Better Than New – Retrofitting Makes it Possible

Amcor is a leading global provider of consumer-friendly packaging solutions that protect everyday products, from food and medicines to personal care and household goods. Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Amcor employs around 27,000 people in 43 countries.

Amcor Flexibles Singen GmbH, with its foil rolling mills and finishing facilities, is a central production site within the group and specializes in high-quality finished aluminum-based packaging materials and technical foils for the pharmaceutical, food, automotive, furniture, and energy industries.

The business relationship between Amcor Flexibles Singen and KRIKO dates back to the founding of KRIKO Engineering GmbH 35 years ago. KRIKO has implemented innovative drive and automation solutions in many areas of aluminum production:

• in rolling mills
• in the production and separation of aluminum strips,
• in the control of annealing furnaces
• in foil winders, where foils with a thickness of just a few micrometers are processed.

The Challenge – Increasing Susceptibility to Faults and Outdated Drive Technology

The extrusion and laminating line used at Amcor Flexibles Singen had been in operation for many years and had only been partially modernized. As the line aged, faults became more frequent, spare parts were harder to obtain, and maintenance became increasingly complex.

Five of the eleven controllers, as well as numerous analog and digital power converters and frequency converters from various manufacturers, had to be replaced. The goal was to ensure plant availability and control quality for future requirements—all within a tight time frame over the Christmas period.

The Requirements for KRIKO – Modernization during ongoing Operations and High Flexibility

Amcor Flexibles Singen had high requirements for the modernization: 

• Replacement of outdated drive technology with modern, digital systems 
• Integration of existing auxiliary units (e.g. dryer control, layer thickness and web edge measurement) into the new automation system
• Improvement of operability through new graphical interfaces and an operating station with recipe management
• Maintenance of flexibility for changing material combinations and production requirementsImplementation within a defined time frame

The KRIKO Solution – Comprehensive Retrofit with Standard Components

KRIKO, a long-standing partner of Amcor, took on the complete modernization of the plant – from hardware and software engineering to commissioning.

The measures included:

• Replacement of 21 drives with digital current and frequency converters
• Integration of all interfaces to existing systems into a new automation platform
• Use of a fail-safe CPU to implement safety-related monitoring and emergency stop circuits
• Redesign of all operating and control panels
• Conversion of the analog temperature control of the furnaces to software-based control loops
• Integration of a modern recipe management system to simplify operation

The plant to be modernized is one of the most flexible production facilities at Amcor Flexibles Singen. Different materials in various widths and thicknesses can be processed here to produce a wide range of composite packaging materials. Depending on the product, this results in different material paths that place varying demands on the drive control and regulation – without compromising on control quality, accuracy, and reproducibility. KRIKO was able to meet the high requirements without special technology assemblies or control modules in the drives, using its own drive modules and standard control and drive components.

The practical suitability of these drive modules has been proven in many plants based on SIMATIC S7 or PCS7. Users benefit because they can access familiar assemblies and software tools from the SIMATIC world for service and maintenance. The Amcor and KRIKO teams had a four-week timeframe to convert and commission the system. Under KRIKO's direction, the automation components in the existing control cabinets were replaced on site. Drives were delivered in new cabinets or converted in existing cabinets, all control panels and consoles were replaced, bus cabling was renewed, and the system was put into operation. The challenge was met: Production started on schedule! The feedback from everyone involved: “Better than new.” A great success for Amcor – and confirmation of KRIKO's capabilities.