no longer 

keep up with the demand for increased performance. 

PERFECT RESULTS: NEARLY NO RANGE OF TOLERANCE 

Ott mentions another reason for the partnership: “KHS labeling 

technology offers us – and this point was decisive – the precision 

we need for applying each and every label.” The labeler is currently 

being used to apply adhesive pressure labels to 200- and 500-milliliter 

silicea plastic bottles. One labeling field is provided for 

each front and back label and virtually no range of tolerance to 

apply them. A slight bulge in the bottle surface designates the 

labeling fields. Ott says, “The label itself is designed so that on 

the left and right, and the top and bottom there is exactly two 

millimeters of clearance in the labeling field. Since we place primary 

emphasis on an attractive appearance, the range of tolerance 

is next to none.” 

30*31

Anton Hübner applies labels perfectly 

Sebastian Ott, Production and Engineering Manager (center) and Branislav Krznar, responsible machine technician 

(left) agree: “The kind of technical solution a growing company like Hübner needs.” Also pictured: Jan-Wilhelm 

Brückel, KHS AG, Hamburg. 

MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY: VARIETY OF 54 DIFFERENT LABELS 

The adhesive pressure process offers quick changeover of dressing 

to ensure maximum flexibility. An especially important item for 

Hübner as the company uses a total of 54 different film label styles. 

With such a wide variety, the adhesive pressure process has genuine 

advantages over the wet glue process, since there is no need 

to change glue segments, label hoppers, and when changing over 

to another label style, all that is necessary is to change label 

reels. 

GENTLE HANDLING: NO ACCUMULATION PRESSURE 

In addition, the labeler must handle the plastic bottles particularly 

carefully. Which means, with as little accumulation pressure as possible. 

Two bottle flowgates prevent the build-up of accumulation 

pressure in the first place. The first bottle flowgate is directly 

upstream of the labeler while a second bottle flowgate is integrated 

into the feed screw. 

EXACT POSITIONING: LONGER FEED SCREW 

KHS has designed the feed screw so that it is ideally suitable for 

sensitive plastic bottles. Because it is longer than normal feed 

screws, it is able to space the containers particularly gently and 

distribute them perfectly. The centers of gravity of the bottles to 

be labeled vary depending on their composition. The position of 

the feed screw can be adjusted horizontally and vertically just as 

exactly. 

PERFECT LABELING: RECESSED LOWER CHUCK 

An infeed star feeds the bottles into the labeler carousel where 

lower chucks and centering bells hold the bottles and lock them 

in place. These chucks have recesses to ensure perfect, custom- 

fit labeling of square shaped plastic bottles. Of course, this system 

can be retrofitted later. Should Hübner decide to expand its 

variety of bottles in the future, KHS will provide appropriate bottle 

plates for the Innoket ROLAND 10 H. 

IDEAL BRUSH-ON APPLICATION: CAM-CONTROLLED 

LOWER CHUCK 

In the labeler carousel, there are two adhesive label units for the 

front and back label. Cam control drives the lower chuck in the 

carousel, setting it into an oscillating movement after the labels 

are applied. This allows the labels to be optimally brushed on. 

After labeling, the bottles reach the outfeed star that can be equipped 

with an additional labeling assembly, opening up further label application 

options for Hübner such as lid or closure labels. 

SHORT CHANGEOVER: CLEARLY ARRANGED AND ACCESSIBLE 

The Innoket ROLAND 10 H reveals itself as being particularly efficient 

when it comes to changeover. When switching bottle types, 

format parts can be changed within a minimum amount of time and 

production can be quickly resumed. Sebastian Ott says, “Not only 

is the labeler compact, it also has a clearly arranged layout and is 

outstandingly accessible. For the limited amount of space we can 

provide for the labeling machine, that’s exactly the solution we 

need now and in the future.” 

Jan-Wilhelm Brückel, Marketing Manager, Labeling Machines, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.anton-huebner.de 

• CONTACT 

Frank Huckfeld, Product Support, Labeling Technology, 

KHS AG, Hamburg 

Tel: +49/63 70 33 71 17 

E-mail: frank.huckfeld@khs.com

Left Attractive labels: For perfect product presentation at the point of sale. 

Right Innofill UMG filling system: Extremely precise filling process. 

Kumbok-Ju relies on 

soju – and KHS 

Tradition, so it is said, is not preserving the 

ashes but passing on the flame. This view 

of things is admirably confirmed by the 

South Korean beverage company Kumbok- 

Ju. For many decades, the company has 

specialized in the production of soju, 

Korea’s national drink. Soju – a light liquor 

distilled from the main ingredient rice in 

combination with wheat, barley, or sweet 

potatoes – has been enjoyed by the Koreans 

for several hundred years. Kumbok-Ju 

has succeeded in passing on the flame of 

this tradition – with new soju brands and 

a modern product appearance. 

Kumbok-Ju was founded in 1957 as 

Samsan Co. Ltd., and began by producing 

among other things brandy, gin, and wine. 

The soju production began a year after 

the company was established. In 1963 

came the hour of the soju brand Kumbok- 

Ju, and in 1975 the entire company was 

renamed after the successful drink. The 

main source of sales today is still soju, of 

which the company manufactures several 

styles under the Charm brand name with 

an alcohol content ranging from 19.7 to 

23 percent. 

There is also a lighter version: The Blue 

brand with only 17.9 percent alcohol. 

Younghue Shin, Vice President of the Kumbok-Ju 

group of companies: “We focus our 

two new soju developments particularly on 

the young generation and the female target 

group.” 

As the per capita consumption of 

soju in Korea is already very high, the overall 

market is not expected to grow at a 

significant rate. However, Kumbok-Ju is 

relying on an increasing market share of 

one percentage point per year. 

For all this, the quality of the products 

must always be right – an important 

guarantee for highest product quality is 

the right filling and packaging equipment. 

The management decided on innovative 

solutions from KHS. According to Shin, 

“KHS plant equipment gives us production 

and product reliability, and for the first 


Tried-and-tested and high-tech do 

not have to be mutually exclusive. 

The South Korean soju manufacturer 

Kumbok-Ju combines both with 

the utmost success – and an 

exceptionally high-performance 

line from KHS also plays its part. 

Traditionally 

Progressive 

time makes future success possible in the 

form that we want.” The company has 

recently invested in a new KHS high-performance 

line with a capacity of 60,000 

360-milliliter glass bottles per hour. 

Installed upstream of the line are an 

Innopro COSMOS horizontal mesh filter 

and an Innopro ORION sheet filter. 

DEPALLETIZING STATION WITH 

INNOPAL PE AND DECRATING STATION 

WITH INNOPACK PPZ 

The crates are depalletized in the line by 

an Innopal PE. The machine lifts the entire 

stack of crates stacked in layers on the pallet 

to remove the empty pallet from the 

system. It then destacks the individual 

layers of crates from the bottom. The capacity 

of the depalletizer and the Innopack 

PPZ decrater is 100,000 bottles per hour 

each. This calculated overcapacity is nec- 

32*33

Bottom Innopal RS2 column-type robot: 

Stacks supplied crates in a crate magazine 

with 1,680-crate buffer capacity. 

Left Younghue Shin, Vice Presi- 

dent of the Kumbok-Ju 

company group: “We take our 

responsibility towards 

consumers very seriously.” 

essary, because the returned crates contain 

around 40 percent foreign and unusable 

bottles and bottles with screw caps. 

After sorting the bottles, the calculated 

60,000 bottles are left for further processing. 

Because of its high decrating capacity, 

a buffer table is incorporated immediately 

after the Innopack PPZ to ensure 

that the bottles are gently conveyed onward 

and to make optimum use of the available 

working area. When the bottles enter the 

buffer table, a patented chain guide separates 

the stream of containers into two 

sub-flows and feeds them past a stationary 

plow tip without contact. Multiple 

drives ensure an optimum scaling down of 

the conveying speed and a low-pressure 

transfer of the glass bottles onto the buffer 

system outfeed. Here, camera equipment 

is used to check the bottles themselves and 

2 

their discharge onto one of the three conveyor 

lanes in the system. 

The first conveyor line guides foreign 

bottles and flawed bottles directly out 

of the system. The second line conveys 

those bottles with screw caps to the decapper 

from where they are conveyed further 

to the bottle washing machine. Since it is 

important that there be no safety rings 

on the threads of the bottle, the system 

uses a camera monitoring system to check 

that there are none. Only flawless bottles 

pass directly to the Innoclean DM doubleend 

bottle washing machine over the third 

conveyor segment. 

BOTTLE WASHING STATION WITH 

INNOCLEAN DM 

Reasons for using this type of machine 

include optimum hygiene values achieved 

by keeping the dirty bottles consistently 

Right All from one source: Besides the filling and packaging 

equipment, KHS has also supplied the processing engineering 

equipment such as the Innopro COSMOS horizontal mesh 

filter… left … and the Innopro ORION sheet filter. 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: KUMBOK-JU 

* Founded in 1957 as Samsan Co., Ltd. 

* 1958 Start of soju production 

* 1963 Introduction of the Kumbok-Ju soju brand 

* 1972 Founding of Kyong-Ju Beob Joo Co. who produces 

the rice wine of the same name 

* 1975 Samsan renamed Kumbok-Ju Co., Ltd. 

Soju 

* Company’s share of the market: around 10 percent 

* Main sales region: Gyeongsangbuk-do Province with 

90 percent market share; Export markets: Japan and 

China soon to be followed by the U.S.A. and Europe 

* Charm brand with an alcohol content ranging from 

19.7, 20, 21, and 23 percent 

* The Blue brand, 17.9-percent alcohol content 

* Andong premium brand 

Rice wine 

* Share of total sales: 15 percent 

* Kyong-Ju Beob Joo and Hwanrang brands 

separated from the clean bottles. Treatment 

times can be controlled individually 

by combining three in-line caustic baths. 

Heat insulation and heat recovery units 

also reduce energy and fresh water consumption. 

Environmentally friendly disposal 

of broken glass, labels, and waste is 

handled by special discharge systems. 

The Innoclean DM in operation at 

Kumbok-Ju is equipped with a special prewashing 

facility to ensure that even heavily 

contaminated and dirty bottles are perfectly 

cleaned. After draining any remaining 

liquids, two rotating tubes spray the 

bottles internally at high pressure enabling 

discharge of coarse impurities with outstanding 

efficiency. This in turn increases 

the service life of the caustic in the downstream 

caustic baths. In the caustic baths 

themselves, Kumbok-Ju relies on a combination 

of rotating and stationary sprays

to further increase the cleaning effect. 

Shin says, “KHS bottle washing equipment 

leaves nothing to be desired. We are more 

than pleased with the results.” An empty 

bottle inspection system checks the cleanliness 

of the bottles using triple side wall 

inspection, bottle base inspection, and bottle 

mouth inspection, and additionally 

inspects the threads and checks for residual 

liquids. 

FILLING STATION WITH INNOFILL UMG 

The 360-milliliter soju bottles and their 

narrow neck areas require a precision filling 

process, as even the smallest variations 

in height would give the impression of inaccurate 

filling at the point of sale and detract 

from the uniform presentation of the product. 

