Blow/fill aseptic line—small footprint, big impact

“This ability to change sizes quickly and easily is important for us,” says Ravetti. “Remember, we are focused on small-batch production with frequent change. Being able to make a change at an HMI instead of physically changing mechanical or pneumatic settings is a big help. We’re only doing two sizes now: 1⁄2 L and 1.5 L. But we are thinking about others.”

Freshly blown bottles are sent immediately into the Procomac Modulbloc aseptic filling system, which is a collection of four key modules: sterilization, rinsing, filling, and capping. Also integrated into the system is a dual cap feeder that is fed by two floor-level hoppers, one for sports caps and one for regular flat caps.

Two auxiliary modules integrated into the aseptic filling system are what Procomac calls the Ecodox, which handles preparation of the paracetic acid used as bottle and cap sterilant, and Ecoflux, which controls steam, compressed air, and nitrogen gas that can be backflushed into the bottle’s headspace to drive out residual ambient air. While not necessary in the case of the teas filled at Paradiso, this backflush of nitrogen gas is more commonly used with fruit juice-based beverages because they are more sensitive to oxidation.

According to Procomac’s Domenico Gambarelli, the advantage of using paracetic acid rather than hydrogen peroxide as the sterilizing agent is that the bottle is subjected to both “mechanical” as well as chemical sterilization. “The mechanical action occurs when the paracetic acid is sprayed at high pressure into the bottle,” says Gambarelli. “This mechanical ‘scrubbing’ does not occur when hydrogen peroxide is used to sterilize bottles.”

Before exiting the sterile aseptic bloc, filled and capped bottles are rinsed with a spray of water to remove any residual paracetic acid that might have attached itself to the outside sidewall, shoulder, or cap. This water is blown off by air jets as soon as the bottles exit the sterile bloc because water drops could lead to a false reading of fill level by the video inspection system just downstream from the filler. The video inspection also examines cap presence and position, and if anything is amiss with the cap or the fill height, that bottle is automatically rejected from the line.

Bottles also pass through two Videojet ink-jet coders. One marks date and batch code information on the cap. The other puts a code on the sidewall that identifies which sterilizing nozzle, rinsing nozzle, filling nozzle, and capping head a bottle encountered.

“This information would be extremely useful if there’s ever a problem with a bottle out in the market,” says Ravetti. “We’d be able to trace back quickly and accurately just which component handled each bottle.”
The next piece of equipment in the line is a new Opera Series roll-fed labeler from Sacmi. In standard roll-fed application mode, it cuts label material to the appropriate length and applies a vertical strip of hot-melt glue to both the leading edge and trailing edge of the label. It then wraps the label around the bottle. This machine is notable because it is also capable of applying roll-fed labels that are pre-glued, a trend that is picking up steam in some beverage packaging quarters.

This pre-glued roll-fed label concept is appealing to CPG companies who buy labelling machines because it means they don’t have to mess with the cost and maintenance of a hot-melt glue system. The potential downside to pre-glued labels is that application speeds may be slightly diminished because the unwind of a roll of label material having strips of glue on it is naturally not as unencumbered as the unwind of glue-free film. Another potential downside to pre-glued labels is that label converters are not exactly wild about having to add a secondary process—the application of two vertical strips of a special glue—to their label manufacturing process.

All the same, at Paradiso Ravetti says there is a keen interest in trying the pre-glued labels some time in the future. Fortunately, the Sacmi labeler gives him the ability to produce in either labelling mode.
Immediately after the labeler, bottles run through a shrink bundler from SMI (www.smigroup.it). Next is a carrier handle applicator from Twin Pack that makes it easy for consumers to carry a shrink-wrapped group of six bottles with one hand. After that, an overhead conveyor takes bundles to remote palletizing and stretch wrapping systems.

Since commissioning the line in February, Paradiso is now in commercial production with a variety of teas and some multivitamin drinks, as well. Shelf life on all of these is about 12 months.

When asked how the installation of the new line has changed Paradiso’s position in the marketplace, Ravetti laughs because he says it’s a tough question to answer succinctly.

“It’s not easy to explain how important this is,” says Ravetti. “A lot of it is about qualtity, because aseptic filling means no preservatives. And we broaden our company’s offerings beyond mineral water and soft drinks, so now our company can capitalize on synergies in distribution. If our water is on a truck, we can add tea or isotonic beverages to that same truck. So yes, this new line means a lot to our company.”