The ShoulderFlex bottle, weighing only 5.9 grams, has received the prestigious German Packaging Prize in the “Sustainability” category, highlighting its remarkable lightweight design.
ShoulderFlex plays a vital role in reducing the carbon footprint of water bottlers, as it enables material savings of up to 50 percent compared to conventional 0.5-litre water bottles available in the market.
Krones, a leading innovator in bottle design (Krones’ website), has developed a solution that combines sustainability and low weight, providing significant advantages throughout the bottle production and processing stages. These bottles exhibit excellent stackability, even without the need for nitrogen pressurization, as they can withstand a filled topload of up to 40 kilograms.
The development team, comprising Martin Loistl and Jochen Forsthövel, emphasizes that Krones’ vision embraces the responsible use of packaging materials. Their commitment includes the development of resource-efficient and practical packaging solutions, fully realized in the case of ShoulderFlex.
“Despite using smaller amounts of PET for production, these containers maintain the same level of stability and convenience as conventional bottles available in the market,” claim the team.
