The Hoegaarden 24x0.25 L bottle crate

At Brau Beviale fair, end of November in Berlin, Schoeller Allibert displayed very innovative beverage packaging solutions: the Hoegaarden 24X0,25L bottle crate, unique as it can take bottle but also cardboard bottle packs of 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 bottles. A moving base system based on steel spring allows such flexibility. Premiere for three innovative beverage crates at the BrauBeviale trade fair.

Schoeller Allibert introduced to the drinks industry the extremely variable Hoegaarden 24 x 0.25 l bottle crate, the appealing Vöslauer split crate (8 x 1 l) and the remarkable Adelholzener crate (12 x 0.75 l)

Berlin, 26. November 2014 - At the BrauBeviale fair trade 2014, which took place from 11. to 13. November in Nuremberg, Germany, Schoeller Allibert showcased, among other things, three product innovations developed by the company for the beverage industry. "These beverage crates meet fully and in equal measure the most demanding requirements of the industry, those of the trade business and those of end customers," states Frank Reininghaus, Beverage Sales Manager at Schoeller Allibert. As one of the world's leading companies for returnable plastic packaging with branches in all five continents, Schoeller Allibert presented these and other complex solutions to a broad professional audience at its 150 m² stand. With around 37,000 trade visitors, this year BrauBeviale welcomed 4,000 more visitors compared to the previous year. "This year, BrauBeviale was the most important trade fair for investment goods for the drinks industry," stated the trade fair company in its closing message. The BrauBeviale's leading motto was: "Creative beer culture". "With our product innovations, we were very well prepared for the BrauBeviale 2014. In fact, with our new beverage crates we have managed to capture the customer's core demand for more variability," summarises Frank Reininghaus.

With more than 50 years of experience in the production of plastic products and in the development of smart returnable packaging solutions, the company's primary aim is to ensure that its products live up to the highest standards throughout the entire supply chain. The three beverage crates showcased at the trade fair gave Schoeller Allibert another opportunity to prove how talented the company is at developing innovations. Here is a short product description:

Innovation number 1 – The Hoegaarden 24 x 0.25 l bottle crate

The Tilo Hoegaarden 24 x 0.25 l bottle crate stood at the centre of Schoeller Allibert's stand. What sets apart this crate from other products is its variability. This crate offers the opportunity to store many kinds of cardboard containers: in fact, it can contain 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 bottle packs. This bottle crate is thus in tune with the constant consumers' tendency to ask for increasingly smaller packaging units, due to the new demographic trends. At the same time, it is ideal for those many consumers who use the same crate to store different kinds of beer. This sort of flexibility is obtained thanks to a double timber-framed insert placed at the bottom of the crate. It is mounted on two anti-rust steel springs and pushed down during packaging. After removing the cardboard carrier, the double bottom moves upwards to a medium height. It can then be loaded with 0.25 l single bottles, which do not come into contact with each other. In this way, the empty single bottles placed in the crate remain stable and firmly stowed, so that they can be transported back to the brewery undamaged. At the same time, they have the position required for the automatized handling procedures of breweries. On its sides, the Hoegaarden bottle crate is coated with in-mould foils, which give it an elegant, photo-realistic shape. Only fully recyclable materials are used.

Innovation number 2 – The Vöslauer split crate (8 x 1 l)

The Vöslauer split crate (8 x 1 l) is the first split crate on the Austrian market. It is characterised by an attractive design and by the fact that it can be easily split. As it can be effortlessly divided into two parts, this beverage crate offers improved transport and storage conditions for the end user. This innovation developed by Schoeller Allibert is suitable for households of all sizes, ranging from families to one-person households. In this respect, the growing number of modern urban consumers and the target group of seniors should be especially emphasised. For the beverage industry, a particularly important aspect is the fact that the elegant design of this secondary packaging is structured in such a way that it showcases the primary packaging in an optimal manner. This is why this bottle crate is so attractive to the mineral water industry that markets brand-name products.

Innovation number 3 – The Adelholzener crate (12 x 0.75 l)

The Adelholzener crate (12 x 0.75 l) stands out from the crowd thanks to its noticeable, beautiful two-component design, with a blue base body and a silver mountain shape. However, in addition to its convincing brand presence, this crate also offers logistically relevant advantages: It is possible to stack four crates onto each other, which means that it is possible to place 1 more pallet per storage space compared to the previous crates, while at the same time better exploiting the loading capacity of lorries.

Schoeller Allibert's final remark on the BrauBeviale 2014 edition was: "To us, it was important to introduce to a wide audience of professional visitors our product innovations for the beverage industry. BrauBeviale was the ideal platform to accomplish this goal. The great feedback gained by both our innovations and our standard solutions confirms our business philosophy: we develop innovative plastic packaging systems."