The mechanical Innofill UMG vacuum 

filling system ensures perfect filling results. 

The specified fill levels can be exactly determined 

by means of a return gas tube and 

a gas lock. The filling process ends as soon 

as the soju reaches the return gas tube. 

The drip-free filling process also prevents 

loss of product. The filling valve has only 

a few moving parts, which minimizes wear, 

reduces maintenance costs, and increases 

machine availability. 

A clamping star system at the filler 

outfeed feeds freshly filled and sealed bottles 

into the two-lane outfeed and to the 

task+solution ° Kumbok-Ju relies on soju – and KHS 

automated full bottle inspection system. 

With this system, Kumbok-Ju has adopted 

a pioneering role in South Korea. In the 

past, only visual inspection was used in 

high-capacity bottling lines. Now automatic 

full bottle inspection systems are 

guaranteeing top quality standards for the 

first time. 

LABELING STATION WITH 

INNOKET KL 2080 

Bottles that have passed this quality inspection 

now travel over a buffer table to the 

Innoket KL 2080 labeling machine. Integrating 

buffer tables at key strategic points 

in the line ensures a disruption-free system 

flow. KHS has solved this problem at 

Kumbok-Ju in an extremely space-saving 

way. 

The labeling machine operates with 

two wet glue stations to apply shoulder and 

back labels. I. H. Kim, Engineering Manager 

of the Kumbok-Ju company group, 

says, “KHS has also provided top-level technology 

when it comes to labeling equipment. 

We are greatly impressed with the 

Innoket KL 2080.” An Innocheck ETI inspection 

machine checks that the labels are 

perfectly seated and optimally applied. 

PACKING STATION WITH INNOPACK 

PPZ AND INNOPAL RS3 BGN 

COLUMN-TYPE ROBOT 

The crates washed by the KHS Innoclean 

KW crate washer and the bottles merge at 

the Innopack PPZ crater. An Innopal RS3 

BGN column-type robot palletizes the preformatted 

layer patterns using a clamping 

device. The three-axis robot works 

according to the SCARA principle, i.e. exclusively 

with horizontal and vertical movements. 

A special feature: As an alternative 

to packing the bottles in crates, the line 

can also be combined with a wrap-around 

packer. In this case, empty crates pass 

through the Innopack PPZ packer to the 

palletizer without processing. The robot 

is able to process the empty crates without 

difficulty with its two tables; one for 

palletizing empty crates and one for palletizing 

full crates or for palletizing wraparound 

packs. A truly integrated logistics 

solution, which allows parallel handling of 

full and empty crates as well as cartons. 

A further highlight is the integrated 

crate magazine with a maximum buffer 

capacity of 1680 crates. The Innopal RS 

column-type robot stores the supplied 

crates. Equipped with additional centering 

devices in the head area and holding 

devices, it is also able to stack slightly 

deformed crates perfectly without any problems. 

Shin says, “We are exceedingly satisfied 

with KHS system technology. In retrospect, 

our decision in favor of this highquality 

technical solution has proved to be 

exactly right.” Hyun-Pal Ha, Managing 

Director of the Kumbok-Ju group, adds, 

“The efficiency of the line is outstanding. 

We are working a two-shift operation at 

94-percent efficiency.” And finally Kim, 

“It is also of great importance to us that 

KHS has supplied everything from one 

source.” The fire of tradition continues 

to burn at Kumbok-Ju. 

Rainer Hilgert, Director Business Area 


fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.kumbokju.co.kr 

34*35 

• CONTACT 

Rainer Hilgert, Director Business Area 


Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 24 62 

E-mail: rainer.hilgert@khs.com 

H. W. Kim, President KHS South Korea, Seoul 

Tel: +82/2/5 18/59 06/8 

E-mail: khskorea@kornet.net


MADE TO MEASURE 

Karlsberg Brewery had more than half a dozen special requirements for the new filling 

line from KHS. And major parts of the previous system were to be connected to 

it. Order completed to the customer’s satisfaction. 

At Karlsberg Brewery, everything concerns the future: “Do today 

what others think about tomorrow,” is the motto at the traditional 

Homburg-based company, which in the meantime is managed 

by the fourth generation of the family. Karlsberg has almost 

always gone its own way and has many times shone as an innovation 

leader and trendsetter. For instance, it is the only brewery 

within the German-French sales region to have been filling beer in 

cans since 1953. Or in 1968 when Karlsberg introduced the socalled 

giant can to the market. The 3.8-liter and 5-liter size cans 

then celebrated gigantic success at the parties of the 1970s. 

Today the Karlsberg Brewery is an important nucleus of 

the Karlsberg Association, which is active in numerous business 

areas. The international multi-channel company provides widely 

differing beverages and services well beyond the beer sector – from 

fruit juices, soft drinks, and hot beverages through transport and 

event services to sandwiches and snacks. The group thus occupies 

future-oriented and success-oriented areas on the way from a 

regional brewery to internationally successful beverage and service 

association. 

Regional roots and international alignment are no contradiction 

for Karlsberg. “Someone who does not know where he comes 

from will not understand where he is going to. Provenance is the 

future,” so says Dr. Richard Weber, Managing Partner of Karlsberg 

Brauerei KG Weber, on the occasion of the company’s 125-year 

anniversary in 2003. Since that year, Karlsberg has been cooperating 

with Heineken and Brau Holding International in the domestic 

beer sector. Today, the Karlsberg Association ranks among the 

top ten beverage manufacturers in Germany. Furthermore, the 

Association is the seventh largest export brewery in this country. 

CLASSIC AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCT RANGE 

New products and containers representing the spirit of the age 

are continuously being added to the classic beer range, which 

includes Karlsberg UrPils, Gründel´s Alkoholfrei, and Zischke. With 

Karlsberg MiXery, the Homburg-based brewery has opened up a 

new segment in the beer market. At Karlsberg, mixed beer drinks 

have a continuously growing share, currently 20 percent. Dr. Hans- 

Georg Eils, Engineering and Logistics Director, puts it in a nutshell: 

“For a company that is as innovative as the Karlsberg Brewery, 

the technical solutions must of course also be innovative and 

flexible to meet the high demands imposed by our quality products.” 

It is no wonder that Karlsberg and KHS have been working 

together on a basis of mutual trust for decades. The latest project 

is a new bottling line for glass bottles at the Homburg site that 

offers maximum flexibility. The line processes refillable and non-

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: KARLSBERG 

* Founded: 1878 

* Location: Homburg 

* Collaborations: Heineken, Brau Holding International 

* Positioning: One of the top ten beverage manufacturers in 

Germany 

* Range: Includes Karlsberg UrPils, Gründel’s, MiXery, Desperados 

* Philosophy: Do today what others think about tomorrow 

refillable bottles for the complete product range and currently 

fills refillable 0.33-liter as well as 0.5-liter glass bottles. Capacity: 

60,000 bottles per hour. Of course, the line also handles 

other sizes of bottle as well as all possible innovative products. 

Praise from Tobias Sohns, Bottling Shop Manager at the Karlsberg 

Brewery, “The new line exactly meets all our expectations in every 

respect.” This also includes a few special tasks, which the company 

gave to the KHS experts. 

TASK 1: MERGE THE OLD AND THE NEW 

Among other things, a concept for connecting the existing depalletizer 

and palletizer as well as the sorting area to the new line. 

Solution: The existing equipment operates in the basement of the 

brewery building and the new machinery on the ground floor. 

Bottles and crates arrive segregated by type at the Innopack PPZ 

decrater located on the ground floor. The Innopack PPZ is extremely 

flexible and is outstandingly suitable for use both as a decrater and 

as a crater. The logical decision at Karlsberg Brewery was therefore 

Innopack PPZ times two. Another modern cyclic crater is there- 


fore handles the task of packing filled bottles in prepared crates 

at the end of the KHS line. 

TASK 2: REDUCE CHANGEOVER TIMES 

Both Innopack PPZs are fitted with a fully automatic KHS format 

changing system. At the press of a button, the decrater replaces 

the previously used packing head and centering frame with new 

components. In addition, the crater controls the fully automatic 

lane switching. The only manual intervention required is connecting 

and disconnecting the power and air supply hoses. Parking stations 

for additional format part sets can be installed later at any 

time. 

TASK 3: REDUCE BACKGROUND NOISE 

Noise reduction wherever feasible – this was the requirement. 

KHS achieved this not only with the crater and decrater, but also 

with all other machines. Special housings are designed so that 

the noise-insulating ceiling essentially absorbs the noise. 

TASK 4: SAVE SPACE 

The Innoclean EE single-end bottle washer saves space versus the 

double-end machine and operates with Triple-i-Drive technology. 

Another special solution is the crate magazine, which is built directly 

onto the pasteurizer. Sohns, “An excellent idea! We have space 

for temporarily storing more than 600 crates.” 

TASK 5: OPTIMIZE ENERGY CONSUMPTION 

The integral patented energy-saving carrier with reduced carrier 

36*37 

Left Innofill DRS-ZMS: Bottles with low oxygen pick-up, saves CO2 . Center The 

Innoclean EE single-end bottle washer, for example, which like all KHS 

machines, has a special noise-insulated housing. Right Container conveyor: 

hygienically designed. Large photo right Filling system: Operates with fill level 

probes after triple pre-evacuation and double purging with CO2 . Bottom Quickly 

relocated from an existing outdated line to the new line: The Innopas C 

double-deck pasteurizer with the crate magazine on top to save space.


Left Innopack PPZ: Cog belts for freedom from maintenance and reduced back- 

ground noise. Right Praise from Dr. Hans-Georg Eils, Engineering and Logistics 

Director (right) and Tobias Sohns, Bottling Shop Manager (center), “The new 

KHS line is a sophisticated system concept right down to the last detail that 

offers plenty of future potential.” Also pictured: Wolfgang Augel, Sales, Germany, 

KHS AG. 

weight permanently reduces energy and fresh water consumptions 

and at the same time reduces the heat and caustic carryover 

thereby using 10 to 15 percent less heat and 15 to 20 percent less 

water. 

TASK 6: MAXIMIZE HYGIENE 

The bottle washing machine disposes of extracted labels through 

a pipe directly into a receptacle provided for this purpose. Maximum 

hygiene is the keyword. Hans-Georg Eils, “Modern KHS bottle 

washing equipment is perfectly in line with our hygiene requirements 

and its design is extremely environmentally friendly. Both 

aspects are of great importance to the Karlsberg Brewery.” 

The line conveys bottles from the bottle washing machine 

to the filler over easy-clean conveyors with welded components 

(no dirt pockets). The single-lane, hygienically designed container 

conveyor is equipped with an integrated interior and exterior sanitizing 

system. What is more, incoming and return chains are separated 

from one another. Other hygienic components include 

special aseptic gear motors to prevent air turbulence. 

The microbiological filler front table with its geometrical 

shape ensures the selective run-off of product residue, foam, water 

and glass fragments out of the biologically critical area of the 

filler thereby providing a high degree of microbiological safety. 

