Krones recently installed its new space saving small output Contipure AseptBloc for a dairy customer in Belgium. This new aseptic line was delivered to Inex, a family-owned business producing around 300 million litres of dairy products annually. Last year, the company of 450 employees celebrated its 125th anniversary.
“We turn milk into something special,” is how Managing Director Steven Dierickx sums up the company motto.
In specific terms, this means: Inex offers a broad spectrum of fresh and ESL (extended shelf life) dairy products, ranging from milk and yoghurt right through to cream. The company manufactures products under its own brand and operates a very strong co-packing business.
“Our top priority is to satisfy our customers’ wishes,” emphasises Steven Dierickx.
In order to achieve this, the company operates 23 filling lines in three-shift operation at its plant. The focus has so far been mainly on carton packaging. However, Inex does fill glass bottles and 1,000-litre containers for industrial use.
To improve both flexibility and performance of their operations, Inex chose to invest in a new aseptic line for filling PET bottles. After much consideration, the Contipure AseptBloc was selected for this new line for a variety of reasons.
The space available for the new line at the plant was limited to a room measuring 1500 square metres. Therefore, Inex required a compact and flexible filling block and line solution. The unique features of the filling blocks simplified construction, minimised transfers and integration of ultra-compact modules delivered a highly streamlined unit that fit the required footprint. Another benefit of this compact unit is that it was enclosed within a clean room allowing for easier access for maintenance crews.
While having a compact unit was important, flexibility was key for this new line to deliver additional value to their customers.
“Our customers have highly disparate demands and, of course, we want to be able to meet them all,” Steven Dierickx emphasised.
To provide this level of flexibility, the line includes a Sleevematic designed to dress PET bottles in both half-sleeves and full-length sleeves. This is then followed by a Variopac Pro capable of packing a range of different sizes from six-packs to 24-bottle cases. This allows Inex to produce packaged product exactly how their customer had intended for both transport and presentation of the product.
Product quality was another important consideration for this new line. To deliver this, four Checkmat units have been incorporated throughout. These units inspect the preforms, bottles’ caps, sleeves and cap placement to maintain a uniform product. The hygiene process through the Contipure AseptBloc helps ensure a quality product as well.
By sterilising preforms with gaseous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and maintaining a sterile zone until the bottles are capped, a hygienic product is produced without the need of additional heating. This unique benefit helps maintain taste in a sensitive beverage like dairy. This all helps Inex deliver quality products that their customers require from them.
Inex have been able to widely expand their capability through the purchase of a new aseptic line. This has allowed them to deliver more flexible solutions to their customers while maintaining the level of quality they have come to expect.
To find out more about this turnkey solution from Krones, visit: https://www.krones.com/en/company/press/magazine/reference/a-new-compact-contipure-aseptbloc-for-inex.php
