First-time investment in KHS stretch blow molding technology
CCNNE profits from the many advantages of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV
For many decades the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England (CCNNE) exclusively sourced its PET bottles from the converter Southeastern Container. Just recently, however, the company invested in a KHS InnoPET Blomax Series IV stretch blow molder and now produces 60% of its PET bottle requirements itself – with preforms supplied by Southeastern Container. John Palermo, the former vice-president of Operations at CCNNE and now chairman of the supervisory board at Southeastern Container, played a big role in this decision, saying, "The new generation of KHS stretch blow molders has the ability to change the prevalent attitude on the US market which is that beverage companies do best to procure their PET bottles from a converter. The reasons for this are that the Series IV is very easy to operate and very economical as far as the consumption of energy, compressed air and materials is concerned. It also manufactures at a much lower cost than has been the case to date." Rick Neal, head of the CCNNE production site in Londonderry, adds, "We'll have a return on investment here in just three years. This is an excellent result. I believe it's also very important that we're being extremely environmentally friendly in that we're saving on truck deliveries. As we now procure preforms instead of PET bottles from Southeastern Container, we're saving on around 1,800 truck journeys a year." The InnoPET Blomax Series IV at CCNNE has 28 blow stations and can output up to 63,000 PET bottles per hour. It's linked up to two PET lines which it supplies as required. At present the stretch blow molder manufactures 12, 16 and 20-ounce and 0.5-liter bottle variants (one ounce is about 0.03 liters). Neal states, "It's good to know that our new machine is extremely flexible and that in the future it can produce new bottles holding between 0.2 and 2 liters without any problems. What we also already find very advantageous are the very fast changeovers for the four sizes of bottle we currently produce." Says Palermo, "What is and will remain extremely important is the fact that the InnoPET Blomax Series IV gives us outstanding bottle quality. This is extremely significant for a bottle manufacturer and filler who's as quality conscious as CCNNE. It's not without reason that the company's won the Coca-Cola President's Award eight times. This is an annual prize presented to the most quality-conscious Coca-Cola bottler in the USA." CCNNE is now fully owned by Kirin Holdings, Japan. The company bottles exclusively at its site in Londonderry with a current output of 28 million crates per annum (an average crate holds 2.5 gallons which is about 9.5 liters). CCNNE bottles the very extensive range of Coca-Cola brand beverages. The around 200 different sales units produced in Londonderry are sold through a total of nine distribution centers in New England and the state of New York.
