Innovation prize for the eco-friendly LitePac strapping solution

Identifying trends and developing solutions for them well before the market is actually demanding them strikingly evidences a company’s innovative capabilities. Which is precisely what Krones has demonstrated once again in the latest example: back in 2011, the specialists at the plant in Rosenheim resolved to save material on the secondary packaging. The result was the EvoLite packer, which produces the LitePac – a non-returnable package that is merely strapped by two strips of plastic. This form of secondary packaging signifies a true innovation, since the shrink-film hitherto customary could be dispensed with.

Today, around nine years later, the then-visionary solution is more relevant than ever: rising levels of eco-awareness and the concomitant political and social debates on sustainability and resource consumption mean that producers of consumer goods are also embracing this issue. The Lithuanian water producer Akvavita has responded to the latest developments by scrutinising its use of plastics in the value-added chain. The contract bottler has set itself to create the country’s lightest water package – and in terms of secondary packaging has opted for the LitePac concept from Krones.

Thanks to LitePac, Akvavita saves 90 per cent of plastic for the packaging and 40 per cent of energy during the production process.

Pack strapping a “Best Technology Innovation”

Although the first packs with the innovative strapping were only market-launched in early 2020, Akvavita had already harvested a prize for it at the end of last year: in Dubai, it won the Global Water Award in the “Best Technology Innovation” category. The pack marketed by Akvavita under the name of Eco Pack requires 90 per cent less plastic than a comparable shrink-pack. During production, moreover, energy savings of 40 per cent can be achieved.

The Lithuanian contract bottler Akvavita has made it its mission to create the country’s lightest water package – and in terms of secondary packaging has opted for the LitePac concept from Krones.

But that’s not all: the bottles being used are made from rPET, and the entire pack can be 100 per cent recycled. Thanks to efficient logistics, moreover, ten per cent more containers can be fitted onto the pallet, which correspondingly reduces the CO₂ consumption for transporting them.

Different LitePac variants

Whereas the term LitePac originally denoted only the strapping for non-returnable packs, Krones has meanwhile expanded the concept: for all those who want to do without plastics entirely for their secondary packaging, LitePac Top is now available:

LitePac Top: Here, a cardboard clip holds cans or non-PET containers together.

#Water #PET #Packaging #Recycling #Plastics #Sustainability

Julia Leserer

15. May 2020

2:15 min.

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AKVAVITA, UAB

Neravų g. 100, Viečiūnų k.,
Druskininkai, LT-66494
Lithuania

URL: https://akvavita.lt/

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