As beverage producers worldwide increase the range of products filled on their canning lines, demand for machines with flexibility and hygienic design is on the up. KHS and Ferrum say they are pioneering design in this field.
The companies say their technical systems have been designed to be attuned to one another, following many years of partnership. KHS says that they enable beverage producers to market high-quality products that are “hygienically flawless”.
According to Mandred Hartel, filling technology product manager at KHS, the world demand for on-trend beverages such as seltzer, energy drinks and craft beer continues unabated, and the can is often the container of choice.
“It’s light, easy to recycle and keeps products fresh for longer with its excellent barrier properties,” Hartel says.
“This type of container is increasingly being favoured for established beverages such as soda pop, water and mixed beer beverages. This is prompting a good number of beverage filling operations to increase their range in the can segment, and fill an increasing number of different products on the same line.
“This means higher demands are made of the machine’s flexibility and hygiene. The greater the product variety on a line, the greater the risk of contamination and flavour carryover.”
Marc Zubler, head of sales and product management at Ferrum, said that both companies mutual customers have exacting standard when it comes to the quality of their products.
He says, “An optimum hygienic machine design that reflects the current demands and requirements of the market is just as important as the consultancy service that goes with it.
“We offer a complete package of first-class technology and advice. Our jointly developed filler/seamer block gives our customers plenty of added value.”
KHS offers two fillers for the can segment that it says have long proven themselves on the market – the Innofill Can DVD for the high-performance range, and the Innofill Can C, designed for small to medium filling quantities.
“Thanks to a new addition to the series that boosts capacity to up to 60,000 cans per hour, the Innofill Can DVD’s little brother can now be integrated into lines with higher outputs even more effectively,” Hartel explains.
“It is also flexible, enabling several different products and formats to be processed on a single line.
“The Innofill Can C is distinguished by its fast format changeovers and setup times. This in turn increases the availability and economy of the system.”
Protection against flavour carryover
In view of the increasing number of beverage variants being processed, special attention was paid during development to the hygienic machine design, and providing protection against flavour carryover.
In the product area the filling valves on the KHS can fillers are equipped with PTFE expansion joints (Teflon) in place of conventional seals.
The sliding seals in the bell guides have also been replaced by Teflon expansion joints, to create gapless, hygienic seals, which the company says effectively protect the product from contamination, and are easier to clean.
The electropneumatic lifting and positioning of the bells when sealing cans further contributes to a safe filling process.
“Also doing away with water lubrication in the filler carousel area shortens exterior cleaning intervals by up to 20 per cent,” added Hartel.
“As an option, the Innofill Can C can also be fitted with a HEPA filter that removes potential bacteria from the air in the machine interior. Another option available on request is warm filling, which prevents condensation, and thus microbiological contamination such as mould from being formed.”
Sophisticated hygienic design also for seamers
Ferrum has incorporated hygienic design of all components in both the ferruBasic and FC series with seamers FC06 (15,00 to 45,000 cans per hour, and FC08 (19,000 to 60,000 cans an hour).
“When developing our seamers, we consciously went for an open design without cladding. This makes the components easy to clean and the machine readily accessible to operators,” says Jorn Winkelmann, process engineer and hygiene expert at Ferrum.
In the FC series, which is compatible with the KHS Innofill Can C, the use of several different angled levels allows condensation and other unwanted liquids to easily run off and not enter the open beverages cans.
For the same reason, the conveyor segment features regularly spaced openings, and the components have a high surface quality to prevent microbiological deposits.
Winkelmann says another item of note is the design of the seals that are easy to sanitise as they are installed on the exterior of the machine. The seamer section is made entirely of stainless steel and he says provides maximum durability, even when aggressive cleaning media are used.
In order to perfectly maintain hygienic conditions – both inside and outside the machine – Ferrum supports its customers with extensive training for personnel.
For can seamers, F12 (35,000 to 105,000 cans per hour) and F18 (51,000 to 150,000 cans an hour) in the ferruBasic series, the Swiss company provides optional hygiene packages.
These include installation of an inclined base plate (on the F12 only) and various adaptations to tools that have a positive impact on the machine hygiene. Furthermore, since very recently, the welded cladding around the upper parts in the standard version has consisted entirely of stainless steel.
Partnership with vision
In the future, KHS and Ferrum will further intensify their cooperation.
“Our machines are already well coordinated with one another. However, we want to offer our customers even more integrated systems,” states Zubler.
“This also applies to the extensive range of consultancy and other services, where the two partners aim to function more strongly as a unit in the years to come,” concludes Hartel.
