New filling line leaves nothing to be desired

Still and carbonated drinks, container sizes ranging from 250 millilitres to 2.5 litres, a highly individualised spectrum of packaging variants – The new hotfill line with nitrogen injection offers the Turkish beverage company Kristal Kola top flexibility in its PET bottling operation.

Kristal Kola is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. The eponymous drink is one of the country’s best-known cola brands. The enterprise was founded in 1996 and operates three production facilities located in Sapanca, Balıkesir and Edremit where it makes various soft drinks, plus energy drinks, fruit juices and natural mineral water. Kristal Kola exports its beverages to several European and African countries.

Carrying on a successful cooperation

Kristal Kola started its first project with Krones in June 2021, for planning and commissioning a turnkey canning line which has been up and running successfully round the clock since then. Based on the excellent cooperation on that project, the Kristal Kola team are unanimous in their opinion: “We put our full trust in Krones’ technical expertise and their project and service management skills.” It was precisely the very good experience that Kristal Kola has made so far in their collaboration that prompted them to contact Krones again when they were planning to invest in another new line. A crucial specification was a maximum level of flexibility, enabling them to manage their widely varied product range. That is because Kristal Kola not only fills its own drinks, they also act as contract-filler for other beverage companies who in turn have their own distinctive stipulations for bottle design and labelling to suit their marketing strategies.

Cold-filling and NitroHotfill with just one filling valve

The line can be used both for cold-filling carbonated soft drinks and for hot-filling sensitive beverages like iced tea. For the latter, Kristal Kola relies on the Krones NitroHotfill process, which is a particularly cost-efficient and flexible alternative to conventional hot-filling and also the ideal solution if the customer does not want any restrictions on packaging design. That is because after filling, a small amount of nitrogen is injected into the bottle, which raises its internal pressure and prevents shrinkage – even on lightweight containers. The new line therefore leaves nothing to be desired as far as both beverage types and bottle design and labelling are concerned.

Starring: the new Contiform generation

What’s more, the new line also scores highly with its latest-generation Contiform stretch blow-moulder that Krones premiered at drinktec 2022. It excels above all in terms of eco-friendliness, efficiency and flexible production options. Kristal Kola’s line fully lives up to the requirements of the ongoing trend towards handling an ever-increasing number of different bottle shapes and sizes on a single line. The Contiform permits extremely fast and simple format change-over routines, which can be performed either by the operators or by robots. It is even possible that operating staff and robots work simultaneously to prepare line change-overs.

Small but mighty: beverage filling line in space-saving design

Another special characteristic of the line is its compact layout. A smaller footprint means less resources are used for building and operating the production line, which upgrades the company’s sustainability and eco-compatibility. Furthermore, an efficient machine configuration makes for smooth production sequences. Despite the line’s minimised footprint, optimum accessibility to all machines is ensured for the maintenance staff.

Project:	PET hotfill line with nitrogen injection
Customer:	Kristal Kola
Location:	Balıkesir, Turkey
Commissioning:	March 2025
Scope:	30,000 1.0-litre containers per hour Contifeed preform feed system Contiform stretch blow-moulding machine Contiflow mixer Two VarioFlash H flash pasteurisation systems Modulfill VFS filler Checkmat FM-X inspection system LinaCool tunnel cooler Variopac Pro FS packer Modulpal Pro 2A palletiser
Special features:	It is possible to handle both carbonated and still products as the line can be used for either hot- or cold-filling Containers ranging in size from 250 millilitres to 2.5 litres Ultra-compact layout makes for a minimised footprint and yet provides excellent accessibility