February, 15, 2012 - An independent brewery in Russia has placed an order for new lightweight, recyclable beverage containers made by Petainer, the specialist plastics packaging technology business.

Petainer Kegs manufactured in PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) are being supplied to Lipetsk Pivo which has the world’s largest plastic Petainer Keg filling line at its brewery in the city of Lipetsk, 400 km south west of Moscow.

The privately-owned Lipetsk Pivo is one of the first major brewers in Russia to switch to using the innovative, environmentally-friendly kegs. They are delivered to the plant as preforms which are blown to full size, filled, packed and then palletised on the first fully-integrated automatic plastic keg line.

Vyacheslav Markov, general director of the Lipetsk Pivo brewery, said: “We know and welcome the advantages of filling and selling our beer in Petainer plastic kegs. We are looking forward to hearing what our customers feel about the new packaging.”

The brewery uses equipment from KHS which designed the automatic filling line specifically for the new Petainer Kegs. Production could reach up to two million kegs annually.

The early indications from the trade and consumers are extremely good. As a result, the company plans to develop its share of the keg beer market by increasing production at Lipetsk Pivo.

Lipetsk Pivo produces over one million hectolitres of beer a year. It has a reputation for good quality beer which is sold at competitive prices by the company’s own sales team.

Petainer Kegs are available in four sizes – 15, 20, 30 and 40 litres. Designed for one-way use, the containers have low-cost Micro Matic-compatible fittings which allow them to be connected to existing standard tapping systems for draught beer.

Compared with metal containers, Petainer Kegs offer substantial benefits to breweries, fillers and other users including low transport costs (especially when the kegs are delivered as preforms), easy recycling and lower environmental impacts.

Nigel Pritchard, group chief executive of Petainer, said: “These containers are a significant breakthrough in the sales and marketing of volume beer. We are delighted that Lipetsk Pivo is leading the way in recognising the undoubted benefits of using the revolutionary new Petainer Keg.

“Providing a simple yet compelling solution, the impact of using environmentally-friendly PET kegs is substantial. They offer our customers major benefits including lower costs, better cash flow and substantial improvements to their environmental performance.”

KHS is an international manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for beverage, food and non-food industries and works in partnership with Petainer to deliver keg products to new customers.

Felix Wagner, head of the competence centre keg technology at KHS, said: “As the market leader in keg technology, we are delighted to work with Petainer and Lipetsk Pivo on this first large-scale application of the Petainer Keg.

“The environmental, economic and handling benefits of these lightweight containers, combined with the KHS keg solutions and technology, provide a compelling business and marketing case for our customers.”

Unlike metal kegs and other plastic formats, Petainer Kegs can be supplied either as complete, ready-to-fill containers, or as preforms, which are blown to full size on or near the site where they are required.
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