Zanlorenzi is opting for aseptic bottling

It was 130 years ago that the Zanlorenzi family emigrated from Italy to Brazil – and brought their passion for good wines with them. In 1942, the son set up a small wine merchant business: today, the company Famiglia Zanlorenzi produces around 20 million litres of wine a year, and thus serves about 8.5 per cent of the Brazilian market.

From grape juice to a broad juice portfolio

It was Managing Director Giorgeo Zanlorenzi, representing the third generation, who in 2009 came up with the idea of bottling fruit juices – thanks to the scientific realisation that grape juice has a similarly beneficial effect on human health to wine. Only that grape juice contains no alcohol, of course, and thus appeals to a different, larger target group. Fortunately, even back then the family firm was already operating, among others, two Krones lines each rated at 14,000 containers per hour. So in terms of technology, expanding the portfolio did not entail any substantial outlay.

The demand on the market vindicated this decision: in the first year, the group was already selling 200,000 litres of grape juice. In 2014, it expanded its portfolio to include apple juice. In the autumn of 2015, Giorgeo Zanlorenzi then decided to invest in a PET line.

Product-friendly bottling

Since the family firm had already been more than satisfied with its two Krones glass lines dating from 1999 and 2004, and relations with Krones’ staff in Brazil and Germany had evolved into a real partnership, the decision to place the order with Krones again was an easy one. “Since we’ve been operating Krones block technology here successfully ever since 1999, the block solution for the PET containers was highly acceptable,” says Technical Director Mateus Poggere.

Clear communication

The line began operation in April 2017, to coincide with the company’s 75^th anniversary. For the modularised labellers, the company ordered three different station systems. “We are aiming to significantly expand our product portfolio by 2020. The various options we now have for labelling render us flexible for the future,” says Mateus Poggere. He is also convinced of the collaboration with Krones:

The installation of the line was a brilliant learning experience for me. The Contipure technology is rather sophisticated, of course, but thanks to the responsively relevant briefings from Krones we mastered the change-over really well. Mateus Poggere

"The communication was open and Krones’ staff proved to be very flexible. All in all, Krones delivered what they promised. That’s not something you should ever take for granted."

Foundation for further growth

The new line has upsized the firm’s bottling capacity for fruit juice to what is now 40 million litres a year. For Giorgeo Zanlorenzi, this is a solid foundation for further growth. Because the company is now able to offer the juices bottled in PET containers at a price about 30 per cent lower than in glass bottles. So demand from consumers is rising too, since they’re getting an excellent product for less money. But the cold-aseptic process has also improved the quality. For example, the heat-holding time for pasteurisation is now a mere 20 seconds, instead of the previous two minutes required when using the hotfill process. This means the juices taste as if they’d been freshly squeezed.