Success with KHS turnkey lines

Georg Zuzok*
Jon Elward**

In 2012 a new bottled water company was opened in the US state of Pennsylvania: the Crossroads Beverage Group. The first bottle of water rolled off the conveyor belt on April 16, 2012, and since then Crossroads has spiraled to success at what seems like the speed of light. For 2013 Kirk Richmond, the Chief Operating Officer  of Crossroads, is planning on selling an incredible 500 million bottles of water. Says Richmond, "We greatly benefit from the expertise of Silver Springs Bottled Water Company which is based in Florida and also owned by our family." At the root of these many benefits is Crossroads' plant engineering for which there was no option when it came to choosing the equipment. Right from the start Richmond wanted turnkey lines from KHS. The company therefore started its operations with two KHS PET systems, one a multifunctional line outputting 36,000 bottles per hour and the second solely reserved for the processing of 0.5-liter bottles at a rate of 72,000 bottles per hour. Richmond continues, "We assumed that these two lines would initially do us for one or two years. However, as the market wants much more of our quality water than first expected and as our two KHS lines were running at almost maximum capacity only six months after they were commissioned, in 2012 we ordered a second 72,000-bph, KHS turnkey line to fill 0.5-liter bottles. This was absolutely the right thing to do. This now operates 24/7 and is already running at half of its full capacity."  

It all started with the Silver Springs Bottled Water Company

Success has been strong and steady for the Richmond family since they established the Silver Springs Bottled Water Company in 1991 at a time when the bottled water business was still in its infancy in the United States of America. Kirk Richmond's parents Karl and Margaret saw great potential for this segment of the beverage industry and were to prove correct in their assumptions. They began bottling with just six employees,

*Head of Market Zone Americas, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany.

     Phone: +49 671 852 2202

**Head of Stretch Blow Molders, KHS USA, Inc., USA. Phone: +1 404 281 5552

filling 5-liter gallons with spring water (an American gallon is the equivalent of 3.758 liters).   Silver Springs in Florida is now a fixed feature on the water market, filling an ever smaller percentage of its total output into 5-liter gallons and dealing chiefly in water in PET bottles. The President and CEO of Silver Springs and Crossroads Beverage Group  is Kane Richmond, the founders' son and Kirk's brother. Keith Richmond, another brother, acts as CIO of Silver Springs. Kirk Richmond smiles. "My son Kiel represents the next generation at Crossroads and will carry on the family tradition. in all respects, right from the word go."

No sooner said than done – Crossroads is born

The idea of setting up a second bottled water company alongside Silver Springs arose about three years ago. Kirk Richmond tells us more. "We'd known for quite a while that the market in the northeast of the US was undersupplied with bottled water, especially as far as distribution through the retail trade was concerned. We had lots of inquiries at Silver Springs from this region and when this number became considerable we decided to open a second bottling plant in the Northeast." The search for a suitable building and site began in the middle of 2011,  and at the same time – in another unusual move for the Richmonds – the KHS lines were ordered – before a site had been found. Kirk Richmond explains. "We wanted to start bottling as soon as possible and were convinced that we'd quickly find the right premises. And we were right!" The family was looking for sizable buildings on a site measuring between 20,000 and 40,000 m2 and found just that in the City of Reading, Pennsylvania. Here they hired 30,000 m2 of premises with buildings which used to house a packaging company. The buildings were refurbished to suit the bottling plant's requirements, giving it ample space for its present activities and also room to expand should the need arise. 

Focus on the customer 

As at Silver Springs, Crossroads has one main motto, namely "We focus on the customer." Crossroads' core area of business is to supply retailers and casino operations with their own private label bottled water. If required, the company also assists in the creation of bottle designs, labels and shrink packs. At present Crossroads distributes the majority of its product within a radius of roughly 300 miles, the main sales areas being big cities like New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Boston. Approximately 130 trucks loaded up with freshly bottled water currently leave the company every day, with around 40 trucks delivering water from various springs in the region on a daily basis. Crossroads bottles spring water and also treated municipal water.

With about 30 retail chains and casino operators, Crossroads has built up a broad customer base within a very short time indeed. All told, the company makes 80% of its sales with approximately 20% of its customers. Kirk Richmond says, "Be that as it may, Every single customer is extremely important to us. We came here with a promise to always supply each and every one of our customers on time. Before, reliable delivery was a sticking point here in the northeast of the US. We're now clearly seeing the results from the good reputation we've earned with a steady increase in our sales figures."  

Great flexibility a given

Another competitive advantage in the eyes of Kirk Richmond is that unlike many of its rivals, Crossroads fills a diverse range of bottles and packs these into all kinds of shrink packs for retailers and casinos. Kirk Richmond says, "We're able to react extremely flexibly thanks to our multifunctional KHS line which can output 36,000 bottles per hour. On it we produce and fill 8, 10, 20 and 24-ounce and 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5-liter bottles, processing the 0.5-liter size only on the higher capacity lines. We make 90% of our sales with the latter. We can also take action as required on our multifunctional line when it comes to shrink packs; on the 72,000-bph systems, however, we only program larger shrink pack units holding 24, 28, 32, 35 or 40 containers." 

