A container glass manufacturer also operates filling lines for glass bottles. Krones has supplied five complete lines for an English contract packaging facility over a total installation period of around two years. On two of these lines, wine is bottled under a contract packaging concept in containers ranging in size from 660 to 1125 ml. In order to provide maximised flexibility for further bottling orders, the machinery involved has been designed so as to ensure that other products can be handled as well. The wine bottling lines each achieve a speed of 24,000 bph when handling 750-ml containers. All lines feature well-nigh identical machinery and specifically incorporate the following models:

• Pressant Universal depalletiser
  Dependable bulk glass handling is a crucial factor for market success, particularly for high-quality wine products. The Pressant Universal integrates a pusher for centring from four sides, and a layer centring feature below the sweep-off level, ensuring gentle depalletising of the bulk glass. This modularised machine also offers scope for different line and product requirements.
• Linatronic empty-bottle inspector
  The new bottles are monitored in the Linatronic inspector. This detects defects like damage to the sealing surface, the base or the inner sidewall. Faulty bottles are rejected.
• Rinser-filler Bloc
  Following a rinsing stage in the Variojet rinser, the bottles are filled in the Mecafill VKPV-CF filler. In addition to pre-evacuation for oxygen-sensitive beverages, the electro-pneumatic filling system can also perform a fill level correction upon completion of the filling operation. This is a crucial machine feature in the case of wine and other products that require special evidentiary duties for the fiscal authorities. The counterpressure filling system enables the machine to handle both still and carbonated beverages.
• Checkmat FM-X inspection unit
  The compact-size Checkmat inspection unit checks the fill level after the filling operation. The system utilises X-ray technology, and can be used for foaming and non-foaming products alike.
• Topmodul labeller
  The modularised machinery concept enables unneeded labelling stations to be decoupled and another station to be when changing over to a different labelling process. This simplifies change-overs between cold-glue, hotmelt or pressure-sensitive labelling.
• Checkmat FM-X inspection unit for fine-monitoring of the fill level
  After the bottles have been pasteurised and labelled, this device provides fine-monitoring of the fill level.
• Accutower and Accutable buffering systems
  These dynamic buffering systems ensure that interruptions to production are appropriately compensated. Since these systems have been responsively integrated between the line’s individual components, machine make-ready routines can be completed and the downstream components can finish off batch production. Thanks to their versatility in terms of buffering performance and stringent implementation of the first-in-first-out principle, these systems are a valuable factor in underpinning the line’s high overall equipment effectiveness.
• Variopac, Wrapapac packers
  Depending on the pack concept involved for each individual product, the shrink-packs can be created with or without trays, or the products packed in wrap-around cartons.
• Variocart carton erector and Blitzpac packer
  A prefabricated carton is erected in the Variocart carton erector and then passed to a Blitzpac packer.
• SynCo transport systems for the containers, MultiCo conveyors for the packs, and Palco systems for transporting the pallets
• Pressant Universal palletiser
  Once they have been assembled on a grouping station, the layers are picked up successively and deposited on the pallet.