PET bottles design for highly carbonated drinks by PET Technologies
Cherkasy Brewery Company (Ukraine), a producer of beer and soft drinks, has modernized its fleet of equipment to produce PET bottles and purchased a blow molding machine manufactured by PET Technologies. It is integrated into a complete filling line.
The origin of the project
“We need a new blow molding machine as soon as possible!”, – the owner of the Cherkasy brewery company appealed to PET Technologies. “The output of our filling line is 12,000 bottles per hour,” he continued.
The answer of PET Technologies was immediate: “We’ve got a solution for you!”
The characteristics of innovative automatic blow molding machine APF-Max 8 fully met all the requirements of beer and soft drinks manufacturer.
Output matches with the production line;
Quick integration with filling line of European production;
Simple logic of operating equipment process.
The origin of the Cherkaske Beer brand dates back to 1910. More than a century ago, the company first released a hoppy drink with a rich tradition in the Eastern Europe. Thus, the chronicles written in old Ukrainian language state: “It is forbidden for a Cossack to keep any drink in his house for his own needs, neither honey, vodka, beer, nor brew.”
The Cherkaske Beer brand was founded in the city of the same name on the high right bank of the Dnipro, one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe. It has gone through a stormy path from a small craft production to an enterprise equipped with high-tech equipment. Thus, the term Cherkaske comes from the name of Ukrainian city Cherkasy, where the brewery company located.
Year 2010 became a new milestone in the development of the Cherkaske beer brand. The first batch of Kvitochka brand mineral water was produced at that time. The name of the brand Kvitochka is a diminutive of the Ukrainian word kvitka, which means flower. The range of products began to expand gradually and reached up to 160 types. It was complemented by sweet carbonated water with fruit flavors, invigorating energy drinks and refreshing lemonades.
Sweet with tart notes, natural and tonic – their taste has been familiar to us since childhood. What a pleasure we get, quenching our thirst with a chilled drink from an ergonomic PET bottle!
The latter became the connecting link between the Cherkasy Brewery Company and PET Technologies.
PET bottles manufacturing
At the beginning of 2023, a beverage and beer manufacturer from the picturesque Cherkasy city purchased an innovative automatic blow molding machine APF-Max 8. A few months later, the equipment was integrated into the filling line and put into operation in series!
Currently, it produces 4 formats of PET bottles from 500 ml to 2 liters with an improved design. PET Technologies was fully involved in its design, as the technological component is extremely important!
Beer and lemonades are highly carbonated drinks. The design of the bottles, which Cherkasy brewery company used before, did not always withstand it. During long-term storage, the container was deformed, despite its relatively high weight.
Thus, PET Technologies with over 20 years of experience in the field had to take into account a number of customer’s priorities related to design:
- Reduce the weight alongside with adding decorative elements;
- Increase resistance to internal pressure;
- Achieve optimal distribution of material on a narrow neck of the bottle.
What kind of solution was found? Cherkasy brewery company received an improved set of 500 ml bottles, 1500 ml and 2000 ml, where soft drinks are filled in. Spikelets are the main decorative element on the upper part of the bottle.
The shape of 1000 ml bottle for beer became more technological. What results were achieved?
- The updated bottle withstands internal pressure by 15-20% more than the old one;
- The weight is reduced by 1-5 grams; depending on the design, 30 tons less PET material will be used;
- The configuration of the bottom part developed by PET Technologies is implemented: it reduces the weight and withstands higher internal pressure;
- The optimal material distribution is achieved due to the NIR heating system, which the automatic blowing machine APF-Max 8 is equipped with.
Design advantages of the automatic blow molding machine APF-Max 8
A quick change of 8-cavity blowing molds on the machine, despite its large size, allows the Cherkassy Brewery company to manufacture a wide range of containers with minimal equipment downtime.
Only 20 minutes are enough to switch from a 500ml bottle to a 2000ml bottle!
If it is necessary to switch from the PCO1881 bottle neck finish standard to another one in the future, it will be enough to stop the production line for 2 hours as maximum!
The automatic blow molding machine APF-Max 8 is equipped with 6 servo drives.They provide more accurate preform fixation during the high-speed operation, constant speed of the heater conveyor and stable bottle formation process.
The position of the stretching rods is automatically adjusted depending on the height of the bottle while changing from one bottle format to another. Pre-blowing is also controlled via PLC. The last one is placed outside the machine. Its location can be chosen depending on the operator’s preferences.
Fruitful cooperation between companies
Cooperation between the Cherkasy Brewery Company and PET Technologies lasts for more than 10 years. It started from a rotary-type blow molds and moved to another stage: trust, exchange of experience and support when challenges come. Growth, new opportunities and innovations in production.
Now the consumers will enjoy the refreshing drinks by the Cherkasy Brewery Company from an ergonomic PET bottle shaped with the help of APF-Max 8 blow molding machine!
Feel free to watch the video about APF-Max 8 running the plant!
