Page 56 - ETP-April-May2020

PACKAGING

we were able to solve the ject. “Today, we are very
problems as they arose satisfied with the location
quickly and safely with of the machines in each of
Sidel’s assistance.” Another the areas, with the general
advantage of working with positioning of operators,
Sidel that Quilmes rec- handling of supplies and
ognised early on was the access to places where
technical support service, spare parts are stored.”
both from Field Service Quilmes’ teams were
Engineers (FSE) and from pleasantly surprised by the
remote. In case of any need efficiency levels reached by
or emergency, this service the line. “We are working
provides assistance from a at an average of 95 percent
FSE 24 hours a day. Alternatively, palletising solutions, since they guar- efficiency and, sometimes, the line
support personnel can remotely con- antee the integrity of our products, even runs for many hours at 100
nect to the machine and recommend so that they reach consumers intact,” percent. Because of the way the line
the best solution. “We used it several he highlights. was designed, it is perfectly balanced
times, and it helped us to keep pro- Quilmes operates as a PepsiCo to ensure reliability. It is also very
duction running successfully.” bottler and, therefore, a new line important to mention that, despite
validation must involve a specific ap- the difficulties, this efficiency was
Production reliability and proval protocol. Prior to the launch reached very quickly during start-
flexibility of the industrial production on the up. At present, with the 500 ml con-
The hot-fill bottling line is charac- line, there was a validation stage for tainer, we are working at 45,000 bph
terised by its excellent production all the different containers in Sidel’s with 95 percent efficiency,” Juan José
flexibility. “It has the capability of packaging labs in France. According Ferrer summarises.
hot-filling isotonic drinks, juices to the Plant Manager, “the individ- This line includes the plant’s
and products with or without pulp. ual validation of each of our Gato- first Sidel Combi blow-filler, which
Additionally, this line is also able to rade bottles was executed according provides many advantages in line
cold-fill, in order to offer consum- to PepsiCo’s specifications, which with Quilmes’ commitment to the
ers a wider variety of products,” he enabled production of the moulds. protection of the environment. The
says. Today, Gatorade is produced Due to PepsiCo’s requirements, Combi consumes less energy than
in a number of flavours and sizes: during the first packaging runs, we the blower they used to have, thus
500 ml, 750 ml, 1200 ml and, more complied with a quality protocol re- eliminating, for example, the air
recently, 300 ml, with either flat garding line efficiency and the num- transfer of bottles. In addition, it
or sports caps. As for labelling, the ber of marketable bottles during the prevents the exposure of containers
new solution enables the placement process. Every step was carried out to the elements during air transfer,
of partial sleeves on just one part of successfully.” which improves product quality.
The Economic Times POLYMERS | April-May 2020
the bottle or full-body sleeves on the Fewer people are needed to man
whole bottle, providing several mar- Respect for the the machines during day-to-day op-
keting opportunities to stand out on environment and 100 erations. This leads to more effective
supermarket shelves. percent efficiency use of operators and enables them
“As for the flexibility provided by After defining the purchasing specifi- to focus on other maintenance and
our production line, we also have the cations for the line, Quilmes worked quality tasks. This is why Quilmes
possibility of handling several pack with Sidel’s technical and project selected the Combi.
options, such as 6-packs, 12-packs or teams to find an ideal layout and Additionally, environmental
24-packs.” When it comes to the pal- location for the machines, which protection is a very important topic
letising of hot-fill products in PET optimised staff ergonomics and the for Quilmes. “In terms of energy,
containers, quality is a very impor- travel time between the different the line offers a thermal equilibrium
tant matter and must be guaranteed. control stations, as well as the sup- system enabling us to reuse the heat
“To face the long transport distances ply of consumables. All details for provided by the hot bottle in the
on often challenging roads, palletis- line start-up were reviewed, again in cooler for the first heating stage of
ing must be precise, reliable and very collaboration with the Sidel team, to the liquid before the pasteuriser.”
stable. We are very happy with Sidel’s achieve the best results for this pro- Source: Sidel

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