TASK 7: FLEXIBLE BOTTLING WITH LOW OXYGEN PICK-UP 

The Innofill DRS-ZMS computer-controlled pneumatic pressurized 

filling system is ideally suited for the low-oxygen bottling of beer 

in glass bottles. Furthermore, it is designed for all conceivable fill- 

ing situations, whether new bottle shapes and sizes or innovative 

beer or mixed beer beverages. Even soft drinks are no problem. 

The monoblock filler system currently includes a crown cork capper. 

The mechanism for integrating an additional screw capper is 

already in place. 

TASK 8: INTEGRATE THE EXISTING PASTEURIZER 

The Innopas C is a double-deck pasteurizer dating back to 2003 

that was previously incorporated in a line, which was to be dismantled 

because of its age. The pasteurizer was broken down into individual 

modules, transported in sections to the new line where it 

was reassembled by KHS and modified by adding a section to match 

the higher line capacity. KHS’ PU control system also makes it 

possible to program subsequent product specification changes and 

new products at any time. 

Director Eils sums up: “The new KHS line is a sophisticated 

system concept right down to the last detail.” Tobias Sohns adds, 

“Regardless of the product consumers may want in the future, we 

are already equipped for this today with new KHS technology.” Such 

as the company’s latest new development: Gründel’s fresh – a 

non-alcoholic cocktail of apple and beer. “With Gründel’s fresh, 

the Carlsberg Brewery is also applying its innovative strength in 

the non-alcoholic beer segment,” comments Alle Ypma, General 

Manager of Karlsberg Brewery on this product. It’s looking into 

the future that counts. 

Günter Unkrig, Director, Central European Business Area, KHS AG 

Wolfgang Augel, Sales, Germany, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.karlsberg.de 

• CONTACT 

Günter Unkrig, Director, Central European Business Area, 

KHS AG, Dortmund 

Tel: +49/2 31/5 69 – 16 02 

E-mail: guenter.unkrig@khs.com 

Wolfgang Augel, Sales, Germany, KHS AG, Dortmund 

Tel: +49/2 31/5 69 – 16 35 

E-mail: wolfgang.augel@khs.com


The New Belgium Special Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado brews unique beers and is growing at a 

tremendous pace. Although striking and typically American, the history of this young company 

began in a basement and not a garage. The partnership between New Belgium and KHS is also 

developing extremely dynamically with a new filling line that is unexcelled in the United States. 

During a bike trip through Europe on his 

old-fashioned bicycle, Jeff Lebesch had no 

idea that his life was about to change dramatically. 

For after returning home, the 

electrical engineer from Fort Collins, Colorado 

began brewing beer in his basement 

in the finest Belgian tradition that he had 

learned to love during his bike trip. Both 

of his first two creations, Abbey and Fat 

Tire, quickly earned a reputation among 

family and friends for their remarkable and 

well-balanced taste. People were now 

drinking delicious Belgian beer in a form 

that could otherwise only be enjoyed 

abroad. 

Together with his wife, Kim Jordan, 

Lebesch gradually expanded the brewing 

activities in his basement and officially 

opened for business in 1991. Kim took care 

of marketing and sales and even delivered 

beer herself in the family station wagon. 

In 1995, the team expanded further and 

moved to a railroad depot. But they soon 

outgrew this second location and consequently 

the built their first real brewery 

shortly thereafter. Today, the New Belgium 

Brewery with headquarters in Fort Collins, 

Colorado is the third largest specialist brewery 

in America and has a whole line of 

unique beers in its assortment of products. 

38*39 

STRONG 

PARTNERS 

New Belgium Brewery in Colorado 

places trust in KHS

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: NEW BELGIUM 


* Headquarters: Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. 

* Positioning: Third largest specialist brewery in 

the United States. Owner managed. 

* Sales: 476,100 beer barrels (@ 31 U.S. gallons) 

It is fantastic how sales of 476,100 beer 

barrels (@ 31 U.S. gallons) have developed 

from an experiment in the basement. What 

is more, Jeff Lebesch is expecting a further 

9-percent increase in production for 

the current year. And so to the equipment. 

New Belgium’s earlier systems consisted of 

two filling lines with a capacity of 300 bottles 

per minute and 120 half-barrel kegs 

(@ 15.5 U.S. gallons) per hour. The company 

then introduced a new organic beer 

(Mothership Wit) and as a result of substantial 

growth rates was forced to make 

further investments in the plant in order 

to keep everything up and running. 

THE SEARCH FOR THE RIGHT PARTNER … 

First of all, the management put together 

basic criteria and building specifications 

for the construction of a new filling and 

packing shop. Discussions were then held 

with five possible suppliers with particular 

attention being paid to maintenance, 

operational procedures, and engineering. 

When making their assessment, New Belgium 

placed particular emphasis on the following 

items: 

* Customer service 

* Availability of parts and support 

* State of the art 

* Services 

* Customer satisfaction and training 

* Reputation in the brewing industry 

… LEADS TO KHS … 

The decision was made quickly and clearly. 

KHS USA based in Waukesha, Wisconsin was 

the first choice. “KHS scored well with 

regard to engineering, technology, and 

innovation, and has an outstanding reputation 

in the brewing industry,” summarizes 

Jim Spencer, New Belgium’s Engineering 

Director. With the latest technology, 

KHS was able to come up with exactly what 

the company required. “Innovation has 

always been valued highly by the company 

founders, Jeff and Kim,” explains Spencer, 

“and KHS is absolutely in the lead as far 

as technology is concerned.” 

… AND TECHNOLOGY PREVIOUSLY 

UNKNOWN IN THE U.S.A. … 

KHS has provided New Belgium with technology 

that until now was unknown in the 

U.S. (including a new bottling machine, a 

wrap-around packer, and a robot palletizer), 

which in the meantime is in operation at

the new production plant (total area over 

5,000 square meters). The plant expansion 

with an investment volume of at least 

20 million US dollars includes numerous 

environmentally friendly design elements 

and technologies, one example of which is 

the KHS filler with reduced CO 2 consumption. 

… WITH FOCUS ON FILLING … 

The electronic Innofill DRS-ZMS filler – an 

innovation in the U.S. brewing industry – 

made a particularly strong impression on 

the New Belgium employees. Like most of 

the European beer manufacturers, New Belgium 

retains the quality of its beers by 

not pasteurizing them. Filling valves with 

probes are used in the KHS filler to guarantee 

exact fill levels and minimize the 

oxygen pick-up in the bottle during filling. 

Low oxygen content protects the flavor of 

the beer and increases the shelf life. 

“The filler improves fill level accuracy 

and CO 2 and water consumption,” 

praises Spencer. “It provides high flexibility 

for product changes, and we are all 

extremely impressed by the technology and 

each of the structural elements.” New Belgium’s 

previous bottling line operated at 

an output of 300 bottles per minute. The 

new KHS filler has increased the capacity 

of the bottling plant to more than 700 bottles 

per minute. The brewery now has a 

capacity of 850,000 beer barrels per year. 

… AND THE LATEST PACKAGING … 

Perfection is also the name of the game 

when it comes to packaging. The new KHS 

Innopack Kisters WP wrap-around packer 

is an innovation in the U.S.A. and exactly 

matches New Belgium’s efficient and flexible 

packaging line. “The machine provides 

an innovative solution for packing bottles,” 

explains Spencer. “At the same time, the 

task+solution ° New Belgium Brewery places trust in KHS 

Left View of the bottling shop: Investment volume of 20 million US dollars. Top The filler: Precise filling 

accuracy and minimized oxygen levels for optimum beer flavor and longer shelf life. Bottom Wrap-around 

packer: With partition inserter – an innovation in the U.S.A. 

KHS solution takes up less space, provides 

higher efficiency, and is very attractive 

overall”. 

In the past, the brewery purchased premade 

cartons. The new system produces 

cartons directly from cardboard blanks while 

the bottles are being packed. At the same 

time, the cartoner erects the partitions 

then aligns and slides them between the 

bottles. It then folds the carton, wraps it 

around the bottles, and applies adhesive 

to an inside flap. 

… AND PERFECT LABELS … 

The KHS Innoket KL cold glue labeling 

machine now enables New Belgium to apply 

back labels to the bottles as well. “A back 

label is a special way of attracting the consumer’s 

attention to the product,” Spencer 

asserts. Throughput has increased to over 

800 bottles per minute while labels with a 

length of up to 170 mm can be applied to 

the front of the bottle. 

… AND THE MOST FLEXIBLE ROBOT 

TECHNOLOGY 

The KHS palletizer robot also delighted New 

Belgium with its capabilities of handling 

widely differing designs of container and 

pallet layouts. The robot arm, another first 

for the States, aligns the containers in layers, 

and stacks them on top of each other. 

The wrapped packs go straight from the 

palletizer to the waiting truck. This system 

makes palletizing more precise and 

reduces the work effort. 

THE SUCCESS STORY CAN CONTINUE 

New Belgium chose KHS as a partner not 

only because of the highly sophisticated 

equipment and future-oriented technology, 

but also above all because the company 

values greatly the high motivation 

and dedication of KHS’ staff. “Ultimately, 

2 

what tipped the balance in KHS’ favor was 

the support that we could expect from KHS,” 

recalls Spencer, and praises, “we are highly 

impressed with the commitment during our 

ongoing collaboration and partnership.” 

Furthermore, the KHS team obviously also 

made an impression during commissioning. 

Spencer sees it this way: “During this 

phase, KHS spared no effort to ensure that 

the system worked as quickly as possible 

in accordance with our requirements.” His 

summary in brief: “KHS showed great commitment 

and great dedication.” 

During the acceptance tests, the 

new line ran with an average efficiency of 

98 percent and therefore noticeably 

exceeded New Belgium’s expectations. 

There is hardly any doubt that the new line 

will quickly reach the strived return on 

investment. What a strong partnership. 

Colby McLean, Western Regional Sales Manager, 

KHS USA, Inc. 

fi 

THE ABCS OF BARRELS 

INFOBOX 

40*41 

* One beer barrel equals 31 U.S. gallons 

* One half beer barrel equals 15.5 U.S. gallons 

* A US gallon equals 3.785411784 liters 

• WEBSITE www.newbelgium.com 

• CONTACT 

Colby McLean, Western Regional Sales Manager 

KHS USA, Inc. 

Tel: +01/425 – 522 – 4215 

E-mail: colby.mclean@khs.com

The German Kulmbacher Brauerei AG is undoubtedly a company steeped in tradition 

that understands the art of brewing. The Group has been pursuing an exemplary 

strategy for a long time, focusing on values such as quality and resource conservation. 

A new filling and packaging line from KHS with several innovative features fits the bill.

The first sight visitors to Kulmbach in Upper 

Franconia, Germany, will see is the picturesque 

Plassenburg. Other prominent 

features of the townscape include the hoods 

of the malt drying kilns, brewery buildings, 

hotels, and restaurants. It has been like 

this for as long as anyone can remember, 

because beer has always had a strong influence 

on the life of the people in this region. 

Kulmbach Bierwoche is an annual event 

that starts on the last weekend in July. 

