With its latest line, Adelholzener Alpenquellen has embarked on a paradigm shift interms of technology. This article tells the story of a project that took an entirelydifferent cou...
With its latest line, Adelholzener Alpenquellen has embarked on a paradigm shift in
terms of technology. This article tells the story of a project that took an entirely
different course from the one originally planned – and has hit the bull’s eye precisely
for that reason.
Non-returnable PET bottles account for a relatively small share in Adelholzener’s
portfolio but they are carefully placed. For example, the soft drinks of the “Active O2”
brand, which contain an extra portion of oxygen instead of carbon dioxide, are
available exclusively in lightweight non-returnable containers with sports caps. At the
more traditional end of the spectrum are the 0.75-litre returnable glass bottles, whose
distinctive embossed mountain relief pays homage to the origins and home of
Adelholzener mineral water: the Bavarian Alps. In addition, the company also offers
its waters and soft drinks in returnable PET containers. It was an intentional strategic
decision to go for this diverse range of packaging, as Manuela Schreiner from
Corporate Communications explains: “We don’t want to make the decision for the
people buying our products. We want them to be free to choose their drinks in exactly
the package that best suits their preferences, their lifestyle or any specific occasion.”
The resultant logistic requirements are by far outweighed by the benefits that this
approach provides for Adelholzener because it enables the water bottler to respond
flexibly to consumers’ behaviour patterns, like the currently rising demand for drinks
on the go. The slump in sales that followed the introduction of a mandatory deposit in
Germany was rather short-lived. There is no trace of it today – quite the contrary.
“Thanks to the nationwide collection system and a recycling quota currently running
at about 98 per cent, consumers can reach for the handy single-use PET bottle
without having a guilty conscience,” explains Manuela Schreiner. “For the on-the-go
market, in particular, the lightweight easy-to-handle containers are the perfect choice,
all the more so because they feature a convenient drinking cap that can be opened
and closed with one hand.”
Foresightfully planned 20 years ago
Fact is: The on-the-go market has been booming, so much so that existing capacities
were no longer sufficient to cover demand. Fortunately – and that’s yet another of
Adelholzener’s salient characteristics – the company had taken timely precautions,
laying the foundations for the latest expansion as early as 20 years ago. “Even back
at the time when we planned the last previously installed non-returnable-PET line
from Krones, which went into operation in 2006, we’d already factored in some
additional space for a second line,” explains Johann Niedl, the department head
responsible for non-returnable-PET lines at Adelholzener, adding: “The basic idea
was to enable us to install a second identical line at need, thus saving planning
time.”
In mid-2024, the time had come: A new line had to be erected as fast as possible –
although the requirements involved had meanwhile changed. “Back in 2006, our
planning was based on a 25,000-bph line,” says Niedl. “But that output would in 2024
no longer have been sufficient. So we had to modify our original plan and increase
the line’s speed to 36,000 containers per hour.” There was one snag, though: The
space available remained the same. So the team had to figure out how to
accommodate the new line in a space that was originally intended for a substantially
smaller variant.
Since the past 20 years had also seen a fair bit of technological progress, Krones
suggested to go for a paradigm shift: the Contipure Bloc P . In contrast to the process
used in the existing wet-aseptic line at Adelholzener, this system does not sterilise
the blow-moulded bottles but the preforms. That step is performed in a compact unit
located between the infrared oven and the blowing module, which takes up
substantially less space than the bottle rinser used in a wet-aseptic system.
Every millimetre counts
Did that mean the space problem was solved? “Theoretically yes. But we had our
doubts to start with, wondering whether everything would really work that way in
actual practice,” says Johann Niedl, laughing. In order to dispel any such doubt, a
realistic 3D layout was created for the entire line (including platforms and
peripherals). “The Krones team handled this with painstaking diligence, scanning our
hall umpteen times from all possible angles,” says Niedl, clearly impressed. “After
we’d checked the finished plan, we knew for sure that the line would definitely fit into
the space available – even though there are several places where quite literally every
single millimetre counts.”
The order was placed with Krones in February 2024, a little less than seven months
after the project kicked off at Adelholzener. The next process steps were performed
in the same expeditious way. “Erection in our plant started on 7 January 2025, and
the first saleable merchandise ran off the line on 15 April,” says a manifestly satisfied
Johann Niedl. At peak times, about 95 people from a wide range of specialisms were
working on site. A total of around 100 truck deliveries had to be coordinated.
Scrupulously precise sequential planning was imperative, not least in view of the
space constraints on site. The new line is hardly more than an arm span away from
the existing non-returnable-PET line. And even so, installation of the one line was not
to interfere with operation of the other. “That line was operating at full capacity, and
we simply could not afford any standstills,” says Niedl.
The best line project by far
So the wet-aseptic line was kept running in three-shift operation throughout the entire
erection and installation period. And yet there was not a single workplace accident
during all that time. “We didn’t even have to put on a simple plaster,” says Johann
Niedl, adding: “It was downright fun watching the progress made, watching
everything dovetailing neatly.” To give an example, he describes the erection of a
400-square-metre steel platform: While it was still being extended into the open
space on one side, the first units of the line were already being installed at its other
end.
The erection period linked up seamlessly to the commissioning and validation phase.
Due to Adelholzener’s extensive beverage portfolio, the latter went on until mid-
October 2025. Firstly, the line fills both still and carbonated waters into 0.5- and 1.0-
litre bottles. And secondly, the company wants to keep its options open for also
processing spritzers and sugary drinks if needed.
As tricky as it was accommodating the new line on just 1,200 square metres plus a
steel platform, the tight layout has definitely turned out to be an advantage in daily
operation. “Legwork is minimised, and from almost any point you can see how things
stand everywhere in the line. And so the operators are happy to run it,” says Johann
Niedl. What’s more, Adelholzener has used Krones production kit for decades. “Our
staff are familiar with the technology. You see, a second line for non-returnables is
directly next to the new one. Needless to say, that makes for synergies, especially in
the dry end where some of the machines are identical models in both lines.”