German beverage filling firm KHS has acquired the beverage filling technology of Hamburg-based company alfill. The move reinforces KHS's position as a leading beverage technology company within Europe's ever-growing PET sector. The acquisition is effective as of 1 July 2003.
PET technology developed by alfill is recognised as a market leader within the industry. The company is known for its innovation and has successfully introduced new trends to the market on a number of occasions.
For example, the firm's dry sterilisation process for PET bottles and caps for filling highly sensitive products has been widely adopted by the beverage industry. This process offers extremely high efficiency through cutting operating costs by up to 80 per cent, and by better conserving resources.
KHS believes that its range of products and services will therefore be enhanced considerably by alfill's range of aseptic and non-aseptic model linear fillers, designed for the low-capacity range as well as isolator rotary fillers for aseptic cold filling of beverages in PET bottles.
This is of particular interest for the fruit juice bottling industry and for the low-acid product sector. The company also believes that the acquisition of weight-dosing fillers will further enhance its competence in the dairy-based beverage sector of the milk industry.
The tried and tested alfill products will continue to be produced and developed at alfill's site in Hamburg. KHS believes that the integration of alfill will allow the business to profit from the financial resources and capacity of the whole group.
All alfill products will be marketed by the sales department of KHS with the active support of the specialists from KHS alfill, Hamburg. Additionally, all known points of contact will continue to be available at KHS Alfill, Hamburg.
KHS currently operates a wide range of filling operations. The business plans, manufactures, and installs complete production lines to filter and fill beer, soft drinks, mineral water, fruit juice and other beverages.