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Managing The Future
BY ELIZA LEUNG
KHS Asia's Managing Director Rainer Hilgert talks about upcoming trends in filling.
1 April 2006
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AFJ: KHS Machinery—the Indo-German joint venture company owned by KHS—recently laid down the cornerstone for a new plant in India. Tell us about your plans.Hilgert: The new production plant in Ahmedabad, India is located on an area of 110,000 sq m, with buildings covering an area of 25,000 sq m. This factory will be manufacturing filling and packaging lines for mineral water, soft drinks, fruit juices, as well as beer. Our aim is to increase production capacity and sales turnover, not only in India, but also in the Asian market. The Mamata Group has been our partner since 1997, and so we take this step towards the future with confidence. We feel that we will be able to meet future demands with local expertise.
AFJ: What market trends do you see?
Hilgert: The beverage industry is undergoing many changes. The market for carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) is stagnating and growth is coming largely from the non-carbonated (NCSDs) segment, with ready-to-drink (RTDs) mixed alcoholic beverages as the exception. Looking at the Asian market, new products that were launched in the past two years have included energy drinks, milk drinks, coffee drinks, juice drinks in various flavors and different tea drinks. All of these are noncarbonated, with very few new products in the carbonated segment.
Therefore, the challenge is: How will bottlers reinvent themselves? How will they keep competitive? Bottlers concentrating their efforts on making CSDs must adapt or lose out. In fact, well-known breweries are adjusting their product range, portfolio and packaging styles to meet the ever-changing demands of consumers and market forces. In the future, expect to see the emergence of complete “beverage companies” as opposed to specialized bottlers for soft drinks. In fact, it will be extremely difficult for small and one-segment bottlers to survive.
AFJ: The reality is that SMEs have limited capital budgets. What are the most important filling factors to consider when purchasing equipment?
Hilgert: Equipment selection is a major issue for all beverage manufacturers, whether they arwhether they are a one-segment manufacturer seeking to enter multiple segments, or a bottler already filling CSDs & NCSDs. The choice of technology depends on the type of beverages, the nature of the beverage itself, and also the beverage container.
Filling flexibility and after-sales/service support should also be key considerations. Whether the container is PET or glass, bottlers—in the near future—must be prepared to run a wide range of products— from beer, to CSDs, to NCSDs (e.g. juices, tea, coffee, and other sensitive beverages). As the latest generation of filling technology can handle such a spectrum of drinks without limitations in terms of oxygen pick-up or CO2 consumption, bottlers can be prepared and face few restriction in product type and quality, irregardless of future market directions.
AFJ: From a filling perspective, what is your take on PLA?
Hilgert: Recently, PLA’s ‘green’ properties have garnered a lot of attention. PLA is derived from the bacterial fermentation of cornstarch, and it biodegrades when composted. PLA production requires 30% to 50% less fossil fuel than polymers synthesized from hydrocarbons, and therefore reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The obvious attraction of PLA bottle systems is the concept of ‘a natural product in a natural package’ that could provide users with a marketing edge. The ability to help users avoid a ‘green tax’ on packaging would be an even bigger payoff, as countries like Germany and have strict disposal regulations.
With regards to the cost of equipment needed to handle the new biodegradable bottles—costs of pre-form/bottle production equipment, filling equipment—PLA shows little difference versus PET. At the moment, the use of PLA is very much restricted to dairy drinks that only require a short shelf life.
Nevertheless, PLA faces many hurdles. It has a high density (1.25 g/cc) relative to PP (polypropylene) and PS (polystyrene). Then there is its high polarity—it exhibits opposite properties—making it difficult to adhere without tie-layers to non-polar PE (polyethylene) and PP in multi-layer structures. In comparison to PET it has poor heat resistance, as well as a limited barrier against moisture and gases. In fact, its moisture-vapor transmission rate (MVTR) is at least 10 times higher than that of PET, which imposes obvious limits on shelf-life. The loss of water from a sealed PLA bottle could be significant enough over time to cause buckling of the container. But the greatest stumbling block is PLA’s cost—currently an average of $2.39/kg.Initial targets for PLA bottle systems should be edible oils (which contain no water) and dairy drinks that are refrigerated, thus greatly reducing moisture loss.
AFJ: Non-carbonated, health beverages are driving cold aseptic fill. What are your thoughts?
Hilgert: Aseptic Cold Filling (ACF) is going to be the next big development in the beverage industry since it eliminates the need for preservatives, and treats products gently. While detractors may argue this process is “too costly”, an ACF line is capable of processing a wide variety of products. It’s suitable for CSDs and NCSDs, offers microbiological security, and is less expensive to operate.
Our new Dry Sterilization (Dry ACF) method, combines savings potential, hygienic safety, and ecological soundness. It’s a process that sterilizes bottles and closures with a special treatment method that uses hydrogen peroxide. Compared to conventional wet sterilization methods, we have found that it results in double digit savings in operational and consumption costs.
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