Profits Go To Charity
Turkish Red Crescent organization benefits from mineral water bottling company Türk Kizilayi the number one in Turkey
Investment in first mixed KHS PET/glass filling and packaging line in Turkey Hubert Schiffer* Vedat Güler** A mineral water bottling company whose profits go exclusively to charity? Does this exist? Yes, it does! And it can be found in the West Anatolian city of Afyonkarahisar – or Afyon for short – about 250 km or 155 miles southwest of the Turkish capital of Ankara where the qualities of its mineral water were discovered very early on in the country's history. Finds have revealed that its healing properties were put to good use 5,000 years ago. During the Ottoman Empire the sultans even had regular supplies of mineral water delivered from Afyon. Commercial bottling of Afyon mineral water began at the beginning of the 20th century. The first automatic filling line was financed by Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey and the first president of the republic formed after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. It was also Atatürk who transferred the mineral water bottling rights to the humanitarian aid organization Turkish Red Crescent in 1926. To this very day Türk Kizilayi or Turkish Red Crescent Mineral Water Enterprises is managed by the charity. Profits from the mineral water plant now make up about 10% of Turkish Red Crescent's overall budget. Mehmet Baspinar, plant manager of Türk Kizilayi, hopes for a further increase in profits in the future, from which this good cause will benefit. For this reason, in 2010 the company again invested in KHS technology. Following the installation of a line for non-refillable glass bottles from KHS in 2006, which has an output of 50,000 200-ml bottles per hour, the plant has now opted for the first KHS line in Turkey that is capable of processing both one-way glass bottles and PET bottles. Turkish Red Crescent – the largest Turkish aid agency active worldwide Turkish Red Crescent, founded in 1868, is the largest humanitarian aid agency in Turkey, with around 4,000 employees. Turkish Red Crescent is a member of the international Red Cross and Red Crescent and acts according to the seven principles of this movement, namely humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality. * Sales Africa, Near East, and Southern Europe, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Phone: +49 (671) 852-2671 * Sales Turkey, KHS GmbH, Istanbul, Turkey. Phone: +90 (212) 3472-460 The work of Turkish Red Crescent is largely financed by donations. The organization is active all over the world where help is required. Catastrophic flooding in Sudan, the tsunami in Thailand, the earthquake in Chile: according to Baspinar, aid workers from Turkish Red Crescent were always among the first to reach the disaster areas. Their activities once on site are varied: helping the injured, building hospitals, schools, and even entire villages, distributing food; these emergency measures and much more are just some of Turkish Red Crescent's many humanitarian ventures. Business working for charity The Türk Kizilayi mineral water bottling plant is the only business unit belonging to Turkish Red Crescent that is not part of the hospital or blood donor section. "We hold a special position," says Mehmet Baspinar, "which is unique the world over. This makes us particularly proud because we are demonstrating that business and charity can work very well together." Market leader with a 20% share of the market Türk Kizilayi is also the oldest professionally run mineral water bottling plant in Turkey and market leader of the now 34 mineral water companies in the country – with a market share of 20%. Türk Kizilayi's main area of distribution is Central Turkey (60%) and South Turkey. This is to soon change, however. The company is hoping for a stronger presence in the east by setting up a Türk Kizilayi subsidiary in the East Turkish city of Erzincan. Its planned investment is soon to be implemented here in 2011. Also an active exporter Besides supplying the Turkish market, the mineral water leader is also active in the export sector, its main business targets being the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. It also exports to Great Britain, Cyprus, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the US. To date, just 2% of the company's overall sales are attributable to its export activities, with Türk Kizilayi planning for a future export statistic of around 10%. In addition to mineral water, Baspinar is also increasingly thinking of exporting spritzers which have yet to become established on the market. Sales increase of 400% in just six years Türk Kizilayi's total sales currently run to 400 million 0.2-liter glass bottles or 80 million liters a year. Looking at the figures for 2004 – a mere 100 million 0.2-liter glass bottles – this signifies a quadrupling of sales over the last six years. This growth is far higher than the general increase in the consumption of mineral water in Turkey. In 2004, the per capita consumption of mineral water in Turkey was about four liters; in 2010 it was about seven liters. Baspinar sees great potential for the future development of mineral water on the Turkish market, with annual increases of 20% definitely feasible in his opinion. Mineral water has perspective The notion that mineral water is the perfect, classic thirst quencher without considering any of the medicinal aspects is one that Baspinar believes must become more firmly established in Turkey. Another idea to be further popularized is that mineral water can also be a welcome accompaniment to meals enjoyed at home. PET bottles could change Turkey's mineral water drinking habits As it is usually drunk when out and about, the mineral water container of choice in Turkey has always been the 0.2-liter glass bottle. Türk Kizilayi sells 90% of its 0.2-liter glass bottles as non-refillables or drink-and-go bottles. Just 10% cross the counter as refillable containers. States Baspinar, "By starting to fill our mineral