Two numbers indicate the significance of 

the event: Population: 30,000, visitors: 

120,000. 

And finally, a 3,000-year-old beer 

amphora was discovered some time ago in 

the “secret beer capital” as the oldest evidence 

of the German art of brewing. There 

is strength in unity. On this note, the 

previously independent breweries Reichelbräu, 

Sandlerbräu, Mönchshof, and EKU 

joined forces under the name of Kulmbacher 

Brauerei AG back in 1996. The Group also 

includes the traditional breweries Sternquell 

and Braustolz in Saxony, Würzburger 

Hofbräu, Scherdel, Hof, and the non-alcoholic 

division of Bad Brambacher Mineralquellen. 

UNIQUE PRODUCT RANGE … 

Accordingly, the Group offers a wide range 

of no less than 28 styles of beer, including 

famous brands such as 

* Kulmbacher – national premium brand 

with a leading role in northern Bavaria. 

The group’s best selling product is Kulmbacher 

Edelherb, a full-bodied, palatable 

Pils. 

* EKU – for traditional beer connoisseurs. 

* Mönchshof – small, fine specialty, 

undisputed top seller among clip-lock 

bottles in Bavaria and nationally well 

on its way to becoming number one. 

* Kapuziner Weissbier – the number two 


Kulmbacher Brewery: Focus on quality and environment 

The Beer Experts 

Left High-performance-line: fills up to 50,000 bottles per hour. Top Innopal PE: Depalletizes 

empties crates layer by layer. Right Innovative bottle infeed for single-end Innoclean EE bottle 

washer: The bottles enter the machine with minimum pressure and noise over smooth 

pushover points. Openings in the conveyors ensure broken glass is discharged properly. 

in northern Bavaria. Among the top 

ten wheat beers in Germany. 

The company uses an elaborate three-tank 

beer production process. All beer ingredients 

come from – who could expect otherwise 

– the region. 

Around 80% of all products are sold 

in glass bottles (mainly refillable), around 

20% in kegs and a small proportion in cans. 

The range of bottle types and sizes used 

includes traditional brown glass bottles 

and clear glass bottles in 0.33 and 0.5-liter 

sizes and all common bottle shapes including 

NRW, long neck and clip-lock. 

… IS THE BASIS FOR SUCCESS 

During the 2007 financial year, the Kulmbacher 

Group achieved a total output of 

3.6 million hectoliters (2.4 million hectoliters 

of beer and 1.2 million hectoliters 

of non-alcoholic beverages). Sales totaled 

223.5 million euros. 

Experts honor the fact that quality 

is a fundamental pillar of the corporate 

strategy, covering all aspects of the Group’s 

activities. At the recent 2008 DLG Beer 

Test, for example, all seven beers submitted 

by Kulmbacher were awarded gold 

medals. This was a strong endorsement for 

the brewmasters and illustrated that continuous 

investments in quality benefit consumers. 

The company has long since been 

active outside its core market. Kulmbacher 

42*43

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: KULMBACHER BREWERY 


* Structure: Merger (1996) of Reichelbräu, Sandlerbräu, Mönchshof und 

EKU. Further companies: Sternquell, Braustolz, Würzburger Hofbräu, 

Brauerei Scherdel, Bad Brambacher Mineralquellen 

* Beer brands: Kulmbacher, EKU, Mönchshof, Kapuziner Weissbier (a total of 

28 styles of beer) 

* Output 2007: 3.6 million hectoliters (of which two-thirds is beer) 

* Sales 2007: 223 million euros 

beer has been popular in central and northern 

Germany and abroad for more than 150 

years. In 1900, the company already 

exported 733,000 hectoliters of beer. 

Today, brand name beers are represented 

particularly strongly in Italy and France; 

EKU traditionally also in Asia. “EKU is 

well known in Asia. Like all Kulmbacher 

brand name beers, it conveys a feeling of 

Bavarian life to consumers,” says Dr. Helga 

Metzel, Director of Corporate Communications. 

THE SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE 

KHS LINE 

The new high-performance filling and packaging 

line with a capacity of 50,000 bot- 

tles per hour processes 0.33 and 0.5 liter 

glass bottles and is used for a wide range 

of Kulmbacher beer varieties. Kulmbacher 

decided to use KHS as turnkey supplier, 

because KHS equipment meets the demand 

for flexibility while taking into account 

environmental aspects and offering perfect 

filling and quality results. In addition, 

the line design is top of the range when it 

comes to hygiene. The special line characteristics 

in terms of energy and environment 

are described below. 

* Heat consumers such as the bottle 

washer and the process equipment are 

fully insulated. This reduces the energy 

consumption significantly. 

* The bottle washer was designed for max- 

Conveyors: Easy clean design meets maximum demands. 

imum energy efficiency. A unique innovative 

feature the Kulmbacher brewmasters 

came up with is to use natural gas 

as heat source. This saves energy costs 

and reduces CO 2 emissions. 

* At the infeed of the single-end Innoclean 

EE bottle washer, the chains are 

routed to ensure that the bottles enter 

the machine with minimum pressure 

and noise. Upstream of the main caustic 

bath, the bottles are presoaked and 

sprayed under high-pressure. The labels 

are thus largely removed before the 

main caustic bath, resulting in reduced 

contamination of the main caustic bath 

and lower chemical consumption. 

* The energy-saving bottle carriers used

to convey the bottles through the 

machine save 10 to 15% heat and 15 

to 20% water. 

* The control system automatically 

switches off empty conveyors thereby 

reducing the power consumption 

noticeably. 

* The PMS Plant Information System from 

KHS is based on the latest Weihenstephan 

standard and makes consumption 

data, quality, process sequences, 

and cost structures transparent. Intervention 

into the ongoing process is possible 

at all times. In the long term, 

this protects resources and ensures that 

the line, which, incidentally, is connected 

to the KHS Remote Diagnostic 

Service (ReDiS), operates efficiently. 

* The filler area is located in a separate 

room, which is under positive pressure 

and is continuously supplied with 

filtered air. 

* Equipped with 144 filling stations, the 

highly versatile Innofill DRS-ZMS filling 

system ensures top beer quality 

with its extremely low-oxygen filling 

process coupled with low CO 2 consumption. 

* The easy-clean conveyors require little 

maintenance. 

* The infeed and outfeed conveyor at the 

single-lane filler is designed based on 

task+solution ° Kulmbacher Brewery: Focus on quality and environment 

strict hygiene standards (housing with 

raised slide strips, incoming and returning 

chains are separated). Advantage: 

This allows any product residue to drain 

off at the side. The returning chain is 

not exposed to overflowing product. 

Other features include a microbiologically 

beneficial filler front table with 

controlled and fast drain-off of all product 

residue, foam, and water. 

* Special KHS buffer systems are integrated 

between individual machines. 

Optimum decoupling of the individual 

units saves space and improves system 

efficiency. 

* Two Innopack PPZ double-axis gantry 

robots for packing and unpacking are 

equipped with the fully automatic KHS 

format changing system that requires 

fewer resources during changeover. 

* The Innopal RS 3 palletizer features a 

gripper head and is able to compensate 

differences in crate dimensions. 

This results in perfect layer patterns, 

gentle product handling and high overall 

stability of the pallet load. 

Stefan Simon, Director of Production Engineering 

at Kulmbacher Brewery, sums it 

up: “The line features sophisticated design 

details that enable us to offer our consumers 

exactly the quality they ask for. 

Left Innoclean EE with environment-friendly gas 

heating for reduced energy costs and CO 2 emissions. 

Center Innopack PPZ: Crater and decrater with fully 

automatic format changeover system. Right Innopal 

RS 3: Palletizes filled crates and at the same time 

manages palletizing of excess empty crates. 

In addition, it meets the high environmental 

standards laid down by Kulmbacher 

Brewery.” After all, beer is everything in 

this region. 

Günter Unkrig, Director, 

Central European Business Area, KHS AG 

Frank Fretwurst, 

Sales Manager, Southern Germany, KHS AG 

Frank Schneidermann, 

Sales, Germany, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.kulmbacher.de 

• CONTACT 

Günter Unkrig, Director, Central European 

Business Area, KHS AG, Dortmund 



Frank Fretwurst, Sales Manager, 

Southern Germany, KHS AG, Dortmund 

Tel: +49/2 31/5 69 – 17 96 

E-mail: frank.fretwurst@khs.com 

Frank Schneidermann, Sales, Germany, 


Tel: +49/2 31/5 69 – 11 04 

E-mail: frank.schneidermann@khs.com 

44*45

Hacklberg Brewery combines tradition with innovation 

Firm Roots 

Since 1618, the Hacklberg Brewery has supplied the Lower Bavarian countryside around Passau 

with high-quality beer. While many brewing operations have recently suffered sales losses, 

the cult brand of Hacklberg is doing fine. For this line of 42 products, KHS is now providing 

highly flexible system technology. 

This is real tradition: The Thirty Years’ War 

– in 1618 to be exact – was the time when 

beer was first brewed at the Hacklberg Brewery 

in the prince-bishopric of Passau. In 

the 19th century, the company became property 

of the Elector, advancing to the status 

of royal brewery. Soon thereafter, private 

parties purchased the operation, but in 1897, 

it reentered the ownership of the church. 

Stephan Marold, Director of the brewery, 

puts it this way, “Within the region, Hacklberg 

is sometimes compared to a well-rooted 

2 

THUMBNAIL PORTRAIT: HACKLBERG 


* Turnover: 300,000 hl 

* Product range: 42 styles of beer and soft drink 

* Production: 180,000 hl of beer, 120,000 hl 

of soft drinks 

oak. People say, Everything changes, except 

one thing – Hacklberg.” 

According to Marold, that continues 

to bring security and substantiality, as 

well as a successful combination of the traditional 

and the modern. “The decisive point 

for what we do is our need for high quality,” 

says Marold. And customers reward 

that with consistent brand loyalty. The company 

has a distribution share of 90% in the 

brewery’s core market, which is within a 

radius of about 70 kilometers. 

LEADER IN LOWER BAVARIA 

With a production of 300,000 hectoliters 

per year, the brewery is currently number 

two in Lower Bavaria (in 2007, 180,000 hectoliters 

of beer and 120,000 hectoliters of 

soft drinks). But while many Bavarian breweries 

have suffered sales losses in the past 

few years, Hacklberg has stood its ground 

with regard to beer sales. The company 

offers three brands of soft drinks: Sonnenland, 

Frizz, and Dachsbergquelle. The Sonnenland 

line includes a total of 14 different 

products. The top-selling soft drink is 

a cola mix, with a 40% share of sales followed 

by orange soda pop, apple spritzer, 

and table water. 

In all, the product line includes 42 

different styles of beer and soft drinks. The 

company fills this broad spectrum of products 

with a wide variety of bottle types in 

eight returnable glass bottles, ranging from 

the classical 0.5-liter NRW and 0.33-liter

longneck bottles for beer, to the 0.7-liter 

GDB and the 0.75- and 0.25-liter gourmet 

bottle for soft drinks. 

