German filling and packaging systems supplier KHS Group is investing more than €11 million ($12.8m) in a hall for its barrier technology product centre.
Located on expanded premises at Hellmesbergerweg, Hamburg, the new 4,300 sq m factory will be operational from spring 2027 and will bring all Plasmax coating technology departments under one roof.
KHS’s production centres for stretch blow moulding and barrier technology currently operate from three production shops in Hamburg.
However, the units have reached capacity limits due to strong growth in the barrier technology segment, it said.
The company has spent the past 50 years developing systems and solutions for the beverage and packaging industry.
InnoPET ranges
These include stretch blow moulding machines within the InnoPET Blomax range, InnoPET BloFill fillers, and coating machines featuring Plasmax technology.
“Our barrier technology is a key growth driver for the corporate success of the entire KHS Group,” said Kai Acker, chief executive of KHS. “The demand for our machines in the InnoPET FreshSafe series has quadrupled over the past five years.
Combining all relevant departments into one hall will make processes “more efficient” and “increase production”, added Joachim Konrad, head of the large machine product division at KHS.
Benefits are said to include shorter distances to lighten the load on personnel and optimised processes that encourage closer cooperation between the various departments.
Instead of building entire machines all in one place, employees will be able to mount individual modules in parallel at defined workstations, KHS said. These will then be assembled to create a full machine and commissioned.
‘Shorten lead times’
“This allows us to work on several modules at the same time, which can then be better subjected to preliminary testing,” said Konrad. “These adapted processes shorten lead-times and machine occupancy times in the shop. With this, we can deliver to our customers even faster.”
In addition, the laboratory area where KHS tests the coated bottles and develops new coatings and coating types will be given a new paternoster system.
This will enable bottle batches to be automatically stored and retrieved as required using a specific code. The bottle and temporary storage unit have also been placed closer to the laboratory and production areas.
The development is also being designed to be completely carbon-neutral through the use of green electricity, a photovoltaic roof installation, and a closed heating circuit with heat pumps and heat recovery from the coating machine’s cooling circuits.
“The construction of our new hall and expansion of our factory premises secure jobs in the long term and are a clear sign of commitment to our production locations in Germany,” Acker said.
