Mitteldeutsche Erfrischungsgetränke GmbH & Co. KG (MEG), a soft drink producer, is part of the Schwarz Group that also owns the Lidl and Kaufland supermarket chains. The company is Germany’s second-largest beverage producer, with domestic sales of more than 25 million hectoliters, and also exports its products throughout Europe. Since 2010, MEG has taken back the deposit-bearing, non-returnable bottles from the DPG system (German deposit system; Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH) handed in at Lidl, and has had these processed into regranulate at its own recycling plant and at various contract recycling companies. This regranulate has to meet stringent quality stipulations and MEG is building another recycling plant near Aachen, Germany to increase regranulate quotas further.
As a part of this project, Krones was awarded the order for the installation of a module that grinds bottles into flakes, and of a washing module. The intensive and technologically sophisticated washing process implemented in the Krones system was for MEG, one of the key elements for assuring top-class flake quality. MEG also appointed Krones as the vendor responsible for the interfaces to the upstream and downstream process steps, in view of Krones’ extensive experience in completing turnkey projects.