FLEXIBLE NEW SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY 

FROM KHS 

Recently, the brewery invested in new bottle 

washing, filling, and blending technology. 

Their trusted supplier was KHS. 

Stephan Marold says, “Our experience with 

KHS has been very good in the past. For 

the main components of the new line, there 

was just no getting past KHS quality again.” 

The location of the new filling and 

packaging line is Hutthurm, only a few kilometers 

away from Passau. There, in 1998, 

after only six months of construction, the 

Hacklberger Beverage and Logistics Center 

(HGL) was built. To date, four filling and 

packaging lines in three locations have been 

delivering to this logistics center. With this 

new line, which is replacing all existing lines, 

both the logistic center and the filling and 

packaging technology are now centrally 

located in Hutthurm. However, the brewery 

will continue to remain loyal to the Passauer 

neighborhood of Hacklberg. Marold 

says that this is mainly because that is where 

the company’s roots lie. 

With this variety of products and bottles, 

the new system technology must be especially 

flexible. That starts with the KHS 

Innopro PARAMIX CMX blending system, 

expanded with additional dosing segments. 

Supplying beer and thus blending beer mixed 

beverages inline is just as easy as dosing 

minimal amounts of flavoring or other additives. 

The dosing accuracy for syrup is about 

0.05° Brix, and for CO 2 it is approx. 0.2 g 

of CO 2 per liter. All product data is stored 

in recipe memory ready for retrieval by the 

operating crew at the push of a button. 

The computer-controlled pneumatic 

Innofill DRS-ZMS pressure filling system 

has 108 filling stations and processes 

up to 40,000 0.5-liter bottles per hour. There 

is both a crown corker for beer and a screw 

capper for non-alcoholic beverages. A microbiological 

filler front table, optimized bottle 

guide parts, and hygienically designed 

filling valves ensure sanitary conditions in 

the filling area. The glass enclosure for 

the filler / capper area provides maximum 

transparency. The system is driven by the 

latest in servo technology. 

Director Marold is full of praise, “The 

KHS filling concept is convincing right down 

the line including the so very essential low- 


Left/center Innoclean EE: Stainless is the key. Top The computer-controlled, pneumatic pressure filling system Innofill DRS-ZMS stands for a gen- 

tle, low-oxygen filling process. Bottom Stephan Marold, Director of the Hacklberg Brewery (right): “Our experience with KHS has been very good 

in the past. Once again, we just couldn’t pass up KHS quality when it came to the hearts of the new line.” Also pictured: Frank Fretwurst, Marketing 

Manager, Southern Germany, KHS AG. 

oxygen filling process. At the same time, 

we’re talking about the extremely hygienic 

design, a high degree of user friendliness, 

short changeover times, and maximum flexibility.” 

The fully insulated Innoclean EE 

bottle washer made entirely of stainless 

steel is equally compelling. Marold says, 

“That increases the service life and together 

with the energy-saving carriers, minimizes 

power consumption.” And with Triple-i-Drive 

technology, the widest variety of bottle 

shapes and sizes can be processed with the 

shortest of changeover times. Marold says, 

“With the new KHS bottle washer, positive 

aspects go hand in hand, mutually reinforcing 

each other. In comparison with the bottle 

washing equipment we have used in the 

past, we’re referring to 30% lower water 

consumption. And power savings are similar.” 

From the region, for the region – 

and always following the motto that the 

Hacklberg Brewery has always called its own: 

Reliability earns customers. 

Günter Unkrig, Director, 

Central European Business Area, KHS AG 


Southern Germany, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 

• WEBSITE www.hacklberg.de 

• CONTACT 

Günter Unkrig, Director, Central 

European Business Area, KHS AG, 

Dortmund 




Southern Germany, KHS AG, Dortmund 

Tel: +49/2 31/5 69 – 17 96 

E-mail: frank.fretwurst@khs.com 

46*47

Innofill NRS: Worldwide new principle for bottling convenience drinks 

Focus on Wellness 

The new KHS Innofill NRS processes small plastic containers for non-carbonated 

products, hot or cold, without the use of lifting elements. What advantages 

does this have and what else does the technology have to offer? 

Top Innofill NRS: Processes a comprehen- 

sive product range. Bottom After filling, 

optimized capping: Different alternatives 

for snacks in plastic containers with 

aluminum cap or classical screw cap 

Health and correspondingly oriented convenience 

drinks are the major trend of the 

time. Consumers are increasingly questioning 

how carefully or hygienically the product 

has been processed. Manufacturers must 

meet these requirements – but at the same 

time, they want simple and economically 

optimized filling systems. Problem solved, 

the new Innofill NRS from KHS focuses very 

specifically on filling small plastic containers 

with non-carbonated products using 

a worldwide new principle, which involves 

less wear and therefore provides higher availability. 

But more of that later. First a few 

important parameters relating to the use of 

the filling system. 

WIDE PRODUCT RANGE 

The consumer demands variety. As a computer-controlled 

isobarometric pressure probe 

filler, the Innofill NRS processes a comprehensive 

product range: classical and viscous 

juice drinks, juice-vegetable or pure vegetable 

drinks or mixed dairy products with cereals 

and much more. The basic principle: The system 

fills everything that is flowable. 

LIGHTWEIGHT CONTAINERS 

The consumer demands convenient containers. 

For this reason, the Innofill NRS is particularly 

designed for the flexible filling of 

lightweight plastic containers in a variety 

of sizes and shapes. Such containers for 

between-meal snacks usually vary between 

100 and 500 milliliters. Of course, somewhat 

smaller or slightly larger containers 

can also be filled. The basic principle: The 

system flexibly adapts to the customers’ 

requirements. 

WIDE MOUTHS 

The consumer wants convenience. The 

Innofill NRS fills containers with mouth 

diameters of at least 20 millimeters. The 

basic principle: Due to larger mouths, the 

system above all allows convenient and rapid 

consumption of highly viscous products. 

THE 10 TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES 

1 Filling without lifting elements 

A world innovation: With the Innofill NRS, 

the filling level probe only lowers fully automatically 

into the container once it is positioned 

directly below the filling valve. This 

has never before been the case in this form. 

2 Non-contact filling 

When the container has been positioned 

in the neck ring holder and below the filling 

valve, the filling valve opens and the 

probe moves fully automatically into the 

container. Non-contact filling using the 

free-flow principle provides microbiological 

safety – there is no longer a need to 

press and seal the container mouth against 

the filling valve.

7 Filling with optimum hygiene 

From ring bowl to filling valve – smooth 

paths everywhere with aseptic membrane 

and sealing technology within the filling 

valves and for all product-conducting channels 

and paths. 

8 Filling with simplest possible 

cleaning 

CIP sanitizing is simple and extremely 

hygienic. Rinsing pans are positioned underneath 

the filling valves for CIP circulation. 

Cleaning media enter the ring bowl. From 

here, they pass through the intended CIP 

channels before entering the rinsing bowl 

through the free-flow filling valves. Finally, 

the cleaning media are returned to the cleaning 

media tank through the circulation pump 

and the catchment tank. 

technology+innovation ° 

3 Filling with uniform fill levels 

5 Non-drip filling 

9 Hot or cold filling 

The filling valve closes as soon as the fill- Single-stage or two-stage: both must be The Innofill NRS is intended for hot filling. 

ing level touches the tip of the probe. The drip-free. This is ensured by a gas lock in However, non-carbonated products can also 

probe moves fully automatically out of the the product outlet. This also allows a defined be processed cold. 

container. This ensures uniform fill levels. proportion of solids to pass through, which 

is decisive with products containing fruit 10 Filling with infeed plate 

4 Filling in one or two stages pulp or cereals. 

The system guides the containers over an 

The single-stage filling process is common 

infeed plate that has no format parts, into 

for smaller containers. Two-stage filling is 6 Filling with return flow 

the rinser-filler-capper monoblock where it 

possible with the Innofill NRS depending The filling valves are connected to a par- passes them on accordingly after each sta- 

on the product and the container used. The tially filled ring bowl. If the line should tion. Focus on simplicity. 

second stage is recommended for large-vol- come to a stop, the heated product circu- Optimized capping follows filling. 

ume containers, particularly when foamlates through the ring bowl. 

Here, KHS offers various alternatives. Both 

ing occurs: fast fill phase in the cylindrical 

the aluminum cap and the classical screw 

part and then low-foam slow fill phase in 

cap are possible for snacks in plastic con- 

the narrower container neck. 

tainers. 

fi 

INFOBOX 


• CONTACT 

Ludwig Clüsserath, Manager, Process 

Engineering Competence Center, 

KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 25 01 

E-mail: ludwig.cluesserath@khs.com 

Walter Senft, Manager, 

Wine, Champagne, Juice and Spirit 

System Sales, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 23 80 

E-mail: walter.senft@khs.com 

The bottom line: With the Innofill NRS, KHS 

provides a filling system that not only fulfils 

the demands of the market, but also 

goes a long way toward satisfying future 

requirements. The system gives the beverage 

and food industries the opportunity of 

(further) pursuing the health and convenience 

trend consistently and objectively. 

Ludwig Clüsserath, Manager, Process Engineering 

Competence Center, KHS AG 

Walter Senft, Manager, Wine, Champagne, 

Juice and Spirit System Sales, KHS AG 

48*49 

Left Filler specialty: Small plastic containers with non- 

carbonated products. Right Filler range: Classical vis- 

cous juice, juice-vegetable or pure vegetable or mixed 

milk drinks with cereals – and much, much more.


Hot Stuff 

Hot filling – like aseptic cold filling with isolator 

technology – also provides microbiological safety 

for non-alcoholic beverages in plastic bottles. 

As a trendsetter, KHS provides innovative hot-fill 

versions that leave simply nothing to be desired. 

This is the future: The trade is more and 

more frequently wanting to hot-fill microbiologically 

sensitive non-alcoholic beverages 

in plastic bottles. The reason is that, 

in this way, clean room equipment and significantly 

increasing hygiene management 

can be avoided, even if the costs associated 

with hot filling are higher. At the same time, 

the trade basically wants simple filling systems 

that are tailored highly flexibly to 

the ever-wider variety of products. Problem 

solved: The KHS DRV-VF/NH is here – a 

system that fills hot or cold, processes carbonated 

as well as non-carbonated beverages 

with different degrees of sensitivity, 

and can be operated with or without pres- 

sure. But for orientation, first a brief glance 

at the family of Innofill DRV fillers from KHS, 

all of which are the latest computer-controlled 

volumetric systems with the major 

advantage of simple control concepts. 

* Version 1: DRV-VF exclusively bottles 

carbonated soft drinks and water. Only 

two pneumatic functions control the 

entire filling process – including the 

lifting operation and sealing the bottle 

mouth against the filling valve. 

* Version 2: DRV-VF/N allows the pressurized 

filling of carbonated soft drinks 

and the pressureless filling of still water 

and similar products. A further control 

function is included, which quite 

simply manages the operating mode 

changeover from pressurized filling to 

pressureless filling for all filling valves 

in a machine at the same time. 