water in PET bottles at the end of 2010 – a form of container for mineral water hitherto almost unheard of in Turkey – we are hoping that Turkish drinking habits will change yet again and that more mineral water will be consumed in the home. In the medium term we are reckoning on PET bottles making up about 15% of our total sales." Classic mineral water the plant's bestseller The company's total sales are currently divided between classic mineral water and flavored mineral water. Classic mineral water represents 80% of the total sales at Türk Kizilayi. Although the emphasis here is on 'classic', the people of Turkey insist on buying highly carbonated mineral water. Slightly carbonated and still mineral water have not yet hit the market. Various flavored mineral waters part of the product range However, what is becoming increasingly popular are the flavored varieties of mineral water which at Türk Kizilayi now constitute 20% of total sales. The plant has six flavors of water in its range of products: strawberry, apple, lemon, orange, peach, and cherry. "This segment is also helping the Turkish population to adopt a more relaxed attitude to their consumption of mineral water," explains Baspinar. Tested and approved by children – just for children In the near future another product is to help communicate the enjoyment factor of mineral water to the public – or rather the younger members of the public who will be the next generation of mineral water consumers. The new mineral water beverage aimed specifically at children has been enriched with flavorings and vitamins, encouraging parents to buy without having to have a guilty conscience. The product has already been tested in various schools. "We wanted the kids to decide what they wanted their mineral water to taste like," says Baspinar. "We've been very pleasantly surprised by the initial feedback our product for children has received. Even before it was launched to market the parents of our young school 'guinea pigs' were asking for the new children's mineral water beverage in the stores. The product launch thus went well." Innovative KHS plant technology provides scope for yet more innovation Baspinar believes that realizing innovative ideas on a mineral water market that is apparently growing and taking on a leading position on this market are the definitive ingredients in Türk Kizilayi's recipe for success. "Precisely for this reason it's so important for us to opt for technical systems that are flexible and allow for innovation." KHS the Mercedes of plant engineering The decision to invest in KHS technology for the first time in 2006 was thus a logical one, according to Baspinar. "We discovered that particularly successful companies in Turkey, such as Coca-Cola and Efes, used KHS technology. This gave us enough assurance for our first order. When we again invested in KHS technology in 2010, our decision was also based on the wealth of positive experience we had gained. We have found the KHS brand to be the Mercedes of filling and packaging technology. The quality of the machines, service, and consultancy on all possible questions and queries – in our opinion, everything's just perfect." Outputs of 50,000 one-way glass bottles and 20,000 PET bottles per hour Like the KHS setup already in operation, the new KHS line achieves an output of 50,000 0.2-liter non-refillable glass bottles an hour. It is also able to process 20,000 non-refillable PET bottles an hour. At the moment Türk Kizilayi is planning on filling 250-ml, 500-ml, and 1-liter PET bottles. All-round consulting service for PET bottle design for the blow molder If PET bottles are scheduled for production, the first stop on the line is the InnoPET Blomax 12-cavity stretch blow molder. The PET bottles are manufactured as follows. PET preforms are heated in the oven of the stretch blow molder based on a precisely defined temperature profile and then mechanically stretched and simultaneously inflated with compressed air in the molds of the blow stations. After leaving the mold, the PET bottles are transferred to an air conveyor which takes them straight to the rinser/filler monoblock. In conjunction with the blow molder system, KHS Corpoplast provided Türk Kizilayi with a detailed consultancy service on the design of the new PET bottles. Within the Bottles & Shapes program, if required KHS Corpoplast acts as a constant partner to companies in the beverage and food industries throughout the entire development of a plastic container – from the initial idea to its industrial manufacture. At all times there is extremely close collaboration with the company to be advised. During each stage in the design of the container, the ecological, economical, and functional aspects of the packaging also undergo close scrutiny. Before they went into production, the various feasible PET bottle designs for Türk Kizilayi were extensively tested at KHS Corpoplast's Bottles & Shapes Technical Center. Maximum reliability: the glass bottle bulk depalletizing process When new glass bottles are processed within the line, the first stop for the pallet loaded with new glass bottles is the Innopal ASN new glass bulk depalletizer. The four-sided enclosed pushing system of the Innopal ASN offers maximum reliability during the depalletizing process. All surfaces of the depalletizer that come into contact with the glass bottles are covered with plastic sheets in order to protect the containers. As a result, there are no contact pulse noises and no vibration whatsoever. The concept also includes a fully automatic handling robot. It removes inverted trays, slip-sheets, and empty pallets, and transfers them to the magazine provided for this purpose. Rinsing with cold water Like the PET bottles, the glass bottles are then conveyed to the rinser/filler monoblock. A mechanically controlled, single-channel Innoclean FR-EM rinser equipped with 84 rinsing stations handles the task of rinsing the bottles. The insides of the glass and PET bottles are sprayed with cold water to reliably rinse out any impurities which may still be in