Drinktec 2025 live: Krones highlights new tunnel pasteurizer for cans

At the ongoing Drinktec trade show in Munich, Germany, Packaging Insights speaks to Niels Clausen, technical product manager at Krones, about the company’s LinaFlex eSync pasteurizer. Krones released this canning solution in August.

Clausen explains that the machine stands out because, instead of traditional mass transport belts, this solution runs a single-lane conveying into the pasteurizer and a single-lane out. He adds that the buffer is no longer on the conveyors but integrated directly into the pasteurizer.

“In the past, the cans were driven from the filler, from the simmer, driving straight into the pasteurizer. We needed a lot of pressure to get them in,” says Clausen.

He adds that depending on the layout, the conveyors can be up to 6 meters wide, which requires significant dynamic pressure to keep the filler running and fill the pasteurizer belt.

“Now it’s very easy because we drive the cans only in one lane, make just one transfer, and then go straight into the pasteurizer. It works along with the gravity, speed directions, and belt directions. This way, we decrease the pressure on them from 15 kg to 5 kg.”

Niels Clausen, technical product manager at Krones.“The second big solution is on our main belt. Normally, we have a lot of spray nozzles over it, creating the warm-up zones, the pasteurization zones, and the cooling zones, with an additional separate cooling zone available as an option. What’s new here is the pasteurization units control, which allows us to adjust the speed factor from 25% to 100%.”

The LinaFlex eSync finishes the treatment quickly, leaving more time for cooling. 

“We have more time to cool down the cans. We come in with a filling temperature of around 10 degrees Celsius, and we go out with 30–35 degrees Celsius,” explains Clausen.

Central dynamic line buffer

Krones’ new LinaFlex eSync line’s wet section buffer is positioned in a redesigned tunnel pasteurizer. This buffer belt is said to run faster than the pasteurizer, which creates more space. “The extra space can be used for two buffer areas, one above the other.” 

Clausen explains that the ratio of the speed of both belts determines the buffer fill level. “We normally run the buffer belt about ten times faster than the conveyor in the pasteurizer, thus occupying about ten percent of the buffer area during nominal operation. If it runs slower, the buffer fills up.”

According to Krones, if the filler’s performance is reduced, the pasteurizer and buffer react dynamically to the changed conditions and stabilize the system at the new performance level. 

“The integrated Speed Control system ensures energy-efficient adjustment of the line speed. Disruptions in the downstream area, for example, at the packer, can be effectively cushioned by a significantly increased buffer capacity in a compact space,” Clausen details.

Krones presents its canning solution at Drinktec 2025.“There are three options: one, two, or three meters. And with a three-meter buffer, we can achieve up to ten minutes of buffer time. With a one-meter buffer, depending on the line speed and the model you choose from us, you can achieve about two to three minutes of buffer capacity.”

Line size variety 

Clausen tells us that Krones has different line sizes in addition to the ones exhibited at Drinktec 2025.

“We have some smaller ones for speeds up to 30,000 cans per hour. These are our MiniFlex pasteurizers. Then we got our LinaFlex pasteurizers, which are from 3 to nearly 6 meters,” he shares.

“We have single-deck pasteurizers or double-deck set pasteurizers. The single-deck one operates on one level, the double-decker on two levels.”

He explains that the total length depends on the required treatment, but typically they can be up to 20 meters long.

Discussing the cans’ weight and how it can potentially be reduced even further, Clausen once again highlights the benefits of single-lane operations and the integrated buffer, which means that the cans put much less pressure. He says that this treatment paves the way for a thinner, lighter can to be “perfected.”

With live reporting from Natalie Schwertheim at Drinktec 2025