* Version 3: DRV-VF/DN additionally provides 

the option of always pressurizing 

more microbiologically sensitive carbonated 

refreshers, such as apple spritzer, 

with freshly filtered gas using the triplechamber 

process. The system then also 

works with a high proportion of inert 

gas when filling thereby reducing the 

oxygen pickup. The changeover from 

classical pressurized filling using the 

single-chamber principle to triple-chamber 

pressurized filling for carbonated 

beverages and also the pressureless 

mode of operation is achieved at the 

push of a button. 

* Version 4: DRV-VF/NH, which along with 

single-chamber pressurized filling and 

pressureless cold filling, now also allows 

hot filling. 

The following contains a summary of possible 

future frequently asked questions about 

the Innofill DRV-VF/NH. 

HOW MUCH EFFORT IS INVOLVED IN 

CHANGEOVER? 

All filling valves can be changed over from 

pressurized to hot filling at the push of a

Left Innofill DRV-VF/NH for PET: Bottles carbonated and non-carbonated bever- 

ages under pressure and pressureless cold and hot. Right Innofill NV-H for 

PET: Bottles only non-carbonated, non-alcoholic beverages cold or hot. 

button by means of pilot valves. A likewise 

centrally controlled membrane cylinder triggers 

the beverage circulation within the 

filling valves in standstill phases during 

hot filling. In the case of a filler with 100 

filling stations, this type of control saves 

up to 297 solenoid valves, which reduces 

the complexity with potential savings in 

service and maintenance. The operator 

selects the required operating mode at the 

monitor. The changeover is menu controlled. 

HOW IS THE SYSTEM BROUGHT UP TO 

TEMPERATURE? 

When filling hot, the first thing is to bring 

the filler up to temperature. This is done 

by circulating hot water through the filling 

valves and ring bowl directly after the 

sterilization process. When the whole system 

has been heated to a specified temperature, 

the water is removed. The heated 

product is now initially circulated from the 

tubular ring bowl likewise through all filling 

valves. The filling process does not start 

until the product return temperature 

matches the required filling temperature. 

The process is the same as with pressureless 

filling. The product is now no longer 

circulated within the filling system. Heated 

product is supplied to the filling valves 

directly from the tubular ring bowl. 

WHAT TEMPERATURES ARE POSSIBLE? 

The filling temperature is always determined 

by what the product demands with regard 

to the necessary pasteurization units and 

is the basis for the heat stability of the plastic 

bottles used. Filling temperatures of 

up to 95 degrees Celsius are always possible. 

When defining the temperatures, KHS 

is not only available to give advice but can 

also carry out practical tests in advance in 

the KHS Technical Center. This additionally 

shows whether the intended plastic bottles 

are suitable for the particular application. 

IS MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY 

ALSO ENSURED DURING FILLING 

INTERRUPTIONS? 

Shortage of bottles, backup at upstream 

machines – there are many reasons for interruptions 

in filling. In such cases, the system 

again circulates the product through 

the filling valves and tubular ring bowl. This 

prevents cooling below the required pasteurization 

temperature. Hot product is 

always ready at the valve seat. Tubular ring 

bowl and valves are at the correct temperature 

to ensure microbiological safety. Hot 

filling can therefore be resumed at any time. 

This contributes to the high availability of 

the filling system. Circulation of the product 

avoids phase separation in the case of 

technology+innovation ° 

products containing pulp or fibers. The quality 

of the product entering the plastic bottle 

is therefore consistent at all times. 

ARE THERE ANY SPREADERS? 

As with all versions of the Innofill DRV, the 

liquid film in the Innofill DRV-VF/NH is 

formed using a swirler. This is decisive for 

hygiene. In this way, there are no spray elements 

protruding into the bottle. A further 

plus point is that using a swirler ensures 

high flexibility. Widely differing shapes and 

sizes of bottle can be filled by means of a 

swirler without any previous changeover 

work – within the possible bottle capacities 

specified by the system ranging between 

0.1 and 3.0 liters. 

HOW IS SANITIZING DONE? 

With the Innofill DRV generation of fillers, 

the CIP sanitizing process has also been 

solved in an extremely advantageous way. 

So-called CIP plates are either inserted manually 

or moved fully automatically over the 

mouths of the filling valves. The same principle 

of pressing bottles against the filling 

valves during pressurized filling is used for 

the CIP sanitizing process. In this case, 

however, the filling valves are sealed by the 

pressure of the rinsing solution – fully automatically 

and exactly adapted to the internal 

pressure. 

50*51


WHAT ADVANTAGES DOES THE TUBU- 

LAR RING BOWL OFFER? 

The tubular ring bowl of the DRV generation 

of fillers is considerably lighter in weight 

than the classical angular ring bowl solution. 

There are no corners or edges – this 

ensures maximum hygiene. And the lightweight 

construction requires less drive force. 

Furthermore, significantly less energy is 

required for heating and cooling. 

WHAT OUTPUTS ARE POSSIBLE? 

When hot filling, the Innofill DRV-VF/NH 

processes up to 60,000 bottles per hour. 

When filling fruit beverages, the fruit/pulp 

content in the beverage can be up to 8 percent. 

The system even processes fibers up 

to 5 millimeters long and up to 1.5 millimeters 

in diameter. 

HOW HIGH ARE INVESTMENT COSTS? 

Even if those who are not certain today 

whether hot-filling is likely to be a consid- 

With the Innofill NV-H, the non-contact filling of plastic bottles by means of a free-flow filling 

valve represents the highest microbiological and hygienic safety. Free-flow filling for 

the sensitive non-carbonated, alcohol-free beverages intended for hot filling is always carried 

out in two stages. Only the liquid seat is energized while the filling process is running 

thereby reducing the cost of individual control elements for each filling station. 

eration in the future, but who opt for Innofill 

DRV filling technology, should invest in the 

Innofill DRV-VF/NH version. The additional 

costs are reasonable – with the highest possible 

flexibility in the future. The hot-fill 

option can be easily retrofitted to existing 

systems. 

WHAT IF ONLY STILL NON-ALCOHOLIC 

BEVERAGES ARE TO BE FILLED HOT? 

In this case, consideration is given to the 

Innofill NV-H, the hot-fill option of the 

Innofill NV developed by KHS. Special features: 

Fruit drinks can have longer fibers 

with lengths up to 10 millimeters and diameters 

of 2 millimeters. The Innofill NV-H 

can also process small pieces of fruit. It is 

able to fill up to 60,000 0.1 to 3.0-liter plastic 

bottles per hour – and in special cases 

up to 5.0 liters. Non-contact filling using 

a free-flow filling valve makes the highest 

microbiological and hygienic safety possible. 

Free-flow hot filling of sensitive noncarbonated 

alcohol-free beverages is always 

carried out in two stages. Only the liquid 

seat is energized while the process is running. 

This cuts the cost of having individual 

control elements on two solenoid valves 

for each filling station. During interruptions 

in the filling process, the central return 

valve opens and the product recirculates. 

The passages are such that the heated external 

stainless steel areas keep the product 

at the correct temperature even within the 

gas lock. And different mouths can also 

be processed. 

RESULT 

With these newly developed hot-fill options, 

KHS is once again acting as a pioneer in the 

market. In particular, the combination filling 

systems very clearly show that simple 

functionality and a high degree of future 

proofing with maximum flexibility of a filling 

system do not have to be mutually exclusive. 

On the contrary, they complement one 

another. 

Ludwig Clüsserath, Manager, Process Engineering 

Competence Center, KHS AG 

fi 

INFOBOX 


• CONTACT 

Ludwig Clüsserath, 

Manager, Process Engineering Competence 

Center, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Telefon: +49/6 71/8 52 – 25 01 

E-Mail: ludwig.cluesserath@khs.com

KHS sets an innovative milestone with 

a comprehensive product line harmonization for 

modular packaging technology solutions. 

This realignment now also benefits packaging 

equipment in the entry and medium capacity range. 

As Flexible as the Alphabet 

The market is demanding individual solutions, particularly when it 

comes to the increasingly important packaging technology. This 

is exactly what KHS has been offering for some time in the form of 

high-performance, modular packaging equipment. Customers from 

the beverage, food, or non-food sectors can configure function 

modules for shrink packers, tray shrink packers, pad shrink packers, 

and wrap-around packers to form optimize systems for the 

respective task. After the product line harmonization, KHS now 

also offers modular solutions for packaging systems with smaller 

and medium capacity, so that medium-sized companies, too, can 

benefit from maximum flexibility. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 1: SOLUTION GROWS WITH REQUIREMENTS 

Product line harmonization will make future changeovers even simpler, 

faster, and above all more versatile. The technical solution 

can simply grow with user requirements, and not just in terms of 

packaging type or performance increase. Integrating equipment 

such as the leaflet inserters, film perforators, partition inserters, 

or tray stackers is just as feasible as converting existing equipment 

to new areas of application. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 2: UNITS BECOME TRANSPARENT 

The function modules are self-contained units that can easily be 

removed from or integrated into the overall system. Interfaces can 

be clarified quickly. Individual functional units become transparent 

for the user, making the respective packaging solution more 

comprehensible. The principle: The technology is more manageable 

and maintenance is simplified. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 3: IDENTICAL SERVO MOTORS 

Identical servo motors are used for all functional units. This simplifies 

spare-parts stocking, among other benefits. The innovative 

servo motors feature integrated servo controllers offering 

further improvement in communication compared with previous 

Product line harmonization at KHS: 

Packaging technology for the future 

servo motor models. A master controller in the control cabinet controls 

these MI servo motors. A single connecting line between the 

control cabinet and the first servo motor in respective packer segment 

is sufficient for perfect communication. Up to twenty ultracompact 

servo drives can be connected in series via a hybrid cable. 

Numerous previous cable connections are no longer required, the 

control cabinet can be much smaller, and the lack of control units 

means that cooling equipment may no longer be required. The 

servo motors and the individual functional units are connected via 

plug connectors. This simplifies replacement of servo motors and 

commissioning of the packaging machine. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 4: NEW DESIGN – SIMPLE AND HYGIENIC 

The revision of the packaging machine design led to a cubic machine 

frame. Together a new protective hood design, this offers machine 

operators even better insight into the ongoing packaging process. 

Access for the purpose of operation and maintenance has also been 

optimized further. Easy to clean assembly support systems were 

integrated for hygiene reasons. Together with the newly designed 

catch pans for cleaning agent, rinse water, and possible product 

leaks located below the function modules, this ensures maximum 

hygiene. Any protruding parts such as bolts or bars for fastening 

adjustable guides are now hinged or no longer required. Wherever 

possible, the new product line uses low-noise cog belts with 

simple design and maintenance-free operation. 

52*53 

Adjustment points with spindle adjustment: A central controller supplies the 

new target position for format changeover. The Accu-Drive unit receives the 

target position via an infrared interface.

