5.9 grams - The extremely low weight of the Shoulderflex bottle was the deciding factor for this year’s jury of the German Packaging Prize in the “Sustainability” category. That is because the Shoulderflex makes a crucial contribution towards reducing the carbon footprint of water bottlers by yielding material savings of up to 50 per cent compared to conventional 0.5-litre water bottles on the market.

Krones’ revolutionary bottle design can be used to make containers that are sustainable and weigh very little, but its advantages are also apparent during the bottle production and processing stages. The bottles have excellent stackability even without the stabilising effect of nitrogen pressurisation, with a filled topload of up to 40 kilograms. “One of the key messages in Krones’ vision is the responsible use of packaging materials. And that includes developing sustainable packaging solutions that are not only resource-economical but also practicable. Shoulderflex meets those requirements in full,” explain Martin Loistl and Jochen Forsthövel, both members of the development team. “Despite the smaller amounts of PET needed to produce them, these containers are in no way inferior to conventional bottles currently on the market as far as stability and convenience are concerned.”