When it comes to the comprehensive portfolio for secondary packaging such as trays and film, Karl-Heinz Klumpe, packaging product manager at KHS, always his customers in mind: "Packaging must of course be sustainable but it should also be easily found and accepted, i.e. user-friendly, at the point of sale." The specialists at KHS master the balancing act between low material usage and practicality with innovative solutions.

Eliminating the need for filmPackaging permitting, KHS systems can do without shrink film. An example of this is the KHS Innopack Kisters DP display packer. This efficient and space-saving system for cans, glass and PET bottles as well as multipacks is based on selling containers directly from display trays. The trays are stably folded and glued around the product packs at a capacity of up to 75,000 bottles per hour. There is less waste since there is no need for covers and film. The variable packaging height allows placement of advertising messages to support optimum product presentation at the point of sale.

Innovations for a clean future
With their Snap Pack, the Carlsberg Group recently showed how customers can achieve their sustainability goals with KHS innovations by not using film. The Snap Pack is based on the Nature MultiPack™ for cans packed in 4- and 6-packs. The adhesive dots between the containers and a carrying handle which stabilize the pack completely eliminate the need for other packaging materials. By doing without shrink film for both pack types, Carlsberg expects to save up to 76% on plastic – in absolute figures that is more than 1,200 tons of completely unrolled film. In 2016, Evian successfully used the KHS concept for the launch of what is known as the ‘Prestige’ PET bottle for the first time.

Flexible packing
Many packaging machines from KHS offer a great deal of flexibility with regard to container types. They can be positioned as required as nested or shifted packs which not only saves users space on pallets, but also reduces the amount of packaging materials per container. Because of the greater stability customers no longer need to use cardboard pads and trays. The flexible Innopack Kisters WSP Advanced wrap-around shrink packer also opens up these capabilities. The system is suitable for a variety of different types of pack and container, so that with fast format changeover a high system efficiency of up to 98.5% results that also benefits the environment.

KHS offers options for blocking system components in order to not only reduce the carbon footprint but also to compactly integrate the packaging line into the customer’s production facilities. "Combining two or more standalone machines together to form a compact block system result in numerous benefits for users," says Klumpe. The InnoDry block is an example of such a blocked layout. It connects the packer with the palletizer and is equipped with a handle applicator integrated in the packer. This layout is made possible by particularly flexible buffer area and by using a highly dynamic handling system for creating layer patterns. Shorter conveying distances and thus considerably reduced maintenance effort speak in favor of the compact block system. Less time is also required for format changeover since guides along the sides of the conveying segment are no longer necessary.