KHS packaging technology for the future 

ADVANTAGE NO. 5: FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE 

The modular system enables simple mechanical, semi-automatic, 

or fully automatic adjustments. This is particularly important for 

food processing companies wishing to use the same packaging 

machine for a variety of formats, for example. Clamping levers are 

used for manual changeovers. Alternatively, operator-controlled 

adjustment units based on electronic displays with acknowledgement 

function can be used for format changeovers. Manually maintained 

hardcopy lists are therefore no longer required, and the error 

rate drops to a minimum. A modified cordless screwdriver makes 

handling of operator-controlled adjustment units even more convenient. 

The cordless screwdriver communicates directly with the 

central controller via a field bus system. This ensures maximum 

precision, even for fully automatic changeovers. For fully automatic 

format changeovers, the adjustment units are equipped 

with drives that have to be activated sequentially via graphical 

menu-driven operating at the monitor. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 6: EVEN MORE VERSATILE PRODUCT 

GROUPING OPTIONS 

The product grouping function module offers even greater flexibility. 

In the past a sectioning unit with two servo drives was used 

2 

COMPONENT SPECIAL FEATURES ADVANTAGE 

Drive 

Wiring 

Machine frame 

Drive transmission 

Machine cladding 

Guide rails 

THE ADVANTAGES OF PRODUCT LINE HARMONIZATION 

Product formation grouping 

Film cutting station 

• Feed system 

• Packaging material 

• Cutting tool 

• Design 

• Feed belts 

Film wrapping 

Shrink tunnel 

Identical servo motors in all functional units 

Wiring of up to 20 servo motors via a hybrid cable; cable 

connections in the control cabinet with contact strips 

Cubic design, new assembly support system 

Cog belt 

New safeguards 

Suspension from above 

Up to four servo motors, individually 

scalable for any task 

Variable width, larger width, cog belt 

drive 

Thinner films can be processed 

Drive with servo motor, cog belt drive 

Gap dimensions reduced, fewer guides 

Antistatic, improved hole pattern 

Height-adjustable, electronically controlled curve 

Eco shrink tunnel, optional gas heating 

that was designed for the largest product formation expected to 

be processed with the system. This meant that smaller units had 

to be conveyed with substantially higher speed, resulting in suboptimal 

utilization of the packaging machine. With the new sectioning 

unit up to four servo motors with speeds that are precisely 

adapted to the respective type of packaging can be used. Each 

servo motor has its own sectioning tool allocated. Outputs of up 

to 120 cycles per minute are now also possible for PET bottles. 

The data for optimum sectioning are stored in the system for each 

individual product formation. 

Easy to service, better spare parts management, 

faster troubleshooting 

Less space required in the control cabinet, simple wiring, 

plug connections, error avoidance 

Greater clarify, better access, optimized hygiene, 

suitable for retrofitting 

Less noise and maintenance 

Optimum process monitoring, convenient handling, 

vertical-lift doors as standard, optional sliding doors 

Simplified format changeover, laterally protruding bars 

are eliminated 

Optimum speed for each product configuration, 

higher speeds 

Flexible adaptation to the position of different film 

widths, greater format range, noise reduction 

Increased range of films for processing, cost reduction for 

packaging material, longer service life 

Maximum cutting precision, low wear 

Efficient operation 

Increased film feed reliability 

Perfect positioning accuracy, high degree of flexibility 

Low energy consumption, very exact temperature control, 

shorter heating phase

Left Cubic machine frame, integrated control elements, vertical-lift or sliding doors, optimum process 

monitoring, hygienic design. Center Automatic guide rail adjustment via direct drive. Right Electronic 

displays with acknowledge function guide the operator through the format changeover. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 7: VERY THIN FILM IS POSSIBLE 

A new film cutting and conveyor system enables processing of thinner 

films. Added to this: The new film cutting station is bigger, 

offering greater flexibility in terms of film width. A servo-driven 

cutter cuts the film with maximum precision and minimum cutter 

wear. Within the film cutting station, the gap dimensions at transitions 

and the number of guides have been reduced significantly. 

The film conveyor system has special coatings and new, conductive 

conveying belts. This reduces the risk of the film sticking, 

winding, or tearing. In conjunction with an additional antistatic 

system, it offers maximum conveying stability, even for very sensitive 

film types. The feed rollers are hinged for improved access 

during maintenance and to facilitate film threading. 

ADVANTAGE NO. 8: SHRINK TUNNEL OPTIONALLY 

WITH GAS HEATING 

The shrink tunnel can either be operated with conventional electric 

heating, or the new KHS eco-shrink tunnel with gas heating 

can be used. This reduces the running costs by up to 50% and CO 2 

emissions by up to 60%. Both shrink tunnel versions feature the 

familiar hot air nozzle arrangement in the shrink tunnel cover. It 

goes without saying that the innovative format changeover solution 

can also be used in the new shrink tunnel. The shrink tunnel 

section can be complemented with modular components such as a 

cleaning facility, cooling fans, or advanced camera technology for 

monitoring the shrink process. 

THE RESULT: HARMONIZATION BEARS FRUIT 

Overall, the expanded KHS range of modular packaging equipment 

in conjunction with the new product line offers numerous 

benefits over the whole capacity range for the beverage, food, 

and non-food industries. The crucial factor is the future proofness 

of the technology. The new system is highly versatile. Function 

modules can be removed or added; packing output can be 

increased or decreased. Modular components can quickly be installed 

in the required packaging machine. Not to forget: All function modules 

not only contain the latest technical achievements, but are 

also based on extensive KHS experience with packaging applications. 

This is exactly what the market needs. 

Norbert Pastoors, Manager, 

Packaging Technology Competence Center, KHS AG 

Werner Oster, Product Support Manager, 


Werner Ageling, Product Management Manager, 


fi 

INFOBOX 


• CONTACT 

Norbert Pastoors, Manager, Packaging Technology 

Competence Center, KHS AG, Kleve 

Tel: +49/28 21/5 03 – 2 21 

E-mail: norbert.pastoors@khs.com 

Werner Oster, Product Support Manager, Packaging 

Technology Competence Center, KHS AG, Kleve 

Tel: +49/28 21/5 03 – 1 52 

E-mail: werner.oster@khs.com 

Werner Ageling, Product Management Manager, 

Packaging Technology Competence Center, KHS AG, Kleve 

Tel: +49/28 21/5 03 – 2 37 

E-mail: werner.ageling@khs.com 

54*55

The bon mot “There are three types of lies: 

lies, damned lies and statistics” is attributed 

to the politician Benjamin Disraeli 

(1804-1881). No one is quite sure about 

the origin, but it indicates the significance 

of improper use of statistics. If someone 

has something to hide, they use a statistical 

trick and hope that no one will notice 

the hidden numbers. You think you won’t 

fall for this? No, you are set straight every 

day. No one is safe from misinterpretations. 

There are people who deliberately 

select lottery numbers that haven’t been 

drawn for a while, in the hope that “Surely 

they’ll have to appear at last.” Unfortu- 

nately, lottery balls have no memory and 

no conscience. It is irrelevant how often or 

infrequently they have appeared in the past. 

They appear based on the laws of statistics, 

and with the same probability for each lottery 

player. For your information: The probability 

is around 1:14 million. Accordingly, 

you would have to play over 14 million times 

to get six matching numbers. Let’s approach 

the basics of statistics in consecutive stages. 

STAGE 1: THE MEAN VALUE 

The mean value is probably the best-known 

statistical parameter. It is also known as 

the average and plays a significantly greater 

role than is generally assumed. The calcu- 

Technical terms in practice: 

Don’t be afraid of statistics (Part 1) 

MAGIC 

NUMBERS 

The word “statistics” alone makes some people turn away or tremble with awe. After 

all, it has to do with mathematics and mysterious symbols. But then again, statistics 

are all around us on a daily basis: We have all heard of the Dow Jones Index and have 

seen population statistics. We are therefore much more familiar with numbers than we 

think. Let’s try to discover this secret language step by step. 

lation is simple, and for small numbers it 

doesn’t require a computer. Simply add up 

the numbers and divide the result by the 

number of individual values. 

Example 1: Several people buying 

drinks want to find out how many bottles 

they buy on average. 

Person 1 = 3 bottles 



Values added: 3+6+20 = 29 bottles.

The total divided by the number of persons: 

29/3 = 9.7 bottles 

The formula means: Add up all values x, 

starting from the first (i=1) until the last 

value (n) is reached, and divide the result 

by the number (n) of values. 

The layman is surprised by the result, and 

the expert can pretentiously explain that 

the spread in the population is already relatively 

large. This gobbledygook means that, 

if the individual values are very different, 

averaging is not very meaningful. It is similar 

to saying, "If I eat two geese and you 

eat none, on average, we’ll have eaten one 

goose each.” 

Nevertheless, the average often has 

an almost magical effect and people often 

forget that it is merely a guide for the order 

of magnitude, rather than a prognosis for 

an individual scenario. Therefore, the mean 

value is only meaningful for a large number 

values or for situations where the individual 

numbers are more similar. 

How can I nevertheless solve the 

dilemma if I want to know the approximate 

mean number of bottles in example 1? This 

is what the median is for. 

STAGE 2: THE MEDIAN 

More magic? The median is also referred 

to as the middle number or central value 

in any given set of numbers or values. The 

median for the first example is 6. The situation 

would be as simple as that if we always 

had to deal with an odd set of numbers. 

Unfortunately, we also have even sets of 

numbers, and in addition they are usually 

unordered. The sets therefore have to be 

sorted in ascending order to find the middle 

value. 

But that’s not all. There are several statistical 

options for calculating a mean value, 

depending on the problem. It also requires 

a certain understanding of the situation, 

because there is no infallible means and 

no infallible mean value. For the sake of 

completeness, it is worth at least mentioning 

these other options without further elaborating 

on them: They are the harmonic 

mean, the geometric mean and the weighted 

mean. 

STAGE 3: STANDARD DEVIATION AND 

VARIANCE 

Let’s move on to another big issue that 

causes many doubts about statistics: the 

standard deviation and the variance. Both 

are closely related, as we’ll see shortly. 

Example 2: A so-called original list 

contains the incomes of 25 families in a city, 

let’s call it Rich City. 

Income 

1,200,000 60,000 45,000 

150,000 51,000 42,000 

86,000 49,000 38,000 

37,000 20,000 14,000 

35,000 18,000 13,000 

32,000 18,000 11,000 

29,000 18,000 10,000 

26,000 16,000 

24,000 16,000 

The arithmetic mean value gives us a result 

of 82,320 euros but it totally distorts the 

picture, because the single millionaire family 

earning more than all others together 

dominates the figures. The range isn’t helpful 

either in this case: It is the difference 

between the lowest and the highest value, 

i.e. 1,190,000 euros. But this doesn’t really 

help either. Looking at the numbers in the 

original list, it is clear that mean earnings 

must be in the region of around 30,000 

euros. This is where the median comes in, 

i.e. the middle value from an ordered list, 

in this case 29,000 euros. As you can see, 

technology+innovation ° 56*57 

it is helpful to reflect on the problem in 

order to glean meaningful information about 

the population of values. At the same time, 

it is clear that the spread of values is important, 

but at this stage, we don’t know how 

to get a more precise feel for it. Once again, 

statistics can help solve this dilemma. It 

offers the standard deviation as a measure 

of dispersion. Sometimes the term variance 

is used, which is directly related to the standard 

deviation, i.e. the variance is the square 

root of the standard deviation, or in mathematical 

terms: 

where 

var = variance 

xi = measured value at point i 

_ 

x = mean value (read as: x bar) 

n = number of measured values 

s = standard deviation

Technical terms in practice 

What exactly is the standard deviation? It 

is a measure for the spread of the individual 

values. Let’s look at a target as another 

example. If a number of shots are fired, the 

holes will be scattered around the center. 

