Carlsberg invests in sustainable KHS systems

By investing the equivalent of over €11.5 million in the modernization of its filling and packaging equipment at its Carlsberg Brewery in Northampton, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is taking action to help make its production operations more sustainable. With the energy-efficient, high-performance Innofill Can DVD filler and resource-conserving Innopack Kisters Nature MultiPack (NMP) packer, two new KHS machines are to take on a key role at the brewery. They will improve production while reducing expected water consumption and use of plastic in packaging by increasing capacity for the clever Snap Pack Nature MultiPack, an innovative, sustainable secondary packaging system co-developed by KHS and Carlsberg Group.

Nature MultiPack, successfully marketed by CMBC as Snap Pack in the UK, turns beverage cans into a stable pack using just a few dots of adhesive. Since Snap Pack was launched in the UK five years ago, by the end of 2022 65% of small multipacks from the brewery in Northampton were being packaged in Snap Pack format. This now makes it the packaging style most used by the brewery for multipacks of four and six cans, including for popular beers such as Carlsberg Danish Pilsner, San Miguel, Birrificio Angelo Poretti and Brooklyn Pilsner, to name but a few of the company’s well-known brands.

CMBC’s recent investment in a further Innopack Kisters NMP packer, now in its second generation, enables the number of packs produced to be doubled thanks to its increased capacity of up to 108,000 cans per hour. Once fully in use across all multipacks from the brewery, CMBC’s Snap Pack will reduce the business’s plastic usage by up to 76% compared to its previous multipacks by eliminating the need for plastic rings.

KHS’ new universal adhesive will also be in use on the high-performance NMP packer. The implemented one-fits-all solution enables beverage companies to produce the perfect NMP for all standard formats and sizes. It works on practically all outer coatings on both aluminum and tin cans.

In the filling section the equally proven technology of the Innofill Can DVD boosts efficiency and operational reliability on the line. The Innofill Can DVD will work in combination with the FS14 can seamer from the Swiss Ferrum company, which features a double lid infeed. Besides its output of up to 90,000 cans per hour holding 0.33, 0.44 or 0.5 liters, the flexible KHS filler is convincing with its extremely small hygiene zone that ensures an optimum, targeted flow of sterile air through the sensitive area.

Across the three machines CMBC is investing in to upgrade the brewery, including the two KHS machines, it is estimated that water consumption could be decreased by up to 10% annually. This amounts to a reduction of around 18 million liters every year.