Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2022 - 17

Q&A
Within the Krones Group we
develop our technologies and
solutions on our own or we
work together with other companies.
Basically,
we can say that our
business is driven by several elements.
One, of course, are the
market trends, created by consumers
and customer demands.
To cater to these, Krones runs
detailed market analyses for all
segments and business areas
on a regular basis. Furthermore,
our conversations with customers
give us a sense of how different
market trends influence
customers' needs. This has an
immediate effect on our R&D
strategy. Team members in our
central R&D unit focus primarily
on research and preliminary
developments through the prototype
stage, as well as basic
technologies and automation
solutions that work across our
segments.
So, long story short: this
means that Krones does not
just react to market trends. We
always try to recognise them
in advance, adapt our business
model and offer the right solutions
for our customers right on
time. And as a full-service provider,
we can distinguish ourselves
from most competitors.
Our global service portfolio,
which enables us to provide fast
service to customers on-site, is
a crucial advantage and puts
us in an excellent position. It allows
us to answer our customers'
needs very flexibly - which
helps them a lot.
In addition to PET bottle production
lines, Krones has also
been active in PET recycling
for many years now. Why?
Was that a separate business?
How was that organised?
The recycling activities of Krones
started about 20 years ago
with a development team and
the innovative " bottle-to-bottle "
concept. With a clear focus on
the beverage industry and with
decades of experience with
washing equipment for bottle
washers (returnable glass), an
entirely new hot wash process
for PET and subsequent decontamination
process was developed
together with universities
and scientists. Since then, this
technology has been continuously
amended and adapted to
new challenges our customers
have been faced with. One example
is the so-called " flaketo-preform "
process. Whilst
the industry's standard is to
first pelletise the flakes and in
a second step to produce preforms
for PET bottles out of pellets,
the inline flake-to-preform
process provides significant
advantages in terms of product
quality and TCO, especially energy
consumption.
By the way, quality has always
been a key element in
Krones' approach to recycling.
Our roots are in the beverage
industry and this demanding
and global environment has
deeply shaped our mindset. Super-efficient
equipment, food
requirements and utmost focus
on operational aspects are just
a few aspects. This is also the
reason why our equipment is
entirely produced in stainless
steel, giving our customers all
advantages like durability and
cleaning (for food applications)
we also provide to our global
customers in the beverage business
- be it the family business
brewery or the largest beverage
brand owners.
Do you only produce PET lines?
Initially, yes, but some years ago
we strategically decided to widen
our recycling business to all
relevant types of plastic. Frankly
speaking, this was easier
said than done. The equipment
needed to be adapted and with
the fact that new types of plastic
and applications continuously
come into the focus of the recycling
industry, it was a challenge
we assumed together with all
players in the industry and together
with our customers.
As of today, Krones is offering
recycling solutions for all major
types of plastic, such as PET, PP,
HDPE and for flexibles like LDPE.
The company has also recently
set itself a new goal: to
become a major player in the
field of mechanical recycling.
What's the thinking behind
that decision?
Whether it's climate change,
supplying the world's population
with enough food and
drink, or responsible stewardship
of packaging materials,
humankind is currently facing
major challenges which are
also impacting the food and
beverage industries. Meeting
these challenges will require
a major effort that can only be
successful if everybody pulls
together. Starting with each individual
and the entire industry
right through to governments
and organisations, each and every
one of us must do their bit.
And that's the thinking behind
the decision.
Packages are coming under
increasing criticism among consumers
and the media - particularly
when they are made of
plastic. After all, valuable and
important as plastics indubitably
are for the protection, transportation,
and consumption of
beverages: the global waste
problem and the increasing
scarcity of resources are casting
their shadows on the use of
this material.
In Krones' view, plastic is
MetaPure as a turnnkey solution
for complete recycling systems.
also able to help solve some
of the pressing issues of our
era. For example: In the PET
2019 debate, people often fail
to comprehend that this type of
packaging can be sustainable
- provided, of course, the process
for producing the material
is resource-economical and a
closed cycle is maintained.
Companies like Krones, for
example, already offer suitable
options for a sustainable
materials cycle, starting with
material-saving packaging designs,
low-energy container
production right through to the
recovery of used plastics in the
MetaPure recycling plants, for
example, which handle polyethylene
terephthalate (PET)
and polyolefins (PO). A properly
functional recycling system
and a closed material cycle,
for example, are conditional on
the used beverage bottles being
returned to the cycle at the
stations set up for this purpose.
This helps avoid plastic littering
and substantially reduces the
impact on our natural environment,
because the actual problem
is caused for example not
by the PET bottles themselves
but by people not handing them
in for recycling and thus polluting
our natural environment
through such careless disposal.
In what way was this decision
influenced by Krones' own
sustainability ambitions? Can
you talk about some of those
ambitions?
When it comes to plastics, there
are three questions of paramount
importance. Firstly: how
do the different types of packaging
impact on the natural environment?
Secondly: in what
relation does this impact stand
to the function and utility of the
package concerned? And thirdly:
which package creates the
greatest advantage for which
application - for producers,
consumers, and the natural environment
alike?
To find specific answers to
these complex and multi-layered
questions, Krones has
extended its enviro sustainability
programme: besides
machines, lines, and technical
systems, in future innovative
packaging solutions developed
by Krones will be assessed and
certified against enviro criteria.
The overriding goal of enviro
designs is to minimise the concomitant
environmental impact.
This includes both reducing
greenhouse gas emissions and
preserving the eco-system and
biodiversity. The associated criterion
listing is currently being
drawn up by our enviro Officontinued
on page 18
September/October 2022
17
Sustainable Plastics - September/October 2022

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