If they are at the center or close to it, they 

came from a marksman. If the shooter was 

less skilled, the holes will be further apart. 

A simple example can illustrate the calculation 

if the standard deviation. 

The results after two shooters have 

shot at a target are as follows: 

Shooter 1 Shooter 2 

7 1 

8 10 

9 13 

Mean value 8 8 

Anyone can see that one shooter shoots 

more precisely than the other. While the 

mean value is the same in both cases, the 

spread of the results can provide additional 

information. Let’s calculate the distance, 

i.e. the difference of the results from the 

respective mean value, and put the values 

in a table: 


Result Deviation from Result Deviation from 

mean value mean value 

7-8 -1 1-8 -7 

8-8 0 10-8 2 

9-8 1 13-8 5 

It wouldn’t make sense to simply add up the 

negative and positive deviations, but a mathematical 

trick called squaring makes them 

all positive. 


Deviation from Square of Deviation from Square of 

mean value the deviation mean value the deviation 

-1 1 -7 49 

0 0 2 4 

1 1 5 25 

Total 2 Total 78 

The difference in the sum of squares between 

78 and 2 is very significant. The greater the 

distance from the mean value and more individual 

results are added, the greater the 

sums. We therefore have to take into account 

the number of individual results by dividing 

the calculated sum by the number of 

individual values. This is known as the variance, 

and the square root of it is the famous 

standard deviation. 


Variance 2 / 3 = 0.67 78 / 3 = 26 

Standard 

deviation 

It is immediately obvious that the shots from 

the first shooter have a lower scattering 

range than those from the second shooter, 

and that he is therefore the better marksman. 

The variance is a common theme in statistics, 

right up to the distant heights of variance 

analysis. The mathematical/statistical 

significance of the variance is tremendous: 

It eliminates negative values and at 

the same time highlights larger deviations. 

If one arranges the shots along a line, the 

spread becomes clearly evident. 

Shooter 1 = yellow fields 

Shooter 2 = blue fields 

Mean value = red 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

-7 

+1 

0 +2 

In one case the spread is less than 1, in 

the other it is more than 5. While two of 

the shots from the second marksman were 

closer to the center, the scatter between 

the individual shots was high. An additional 

-1 

+5 

fi 

INFOBOX 


• CONTACT 

Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Evers, 

Laboratory and Technology Center 

Manager, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach 

Tel: +49/6 71/8 52 – 2252 

E-mail: hartmut.evers@khs.com 

statistical function can be used to prove 

this. The coefficient of variation (CV) indicates 

the relationship between the standard 

deviation and the mean value. 

The mathematical expression for the 

variation coefficient is 

We calculate as follows: 

Shooter 1 

Shooter 2 

A rule of thumb says that a CV of more than 

30% indicates strong inhomogeneity of the 

individual values. In our case, this means: 

Shooter 2 is not concentrated enough, and 

the shots scatter too far. While we had 

already suspected this, we now have statistical 

proof. 

Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. Hartmut Evers, Laboratory and 

Technology Center Manager, KHS AG, Bad Kreuznach

MUMBAI, INDIA 

ELEPHANT PARADE 

In February 2009, the Elephanta Festival will take place 

on Elephanta Island in the Indian state of Maharashtra, 

only ten kilometers from the port of Mumbai. Traditional 

music, dance, regional delicacies, and a varied 

cultural program presented by renowned national 

artists or local fishermen make the festival an unforgettable 

experience. The illuminated Maheshmurti cave, 

the largest of the 1000 year-old caves on the island, 

which are home to the god Shiva, is a unique spectacle. 

Take the ferry from the Gateway of India at the port 

of Mumbai. Information and dates: www.maharashtratourism.gov.in 

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND 

WHISKY & CIGAR FESTIVAL 

The legendary Whiskyship & Cigar Festival will start on Swiss 

Lake Zurich for the tenth time at the end of November (27 

to 30). With round 850 different malt whiskies and 300 

select cigars from the finest portfolios available it is the 

biggest event of its kind. Nine ships, fifty exhibitors, and 

dozens of organizers will be participating in the event. Info: 

www.whiskyship.ch 

DON’T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY 

STOPOVER 

stopover ° Don’t miss the opportunity 

KHS customers are active on all continents. 

Their work takes them to many countries around the 

world to call on customers, to attend meetings and 

trade fairs. Such trips sometimes offer a welcome 

opportunity for interesting excursions. Here are 

a few tips for different stopovers. 

LAS VEGAS, U.S.A. 

CHER’S COMEBACK AT CAESARS 

Almost three years after her farewell tour, the American pop icon Cher returned 

to the place where her career started in the mid-sixties: The singer will be 

appearing four times a week at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas until her probably 

last show in 2011. Cher has sold more than 100 million sound carriers and is 

the only artist worldwide to have had Number One hits or Top Ten hits in each 

of four decades. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com or www.bestofvegas.com 

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 

HIGHLIGHT DOWN UNDER 

The Sydney Festival, which first began in 1977 as an annual event 

held at the beginning of the year, offers superlative cultural entertainment, 

and is the highlight of the Australian cultural calendar. In around 

80 individual events over a three-week period (ranging from pop concerts 

to classical evenings in the world-famous opera house) more than 

500 artists will perform to an audience of several million people. Further 

information about the 2009 Festival (10 to 31 January) will be 

available over the coming weeks at www.sydneyfestival.org.au. 

MUNICH, GERMANY 

BURNT PUNCH XXL 

From mid-December 2008 to early January 2009, the world’s biggest 

burnt punch will be simmering at Munich’s historic Isartor. The preparation 

alone is a spectacle in itself: After dark, giant sugar loaves are 

flambéed over a specially made, two and a half meter high, 9000liter 

capacity copper kettle. The legendary classic film “Die Feuerzangenbowle” 

starring Heinz Rühmann complements the scenario. 

Insights: www.die-kessel-gbr.de 

58*59

Adresses 

KHS AG 

Juchostraße 20 

D-44143 Dortmund, Germany 

Tel +49/2 31/5 69-0 

Fax +49/2 31/5 69-15 41 

E-Mail: info@khs.com 

Planiger Straße 139-147 

D-55543 Bad Kreuznach, Germany 

Tel +49/6 71/8 52-0 

Fax +49/6 71/8 52-2411 

Enzingerstraße 139 

D-67551 Worms, Germany 

Tel +49/62 47/97-0 

Fax +49/62 47/97-32 15 

Ruwoldtweg 14 

D-22309 Hamburg, Germany 

Tel +49/40/6 37 03-3 71 00 

Fax +49/40/6 37 03-3 71 50 

Boschstraße 1-3 

D-47533 Kleve, Germany 

Tel +49/28 21/5 03-0 

Fax +49/28 21/2 61 10 

Am Kirchfeld 3 

D-34454 Bad Arolsen, Germany 

Tel +49/56 91/89 09-0 

Fax +49/56 91/89 09-15 

Kapellenstraße 47-49 

D-65830 Kriftel, Germany 

Tel +49/61 92/4 91-0 

Fax +49/61 92/4 91-144 

Industriegebiet Scheid 16 

D-56651 Niederzissen, Germany 

Tel +49/26 36/9746-0 

Fax +49/26 36/9746-45 

KHS CORPOPLAST GMBH & CO. KG 

Meiendorfer Straße 203 

D-22145 Hamburg 

Tel +49/40/67 907-0 

Fax +49/40/67 907-100 

KHS UK LTD. 

Unit 6 Monkspath Business Park, 

Highlands Road 

Shirley Solihull, Great Britain 

West Midlands B 90 4NY 

Tel +44/121/713-6900 

Fax +44/121/713-6935 

E-mail: info@khs.com 

KHS USA, INC. 

880 Bahcall Court 

Waukesha, WI 53186, U.S.A. 

Tel +1/262/797-7200 

Fax +1/262/797-0025 

E-mail: mike.brancato@khs.com 

5501 N. Washington Blvd. 

Sarasota, FL 34243, U.S.A. 

Tel +1/941/359-4000 

Fax +1/941/359-4043 

E-mail: randy.uebler@khs.com 

KHS PACIFIC PTY. LTD. 

P.O. Box 378 

1-3 Freight Road 

Tullamarine, Vic. 3043, Australia 

Tel +61/393/35-1211 

Fax +61/393/35-1331 

E-mail: info@khspacific.com.au 

KHS ASIA PTE. LTD. 

25 International Business Park 

# 3-15/19 German Centre 

Singapore 609916 

Tel +65 6560-9313 

Fax +65 6560-9910 

E-mail: info@khsasia.com 

KHS MACHINERY PVT. LTD. 

15, Madhuban, Nr. Madalpur Underbridge 

Ellisbridge, Ahmedabad - 380 006, India 

Tel +91/79/2644-0331 

Fax +91/79/2644-5146 

E-mail: khs@khsindia.com 

KHS worldwide: You will find further addresses and contacts at 

www.khs.com 

Masthead 

PUBLISHER 


EDITORS 

Friederike Arndt, Maternus Gemmel, Manfred Rückstein, 

jj-media, Cologne 

GRAPHICS 

Konzeption+Design, Trawny / Quass von Deyen, Cologne 

Layout: Yvonne Voss 

CONTRIBUTIONS 

Werner Ageling, Wolfgang Augel, Jan-Wilhelm Brückel, 

Ludwig Clüsserath, Matthias Damm, Priv.-Doz. Dr.-Ing. 

Hartmut Evers, Frank Fretwurst, Rainer Hilgert, H. W. Kim, 

Erhard Magin, Thomas Matheyka, Colby McLean, Werner 

Oster, Norbert Pastoors, Hubert Schiffer, Oliver Schneider, 

Frank Schneidermann, Walter Senft, Hideo Suzuki, 

Günter Unkrig 

TRANSLATION 

Fachübersetzungen CP MacKusick 

PHOTOS / ILLUSTRATIONS 

Friederike Arndt, Allgäuer Alpenmilch GmbH, Timo 

Beylemans, Asahi Brewery, Bundesvereinigung Logistik 

(BVL), GOLDBECK West GmbH, Burkhard Hellwig, Elde 

Konserven, Unilever, shutterstock (Kasia, Artifan) 

KHS journal offers young students and graduates of the 

University of Applied Sciences in Dortmund and Münster 

the opportunity to put their photography talents into 

practice. 

This information is non-binding. Only the technical 

specifications of our quotes are determinative with 

regard to design and scope of delivery. 

Subject to design modifications. 

30 1992-01-988/2 0908 GW

08.495 KHS Journal 02_08 engl_US.qxd - KHS GmbH

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