Because the Sidel Combi equipment is fully integrated, it can guarantee hygiene levels that surpass all other technologies. For this reason, many clients have turned to the Combi to fill dairy products, from fresh to UHT milk.

Filling, using net weight or flow meter technology, takes place with absolutely no contact between bottle and filling valve. Depending on specific requirements, various options for preform or bottle decontamination, type of environment and degree of machine sanitation can all be tailored to the product. For this reason, the Sidel Combi is suitable for all products requiring very hygienic environments, yet it simultaneously reduces resource and operating costs.

The advent of the Sidel Combi has been a major contributing factor to simplified production line design and lower costs.

Hygiene under control before, during and after production (equipment varies by version and options)

• Cleaning and sanitation of product circuits.
• Automatic cleaning and sanitation of machine surfaces.
• Air flow protection (pressurized or laminar air flow) of filling-capping circuit. Enclosure’s size can be reduced by 80 percent, which doubles the rate of air recovery and minimizes energy consumption.
• Stainless steel construction and sloped walls of the frame keep liquid from pooling.
• Aseptic production conditions possible for the most highly sensitive applications thanks to pressurized preform hopper, preforms grasped by neck exterior, sterile oven air, and laminar air flow at preform entry and bottle exit. Preform decontamination using H2O2 at Combi entrance or PAA and sterile water bottle decontamination, PAA cap sterilization or UV rays for aluminum closures.

• Possible vacuum dedusting or decontamination of caps.

  
  
  

Bottle lightweighting

• New opportunities for more shapes and bottle lightweighting at very high speeds thanks to positive transfer of bottles between blowing and filling.
• Bottle lightweighting made possible by Sidel’s preform design expertise (raw material = 65 to 80 percent of total cost of an empty package).

• Thinner preform walls combined with total process control generate significant savings in energy needs for thermal preform conditioning and lower blowing pressure.

  
  
  

Operating costs reduced (results vary based on machine and other equipment)

• Overall efficiency improved 2 to 4 percent thanks to synchronized blowing and filling, fully reliable positive bottle transfer and fewer pieces of equipment.
• Energy consumption cut by up to 5 percent.
• Rinsing water eliminated.

• Less maintenance (parts and labor).

  
  
  

Fewer operators, streamlined maintenance

• Greater accessibility enables operators to see all production functions for easier servicing.
• Ergonomic design means the Combi can be operated by a single operator from a single station.

• Faster servicing time during production and quicker maintenance times compared to lines with conveyors, accumulators and/or silos.

  
  
  

Bottle quality

• Great looking bottles are protected from scratches and dents.

• Neck quality protected with by-the-neck transfers from preform to capped bottle.

  
  
  

Compact installation (varies by layout)

• Total footprint is 15 to 30 percent smaller compared to traditional lines due to the elimination of air conveying between blowing and filling.

  
  
  

Work station ergonomics

• Start-up and operation of the Combi are handled from a single operator station.
• At the control station, all information and alarms for production tracking, from preform infeed to bottle capping, are located together.

• When not in production, the blowing and filling parts of the equipment remain separate for format changeovers and easy, quick maintenance.

  
  
  

Format and product changeovers easier than ever

• Quick format changeovers possible thanks to fewer customized parts that are all quick change. For example, to switch from a 1.5 L bottle to a 0.5 L bottle on a Combi for a 36,000-bph-production rate, format changeover time is only one hour for two operators.
• Recipes automatically handle format and product changeover settings including preform infeed, oven, blowing process, filling volume and cap feeding.
• Highly versatile production can switch from one beverage to another quickly with quick product changeover, a shorter CIP time thanks to simplified cleaning of the filling valves, and automatic surface cleaning.

Special features:

• 3 log or 6 log decontamination, dry decontamination of preforms or PAA decontamination of bottles.
• Built-in CIP/SIP (depending on machine model).
• Automatic cleaning and sterilization of machine surfaces (COP/SOP).
• Improved cap infeed guarantees efficiency.
• Dust removal or decontamination (3 or 6 Log) of screw caps, UV sterilization of aluminum closures.
• Other options available depending on customer configuration