Since the war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, prices for electricity, gas and oil have risen sharply. The situation on the energy markets remains tense and the high costs represent a major financial burden for consumers and industry. Alternative solutions are increasingly in demand in order to secure supplies in the long term and economically. This is where KHS comes in with its conversion packages for shrink tunnels. The Dortmund-based specialist for filling and packaging systems offers its customers the opportunity to convert existing machines to different energy sources.

"The sharp rise in energy prices has caused massive uncertainty in the beverage industry. Our customers - especially in Europe - are very concerned about the security of supply of natural gas and electricity. They are looking for solutions that will enable them to secure the energy supply for their machinery economically and in the long term. Every bottler has different requirements and challenges. We therefore work closely with our customers to develop specific solutions that are optimised to meet their current and future needs."

Bernd PaulsManager for Service Sales Support, KHS

For this purpose KHS has a comprehensive toolbox of conversion options. Using shrink tunnels as an example, Pauls explains the flexible options: "Our customers can opt for a conversion from one energy source to another - or from one energy source to another. for example, from natural gas to electricity or liquid gas - decide. There is also the option of switching the system between two types of gas or flexibly converting to electricity. Conversion back to gas supply can in turn be carried out independently as required." As a result the dependence on one energy source is significantly reducedat the same time, security of supply would increase. 

The conversion options differ greatly in terms of type and complexity. "Some are carried out once by our experts, others are conversions with reversible conversion options," explains Pauls. The conversions are available for almost all existing shrink tunnels and are carried out by specially trained KHS experts. As a rule, there are no changes to machine operation for the operating personnel. The changeover for reversible conversions is carried out by the customer either digitally as a selector switch in the HMI in just a few minutes or by replacing the module within a few hours. "Of course, the customer technicians for the module replacement are trained in detail by our specialist colleagues," says Pauls.