the bottles, such as dust and plastic particles. Durable, low-maintenance, extremely reliable filling system The chief component of the line is the Innofill DMG-VF filling system equipped with 96 filling stations and 18 capping stations for crown corks and plastic screw caps. Here Türk Kizilayi very specifically places its trust in the mechanically controlled single-chamber filling system. "On our existing line we have had plenty of good experience with this robust, low-maintenance, and extremely reliable filling system," says Baspinar. "As far as we're concerned, this filler is a real highlight of the system." The Innofill DMG-VF currently bottles classic and flavored mineral waters. A good all-rounder, it is just as suitable for the filling of the company's innovative mineral water beverage for kids as for the future bottling of fruit juice spritzers. The Innofill VF operates without filling tubes but with return gas tubes. The fill level is determined by means of the gas tube and gas lock. The filling process begins as soon as the pressure is equalized between the ring bowl and the bottle by pressurizing with CO2. The filling phase is completed when the beverage rising in the bottle closes the return gas tube. Complete package of KHS process equipment With the Innopro KZE flash pasteurizer and Innopro PARAMIX CMX blender, a complete package of cutting-edge KHS process engineering has been integrated into the system at Türk Kizilayi. "Manufacturing and bottling flavored mineral waters is not an easy process," states Baspinar, "and, as we hear from other companies, can cause many problems. Experience has shown us that with the Innopro PARAMIX CMX we're definitely on the safe side." The bottling plant is also on the safe side with the Innopro PARAMIX when it comes to developing new flavored mineral waters and soft drinks or beverages that contain fruit juice. "This gives us freedom for innovation," believes Baspinar. The first stage in Innopro PARAMIX CMX processing is deaeration of the water which is based on the principle of two-stage vacuum spray deaeration. Like all the other beverage components, deaerated water is precisely dosed according to the recipe through flow control segments in the Innopro PARAMIX CMX. The Innopro Paramix CMX is designed for exceptional ease of operation. All the necessary product data for each individual product is stored in a recipe memory and can be accessed at the press of a button. Another positive aspect is the high accuracy of the system. The dosing accuracy for syrup is 0.05° Brix, and for CO2 0.2 g CO2/l. Maximum labeling flexibility Maximum flexibility was also one of the reasons why Türk Kizilayi opted for the Innoket SE 2080 labeling machine. The basic version of this generation of labelers has been kept simple and consists of a table structure and the central labeling carousel which can be equipped with a wide variety of labeling stations. The Innoket SE 2080 installed at Türk Kizilayi is currently equipped with two docking stations: one for the roll-fed labeling of PET bottles and the other for the cold glue labeling of glass bottles. Should other labeling processes be required in the future, such as hot melt or self-adhesive labeling, for example, the mineral water bottling company would only have to invest in the additional labeling stations. When it comes to converting to new labeling stations, all that is necessary on the Innoket SE 2080 is to simply dock and undock the stations. The software and computer always automatically restore the synchronicity of all labeling stations after these have been changed over. Shrink packer and pad shrink packer offer various packaging options The glass and PET bottles are packed by an Innopack Kisters SP shrink packer and an Innopack Kisters PSP pad shrink packer. The shrink packer, located upstream of the pad shrink packer, currently packs six glass bottles in a shrink pack, for instance. At the moment four shrink packs containing six glass bottles each are then again shrink-wrapped in the following pad shrink packer. It would also be possible to convey glass bottles (currently 20) straight to the pad shrink packer and shrink-wrap them in a pad shrink pack. Both packaging variations are flexible – as is the packing of PET bottles. Here, too, various packaging options are feasible for the individual PET bottle sizes. Gentle palletizing Regarding its palletizing options the plant is using an Innopal PB1NH; this has level compensation which makes it possible to feed the packs to the palletizer at any height. Each layer is automatically centered from all sides prior to discharge onto the pallet. This results in perfect layer patterns, gentle product handling, and high overall stability of the pallet load. The liner inserter goes into action automatically after each layer is released. A pallet wrapper installed after the palletizer secures the pallet loads. Actively safeguarding the future – together with KHS Baspinar is extremely satisfied with the company's innovative KHS equipment. "We are banking on further success and thus on being able to cover as many costs as possible for the Turkish Red Crescent aid agency. In this context – and I can't emphasize this often enough – KHS acts as an active safeguard for the future by providing the best, extremely flexible technical systems and perfect service in Turkey." Each sip goes to charity Türk Kizilayi is definitely planning on holding on to its position as the market leader of Turkey's mineral water bottling companies – and ideally also on continuing to achieve above-average growth on the Turkish mineral water market. Among other things, this is to be brought about by an increased presence on a local scale. "Our aim," says Baspinar, "is to demonstrate our presence in every city and every village in Turkey – presence as a mineral water bottling plant that provides endless quality; as a company that equates profit with charity; and with a mineral water which ultimately the entire population feels good about drinking, with each individual sip they take going to charity."
