GEA has completed the acquisition of Vipoll, a Slovenian manufacturer of filling technologies for soft drinks, beer and fresh milk products.
The deal means GEA will be able to fill beverages that do not require sterile processing into glass bottles, can and plastic containers.
GEA said it is investing in filling expertise as glass and cans become increasingly important in the face of global climate protection goals.
Vipoll supplies mainly filling machines and components for beverage processing lines, including pasteurisers, mixers, carbonating and capping systems, as well as conveyor and bottle cleaning technologies.
The company is currently constructing complete lines for beverage processing, which it plans to distribute to breweries, wineries and soft drink specialists in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia.
Paddy Kenna of GEA said: “We are pleased to include Vipoll in our corporate family. The company specialises in glass and can filling systems with low and mid processing speeds, fitting precisely the requirements of our customers.
“Breweries in particular, with their high demand for glass bottles, can benefit from the fact that we now support them throughout their entire production process from brewing to bottling and storage. That is an ideal fit to our Brewery 4.0 concept.”
For GEA, filling is one of the key technologies in the beverage industry, which increasingly demands more flexibility and efficiency in the highly competitive market.
Kenna added: “Customers are increasingly converting from conventional batch production to continuous production, which we need to consider as a process planner.
“As a technology leader, GEA aspires to shape market developments rather than just react to them. Together with Vipoll, we can now offer our customers the added value of highly flexible, multifunctional beverage lines that can rapidly switch between bottle, can and PET filling.”
Vipoll managing director said: “We fit perfectly into GEA’s product range and complement the filling expertise for key customer groups. In addition, we share our consistent customer focus and ambition to develop technologically leading solutions for the beverage industry. With GEA’s large sales and service network, we can also penetrate regions where we have had little or no activity so far.”
Source: FoodBev
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