KHS turnkey lines offer a full range of extra benefits

When Crossroads came to place its order for bottling lines, it's significant that only KHS turnkey lines were considered. "At Silver Springs we've seen that KHS turnkey lines run very fast at full capacity and are very economical and efficient," states Kirk Richmond. "We definitely didn't want to miss benefits like these at Crossroads. The lines' outstanding performance had us convinced from day one here, too." 

Bottles & Shapes program for very lightweight PET bottles and plenty of security

Something else Crossroads didn't want to miss were the extremely lightweight PET bottles Silver Springs had optimized together with KHS. For example, the 0.5-liter PET bottle for Silver Springs and Crossroads currently weighs just 9.1 grams. At Silver Springs the weight of the 13.2-gram bottle was cut down to 9.1 grams in two stages on application of KHS' service and consultancy program for the design and development of plastic bottles which is unique worldwide: Bottles & Shapes. According to Kirk and Kane Richmond the next benchmark regarding PET weight is 8 grams, with the two brothers aiming for a maximum weight of around 7.5 grams for their 0.5-liter PET bottle in the long term. 

Within the Bottles & Shapes program KHS acts a constant partner to beverage companies throughout the entire development of a plastic container – from the initial idea to its industrial manufacture. The aim of this program is always to create a container that fully meets the visual demands of the company and is of the highest quality, while keeping costs to a minimum and ensuring sustainability throughout the production process. Before the design process for the customer's perfect PET bottle gets underway KHS clarifies precisely which products are to be bottled and thus which filling technologies are to be utilized. KHS also investigates the stress the bottles will be subjected to in practical operation, for instance while being conveyed through the line, during the palletizing process and shipment to retailers and at the points of sale.  Using finite element analysis all known influences are simulated and applied to the virtual packaging. The next stage in the Bottles & Shapes program is to manufacture bottle prototypes. If these are approved, the first bottles are made on a lab machine that works just like the stretch blow molder later used in practice. Only when lab test results have confirmed all given specifications are the bottles released for production. Kirk Richmond is pleased. "We're in good hands with the Bottles & Shapes concept because it means that all of our lightweights are perfectly able to cope with the various demands they're likely to face in practice. This lets us sleep easy."

InnoPET BloFill monoblock an essential component

On all three of its KHS turnkey lines Crossroads has opted for the InnoPET BloFill monoblock which consists of an InnoPET Blomax Series IV stretch blow molder monoblocked with the Innofill NV filling system.  This choice is also the result of the good experience Silver Springs has had; back in 2008 Silver Springs was the first beverage company in the world to invest in the then newly launched monoblock system which was kitted out with an InnoPET Blomax Series III stretch blow molder. Silver Springs also ordered the world's first InnoPET BloFill monoblock fitted with the InnoPET Blomax Series IV generation of stretch blow molders. Says Kirk Richmond, "Besides all the general advantages monoblocking gives us, the KHS system also provides us with a whole range of additional benefits, among them even better efficiency, considerable savings in materials and energy and great  ease of operation."

The InnoPET Blomax Series IV has many advantages over the previous generation

Many of the named advantages are features of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV. On the newest line at Crossroads, which outputs up to 72,000 bottles per hour, the InnoPET Blomax has 36 cavities, each of which can produce up to 2,250 bottles per hour. Compared to the previous Series III generation, the Series IV has a heater which halves the preform heating time. Accordingly, the heating module takes up much less space and only about 50% of the usual number of preforms has to be rejected on an emergency stop. This is because the preforms are heated in the new heater area by near infrared or NIR. Two more important factors which result in the total heat penetration of the preforms being very efficient is that the preforms are conveyed through an enclosed heating chamber with all-round reflection and the mandrels are very tightly spaced at just 37.7 mm (minimum pitch). All of these measures together generate an energy saving of up to 40% as opposed to the traditional heating method. "We can confirm this improvement in our energy balance," says Kirk Richmond, "as at Silver Springs we have monoblocks with both the Series III and the Series IV machine in operation. As far as Crossroads is concerned, we're extremely pleased with all three of our InnoPET Blomax Series IV blow molders – also because they're very reliable and we can save on materials during production with the utmost accuracy thanks to the servomotor-controlled stretching process."

This servomotor-controlled stretching process ensures that the stretching motion can still be carried out at the same rate as at the high machine speed should the rotation of the blow molder be temporarily reduced for any reason. High process stability is a given and the blow molder is always able to adjust itself to the filling system's mode of operation with perfect precision. This allows preforms to be used which have been optimized down to the last tenth of a gram of PET material. Other especially beneficial aspects of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV include the extremely compact blow stations, which are easily opened and closed by a toggle mechanism, and very fast changeover times.

The monoblock of the InnoPET Blomax Series IV and the Innofill NV filler has been kept as simple as possible. Removing bottles from the blow station and adjusting the distance of finished PET bottles to one another according to the configuration of the filling system is handled by just one modular transfer wheel. An airlock ensures that the dry area of the blow molder is kept consistently separate from the wet area of the filler, thereby eliminating the risk of corrosion in the blow molder. The logical consequence of extremely gentle PET bottle handling is that bottles can be used which are lighter than those conveyed by an air conveyor. 

