Regardless of the current economic crisis, the reality of the matter is that the German brewing industry has reaped the advantages of globalization. What’s more, some breweries have not only been able to compensate for the continuing drop in domestic sales but, in some cases, actually increase sales. Without doubt, globalization has also provided pportunities for some breweries to remain in business. In the pursuit of more affordable keg packaging, a number of disposable alternatives are now available. Here, Lightweight Containers BV, the Dutch marketing and sales subsidiary of KeyKeg, shares its experiences using the KeyKeg.

Bottle design is an essential element of a brewery’s brand presentation for consumers. Bottles of different shapes and colors with embossing and other decorative motifs have come into favor as a means of enhancing a brewery’s image and its brands. Furthermore, such bottles visually set a brand apart from its competitors’ brands and draw attention to the product on the store shelf. Both large and small breweries are choosing to highlight the individuality of their products with unique glass bottles.

Dimensioning of glass and PET returnables filling plants is oftentimes still based on a staging of individual units that are not output-adjustable or adjustable only in steps. With up-to-date control techniques, it is possible to have stepless demand-based control of all individual units in the wet

Consumers seem to make impulse purchases when buying beer now more than ever before. Consumer behavior of this kind can therefore be significantly influenced by product presentation. Understanding this, Brouwerij Haacht, founded at the end of the 19th century as a subsidiary of a dairy in the Brabant area of Flanders, has decided in favor of a high performance packaging machine manufactured by Smurfit Kappa Herzberger Papierfabrik. With this machine, numerous variations in packaging are possible, from open cluster to closed wrap styles.

Optimisation of the hygiene status of conveyors has been proven in comparative tests in April 2009. The microbiological laboratories of Dipl.-Ing. Thonhauser Ges.m.b.H., Perchtoldsdorf/Austria and CCHBC, Vienna/Austria participated in these tests. Evaluation of results obtained by both laboratories clearly indicates that dry belt lubrication provides better results. The largely dry environment prevents growth of microorganisms. Apart from significant commercial implications and reliable technology, dry belt lubrication should be given preference, also from a microbiological point of view.

Balf is a part of the city of Sopron, located near Hungary’s border with Austria and is situated directly on the edge of the Neusiedler See National Park. This region is also known for its excellent mineral water. Here, the company PET-Pack packages the mineral water “Balfi” as well as over 60 different non-alcoholic beverages. Problems with foaming were experienced with all of these products during filling, especially with those containing sugar. In order to solve this problem, two possibilities were examined: one option was to implement a very energy-intensive cooling process, and the other, to install a cavitator manufactured by CavitatorSystems GmbH, based in Landshut, Germany.

The K 15 - CNC is a family of newly designed rotary indexing screen printers with up to 8 printing heads used for the decoration of cylindrical, conical, oval, flat plastic and glass bottles, plastic tubes etc. with a speed up to 5400 cycles/hour.

Sidel is conscious of the environmental challenges faced by the beverage packaging industry and wants to be actively involved in environmental initiatives. For these reasons, Sidel has joined NAPCOR (National Association for PET Container Resources), which is the trade association of the PET plastic industry in the United States and Canada.

Owens-Illinois has entered into an agreement to acquire the glass container manufacturing business of Hebei Rixin Glass Group Co Ltd in northern China.

The Innofill DRV filling system is available in several versions for still and carbonated beverages. It is being constantly further developed in tune with the requirements of the industry. Just recently, for example, the growing trend in the soft drinks sector towards hot filled plastic bottles has prompted integration of a new hotfill model into the system. The latest innovation is that the Innofill DRV not only operates with electromagnetic inductive flow metering but now also with volumetric flow metering for beverages with low or no electrical conductivity. The new version also allows for the handling of plastic bottles with various neck diameters.