Serac launches its ceiling suspended PET filler ‘Canopy’, in Europe. Development of the machinery started three years ago, when Serac set about creating a new product focusing on limited floor space, flexibility and value.

The new machine is most notably different from other lines in that it is the first to be suspended from the ceiling. This, claims the company, means that it will occupy less than half the factory space than traditional models. It also makes access easier for cleaning and maintenance. A total of six patents have been registered for the machine. It was 35 years ago that Serac was the first company to introduce weight controlled filling technology and one of the six innovations moves away from this, for measuring the accuracy of the fill.

As part of the goal to maximise floor space, Canopy will be the first filler to use data from both the weight and flow metering, thus doing away with the need for ‘tearing’ equipment. Tearing is the time (and space) consuming task of weighing the empty bottle in order to calibrate the weight sensitive nozzles.

“Simplicity is where we’re looking,” Serat’s sales director in the UK, Michel Titera, told BeverageDaily.com. “And, space is premium for manufacturers.” He says that the equipment is competitively priced, well below other flow-meter models.

The Canopy can be equipped with an 810 mm carrousel with 27 filling nozzles maximum rate of 18,000 1 litre containers per hour. Dosage takes place with no contact between the nozzle and the bottle, using a laminar jet to avoid splashing.

As bottles are neck suspended, the machine is only compatible with PET bottles – but they can be of almost any shape and can be pre-labelled, without incurring any risk of damage to the label. Serac is currently in negotiation with a blow-moulder manufacturer to provide compatibility with a line of bottle blowing equipment.

Serac will be at the Interpack trade fair at Dusseldorf from April 21 to 27th. Mr Titera is confident that interest in the model, especially among water bottlers, will be big.