Gone are the plastic shrink-wraps and the handles that give way for the multipacks of six 1.5-liter PET bottles of the Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Mezzo Mix brands sold in Austria. Since last September, consumers have been able to fill their shopping trolleys with kraft-belted, cardboard-covered packs.
It took three years of joint research and development by Coca-Cola HBC Austria, Krones, DS Smith and Mondi to come up with this packaging solution, a sustainable alternative to plastic.
Coca-Cola's Edestal plant in Burgenland, Austria, is the site for the strapping and clip-application line adapted by Krones. The bottling line manufacturer states " that the Variopac machine series used in production has been extended to include strapping and clip application functions" and declares " particularly pleased to be able to use this new technology for the first time with Coca-Cola on the Edestal site" .
Bottles held securely in place
A customizable sleeve of Mondi Hug-IT kraft paper holds the six bottles securely in place. According to the papermaker, the kraft paper used in Advantage SpringPack Plus has the following properties "unrivalled elasticity and outstanding tensile strength" .
It's worth noting that this paper was crowned by Guinness World Records as the world's strongest paper in 2001, after a 4.2-ton container was lifted into the air on a single sheet.
A corrugated cardboard clip with a handle caps the bottle necks. " Featuring toothed cardboard punches, the cardboard clip closes tightly around the bottle necks, holding them firmly in the desired shape" explains its manufacturer, the DS Smith Group.
Recyclable outer packaging
The sleeve, clip and handle replace the polyethylene shrink film and are 100% recyclable. "Thanks to the introduction of this globally unique solution, we will be able to reduce material use by a further 200 tonnes of plastic per year in the future." explains Felix Sprenger, Supply Chain Manager for Coca-Cola HBC Austria.
