Shepley Spring has repeatedly upgraded its production operation with equipment from Krones and the group subsidiary Kosme ever since 2009. Starting with stretch blow-moulders, fillers and labellers all the way through to dry-end machines, you will find Krones kit all over the bottler’s plant in Huddersfield, about an hour’s drive north-east of Manchester. In 2018, Shepley Spring installed the first complete Krones line featuring an ErgoBloc L. “For us as a small family company, with people that have grown up through all stages of technology, we really felt that this benefit is key,” relates Jeff Corey, Director of Operations at Shepley Spring. As cooperation between Shepley Spring and Krones developed, the water bottler has also come to appreciate Krones’ set-up in the United Kingdom. “Then we’ve got the relationship with Krones in the UK, including after-sales service support, which we really benefit from.”
The Shepley Spring team are huge fans of Krones’ block technology, and after installing a block configuration in 2018 they have now once again chosen a line featuring an ErgoBloc L, which makes for substantially higher outputs than the previous set-up.
In 2018, Shepley Spring chose a block-synchronised configuration of stretch blow-moulder, labeller and filler in its new line. “Space in our plant is at a premium. So the ability to have a compact solution that really maximises the amount of output we get for the amount of floor space we’ve got is a big key advantage,” says Jeff Corey. “In terms of sustainability and energy usage, the performance and efficiency we get, we see some massive benefits as well, compared to lines without block technology.”
Upgraded twice over
Last year, Shepley Spring made another investment in new line technology because their existing line, rated at 10,000 containers per hour, had definitely reached the limits of its capacity. Krones is currently commissioning a new line with an ErgoBloc L that will be able to produce 60,000 containers an hour. It upgrades the company’s performance twice over, firstly in terms of output and also in regard to state-of-the-art technology with a special focus on sustainability. “We make a lot of private-label products. And sustainability is a real key focus not only for us but for our customers as well,” relates Jeff Corey. “The ErgoBloc L enables us to handle lightweight caps and containers and reduce plastics usage in production while the system’s low consumption figures for energy and compressed air is a real benefit. Which is great from a sustainability perspective,” says an enthusiastic Jeff Corey.
