Stretch blow-moulding technology for beverage producers: blow-moulder/filler BLOC is an up-to-the-future option

Coca Cola Alsip, in Chicago, is one of the first beverage producers of Coca Cola Enterprises in the USA to opt for stretch blow-moulding technology with BLOC-synchronisation.
The line concerned, featuring new stretch blow-moulding technology, consists of a blow-moulder/filler BLOC with a Contiform S24 and a Mecafill VKP-PET DL filler, enclosed in a cleanroom and rated at 43,200 containers an hour. Downstream of the filler, the PET bottles are passed via container conveyors to a generously dimensioned buffer table. After this, the flow is divided onto two tracks, spaced out on Glideliner conveyors, and fed to two Contiroll HS high-speed labellers. After being discharged from the labellers, the PET bottles are mass-conveyed to the packer.

What’s the advantage of this system for beverage producers with stretch blow-moulding technology?
Thanks to the BLOC-synchronisation, the line manages with just one operator at the blow-moulder/filler BLOC, plus another one at the two labellers and the packer. A roving back-up supports them as needed. The Plant Manager approves of the BLOC configuration: “It makes the line nice and lean, because it takes up less space. The BLOC configuration was a particularly attractive option here, because the line handles only one single product, the Dasani still water."

For the beverage producer, stretch blow-moulding technology with BLOC-synchronisation means that the blow-moulding machine is linked directly to the filler, without any conveyor between them. The freshly blow-moulded PET bottles are transferred directly to the filler via starwheels. Besides the advantages in terms of footprint and staffing levels, this is also conducive to high standards of hygiene during bottling.