Filling Lines – Filling Modules

ESL filling modules

GEA’s range of volumetric electronic filling modules for extended shelf-life (ESL) beverages into PET or HDPE bottles offer high levels of hygiene and safety.

The GEA filling modules for ESL applications offer high levels of hygiene and safety

The GEA filling modules for ESL applications offer high levels of hygiene and safety

Any kind of still, sensitive beverage intended for cold-chain distribution can be filled, including high acid, low acid, with and without pulps, fibers and pieces.

The key feature of GEA’s ESL fillers is hygienic filling within a controlled environment, combined with excellent performance in terms of speed, accuracy and flexibility.

The fillers are enclosed in an ultraclean environment that is maintained during production with overpressure sterile air.

GEA ESL fillers are manufactured according to a “scrap-free” design that minimizes product wastage during start-up, product changeover and shutdown.

Clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-based (SIP) sterilization procedures enable the reliable and accurate control of the entire system.

The GEA ESL fillers are available for PET and HDPE containers and have either a hygienic, washable capper for plastic closures or a fully integrated rotary turret to apply aluminum foil lids.

Benefits:

  • HEPA filters supply sterile air to the ultraclean environment to secure hygienic conditions during production
  • The “scrap-free” design minimizes product loss during product changeover 
  • Quick and easy bottle format changeover 

Fillstar DX

The Fillstar DX filling module for sensitive, extended shelf-life (ESL) beverages and liquid dairy drinks into PET or HDPE bottles meets stringent hygiene standards. The Fillstar DX fully drainable filling module has been designed specifically for the filling of high or low acid still products.When filling sensitive products, it’s often necessary to combine the highest hygiene levels with optimum efficiency and performance. To meet this need, GEA offer the Fillstar DX with a scrap-free design.
Hygienic design for sensitive products

The Fillstar DX has a tank located just above the filling valves — making it fully drainable, with no stagnation points — and features a special product recovery duct under the filling nozzles.

This configuration ensures that the system minimizes product wastage during the start-up cycle, changeover and at the end of production.

The volumetric valve enables contact-free filling to prevent potential recontamination, and further benefits from a double filling speed to optimize filling accuracy.

The filling and capping carousels are housed inside a hygienic and confined environment that’s supplied with an overpressure sterile air flow.

Fillstar DX modules facilitate fast format changeovers of any container with the same neck design.

The system is equipped with automatic dummy bottles for closed-loop CIP and SIP functionality.

The Fillstar DX is paired with the GEA H2O2-based decontamination system Whitebloc ESL. 

Fillstar DX Aero

The Fillstar DX Aero filling module is suitable for sensitive and liquid dairy cold-chain distribution products, with a shelf life depending on thermal process and acidity. Targeting frequent product changeover applications and small batch production runs, the GEA Fillstar DX Aero is designed for low and medium speed outputs.
Detail of the Fillstar DX Aero filling module, targeting frequent product changeover applications and small batch production runs.

Detail of the Fillstar DX Aero filling module, targeting frequent product changeover applications and small batch production runs.

Product filling occurs in a hygienic cabin featuring a top-down laminar flow of sterile air to maintain a slight overpressure. This ensures a clean and protected environment.

The GEA Fillstar DX Aero filling module can be equipped with a load cell (weight filling) or flow meter (volumetric filling) to meet the various requirements of the liquid dairy product market.

Thanks to an efficient recovery system, product waste is minimal during the start-up cycle, at the end of production and during changeover.

Suitable for fast changeover operations, the GEA Fillstar DX Aero can either integrate customer cleaning fluids usage or accommodate an embedded cleaning processunit integrated in the compact layout.

The Fillstar DX Aero is paired with the GEA H2O2-based decontamination system Whitebloc Aero.

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