KHS Group has added a further environmentally friendly system to its portfolio. With its tried-and- tested Innopack Kisters tray packers, the systems supplier now enables cans of food and beverage to be wrapped in paper.
The new technology provides an alternative to shrink film or wraparound cartons. Regarding stability the results are the same yet compared to cardboard costs are lower as less energy and fewer materials are used.
The idea of using paper as a secondary packaging is not new; KHS first experimented with this around 20 years ago. “Back then, this technology didn’t catch on, however, as paper was a cost-intensive raw material and wrapping containers in film yielded better results regarding stability,” says Karl-Heinz Klumpe, packaging product manager at KHS.
The beverage industry thus opted for different systems and solutions. “Our customers now want alternatives to the usual packaging systems such as film. These should be as ecofriendly as possible.” To wrap cans in paper instead of film, just a few adjustments are needed to the Innopack Kisters tray packer, a machine well established on the market.
“KHS is increasingly supplying modular systems and solutions that enable and ease the appropriate conversions to our machines. In this case, we’ve simply reengineered the process module for folding and wrapping,” Mr Klumpe explained.
“The standard components such as tray separation from the magazine, glueing or can feed are identical to those on the hundreds of proven KHS machines already on the market.”
This allows beverage producers to have the tray packers already in operation at their plants converted simply by adapting certain modules, making a full new investment unnecessary.Mr Klumpe added: “Paper is kinder to the environment than film. Paper biodegrades in the environment after a few weeks.
“Costs are also cut by the new paper pack: compared to a wrap-around carton by up to 15%, with outgoings about the same as for film. Overheads are also considerably reduced thanks to lower energy consumption.