Six aseptic lines to fill fresh milk

The Chinese Junlebao Dairy Group will soon be filling its cold-chain fresh milk on six Contipure AseptBloc DN aseptic lines from Krones.

During a recent conference, Junlebao called themselves “China’s first brand for high-end fresh milk”. Wei Lihua, Chairman and President of Junlebao Dairy Group, revealed the key to Junlebao’s successful rise into this premium market segment, noting that they use aseptic blow-molding and filling technology from Krones, to meet consumers' needs for health, nutrition, and safety.

*Wei Lihua, Chairman and President of Junleabo Dairy Group* Image credits:
Junlebao Dairy Group

Junlebao is one of the leading companies in China’s dairy industry and currently holds a dominant market share for both yogurt and premium fresh milk. Based on its trust in Krones' aseptic technology, Junlebao Dairy Group has now invested in six complete PET aseptic lines, each containing a blow molder/filler block, for their fresh milk brand, which is called Yuexianhuo.

Article 39164 — Yuexianhuo-brand fresh milk is among the products running on the Krones lines. Image credits: Junlebao Dairy Group

Junlebao’s Yuexianhuo brand was just established in 2019. But it soon gained market recognition and favor among consumers, with sales growing rapidly. In 2020, to better keep up with demand, the group placed its first order with Krones – for a Contipure AseptBloc DN aseptic filling line rated at 23,000 PET containers per hour. The line fills fresh milk into 450-milliliter PET bottles. And although the fresh milk is distributed in the cold chain, Junlebao also placed great importance on using aseptic filling, to ensure an exceptionally high level of food safety and quality. The decision-makers at Junlebao were so impressed with this first Krones line that they soon ordered five more.

Project:	Aseptic lines for filling fresh milk
Customer:	Junlebao Dairy Group
Location:	Weixian, Hebei province, and Zhengyang, Henan Province, China
Scope:	Each line includes the following: Contipure AseptBloc DN, SPEED blow molder/filler block for low-acid beverages, with an aseptic Contiform Asept blow molder and a Modulfill Asept VFJ filler Contifeed RS preform roller sorter PET View inspection system Autocol labeler Checkmat FM-X and Checkmat E inspectors Dry end equipment, such as a packer and a palletizer

Article 39162 — The heart of the Krones line is a Contipure AseptBloc. Image credits: Junlebao Dairy Group

Special features:

The entire process of blow-molding, filling and capping is done completely in an aseptic environment, which preserves the flavor and ensures the safety of the products and effectively extends the products’ shelf life. Only one sterile medium is required – hydrogen peroxide. The production line is equipped with the highest safety level of aseptic blow molding technology and includes a compressed-air recovery system, which can reduce energy consumption by up to 30%. Each capping head is equipped with an independent servo drive to ensure both accuracy and flexibility.
The line is configured to fill Yuexianhuo milk into 260-, 450-, 780- and 950-milliliter PET bottles. The filler is equipped with an automatic changover function, and its outlet height can be automatically adjusted to different bottle types, without any additional change parts or CIP, which effectively reduces changeover times.
Krones' labeling technology perfectly handles specially shaped bottles.
An integrated central ventilation system makes maintenance easier and operating costs lower.
For real-time tracking and monitoring of the entire production line, each line is equipped with the SitePilot Line Diagnostics digital monitoring service.

Article 39161 — Thumbs up for a successful project between Junlebao and Krones. Image credits: Junlebao Dairy Group

“We deeply appreciated the professionalism of Krones China’s sales, project management and service teams during the entire process. The equipment configuration of the whole line is of a very high standard, particularly the aseptic blow-molder and filler, the inspection system, the self-adhesive labeler, and the conveyor motors which are built to an efficiency-class of IE5, guaranteeing efficiency and low energy consumption along the entire line. Throughout the project, the Krones team kept in close communication with us for technical clarification, equipment installation and commissioning, adjusted the schedule in time, effectively shortened the project time and optimized the validation procedure, which enabled us to start commercial production ahead of schedule. We will continue to regard Krones as a reliable business partner and service provider,” says Mr. Liu, Project manager at Junlebao Dairy Group.