Simple yet very safe and reliable filling process

In its choice of filler, too, on all three lines Crossroads has remained loyal to the Innofill NV which has magnificently proved itself in practice at Silver Springs. The system operates according to the principle of volumetric filling using electromagnetic induction flowmetering. Non-contact filling through a free-flow filling valve ensures microbiological and hygienic safety. All passages are smooth-surfaced throughout the Innofill NV, from the ring bowl to the filling valves. As in all other product-conducting channels and passages, aseptic membrane and sealing technology is used within the filling valves on the Innofill NV. The filling process in brief is as follows: the filling phase is initiated after the bottle has been guided by the neck ring and positioned under the filling valve. The bottle is then filled with the exact quantity of product and the filling process subsequently stopped. A simple and microbiologically extremely safe filling process takes place. The PET bottles are sealed by the classic Innofill SV screw capper. 

"Innopack Kisters packers are the best"

One of the established lines at Silver Springs doesn't have an Innopack Kisters packer – which is how the Richmond family have come to very much appreciate KHS packaging technology. Kirk Richmond tells us more. "We think that Innopack Kisters packers are the best on the market at the moment." It therefore figures that Crossroads invested in not one but three innovative Innopack Kisters SP Advanced machines. As with all other packaging machines in the Advanced series, these shrink packers are cube-shape in design, giving operating personnel ample space to work with the machine and thus providing high ease of operation. Together with the new protective hood concept designed for this machine series, the cubic design also provides an excellent view of the inner workings of the packing machines. Another great advantage is the hygienic machine design. 

Toothed belts are used in the Advanced series wherever feasible, the result being quiet operation, simple design and low maintenance. Another big plus is that identical servomotors with integrated servocontrollers are used on all packing machines in the Advanced series. This facilitates part replacement during maintenance and reduces the stock of spare parts. The amount of cabling has also been reduced and the control cabinet is much smaller.

The Innopack Kisters SP Advanced can process far thinner film materials than the previous generation of machines, made possible thanks to a special film cutting and feed system. A vacuum belt of adjustable width perfectly positions the various widths of film on the conveyor belts. A sophisticated hole pattern enables the latter to discharge any static electricity automatically. In conjunction with an additional antistatic system, this offers maximum conveying stability even for extremely delicate film types. The sequences of motion in the continuously operating film station are controlled by means of an electronic cam. The length of film section and the position of the printed image are electronically set within the system by selecting the format at the operator panel. As a result the film wrapping process is adjusted to product height and length with absolute precision. The film is cut with a servo-driven cutter, yet another guarantee of maximum precision as well as minimal wear on the cutter blades. 

After they have been wrapped in film, the packs are directly conveyed into the shrink tunnel. The shrink tunnel is fitted with classic electrical heating and, like all KHS shrink tunnels, features hot air nozzle equipment which can be used in a variety of ways. Kirk Richmond states, "I can only emphasize how pleased we are with this packaging system. All of our shrink packers work extremely reliably, are very operator friendly and give us top packaging quality and stability while using the absolute minimum amount of materials."

Particularly gentle palletizing

Shrink packs are palletized on the Crossroads lines by an Innopal PB1HS with an upstream, inline robot grouping. This machinery is exceptionally well suited for palletizing sensitive goods in particular, such as shrink packs.  

The inline robot grouping aligns the finished shrink packs with only minimal space requirements, after which a positive-fit gripper picks up, lifts, turns and places each individual shrink pack exactly in the programmed position. This gives Crossroads top precision, exact reproducibility, precise alignment and extremely gentle pack handling – all of which are convincing. The robot grouping enables all current and future container and layer requirements to be easily adapted by selecting the existing layer formation or programming a new container and layer formation.

The Innopal PB1HS is a single-station palletizing robot equipped with a pallet lift, elevated pack infeed and two-piece pusher plate. The lifting unit and loading station operate with servo technology and a cog belt drive, giving operators high availability with a minimum maintenance effort. Automatic all-round centering before each layer is discharged ensures that perfect layers are formed while handling the product gently and ensuring a high overall stability of the pallet load. 

Kirk Richmond says, "Everything, including our palletizing process, is literally running like clockwork. All told, I believe that our KHS turnkey lines are a success factor for our newly founded company that simply shouldn’t be underestimated. I can only recommend that everybody goes for high-quality technical equipment right from the start for it pays off in the end. To be more precise, to us KHS technology means product safety and reliability, delivering to deadlines and, as a result, a strong position in the market."

On the road to further success

Crossroads is also planning on future success. As already mentioned, it definitely has the space, with the option to buy the hired buildings and land secured. To close, Kirk Richmond says, "Considering that there's a huge demand for bottled water in the northeast of the US, sales at Crossroads could be even higher than at Silver Springs in the near future. Together we already rank among the top five biggest bottling plants for water in the USA. In the family we can envision becoming a national presence in the water business in the medium to long term." Those who know the Richmonds also know that ideas like these can come true quicker than you think. And successfully so, of course – as the Richmond family has so often demonstrated.