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The new accumulation solution also had to be able to cover a wide range of outputs from 27,000 to 45,000 bottles per hour and provide extensive buffer capacity from 3 to 5 minutes of net accumulation to secure the overall line efficiency.
Taking into account the great number of products to handle, Sidel proposed the largest model of the Gebo AQFlex range at that time. To address the versatility of the line, Gebo AQFlex was a perfect choice, offering new level of flexibility due to the single-lane, contactless and smooth handling of the products. Moreover, this flexibility will provide the customer with great freedom in creating attractive packaging designs with different shapes in the future. Additionally, another key buying factor was its compactness, offering greater accumulation/space ratio compared to traditional systems and enabling an easy integration into a limited space area, which was the case at the Orangina Suntory France site.
Gebo AQFlex convinces Orangina Suntory France in especially organised test
As the accumulation solution was quite new on the market and was based on a breakthrough design, Orangina Suntory France called for evidence. Accordingly, delegations with experts from France and Japan were invited to a three-day factory acceptance test at Sidel. After the first day, which also turned out to be the closing one, everyone was highly convinced that the capacity of Gebo AQFlex was absolutely meeting the demanding requirements of the packaging line in Orangina Suntory France’s site in Meyzieu.
Swanny Goussanou, Project Manager at Sidel, reflects upon the successful experience: “The all-in-one, compact design perfectly handled all nine formats fully respecting fragile and lightweight containers due to its smooth, contact-free single-lane product handling.” During the test, international experts also experienced the user-friendliness of the equipment in real life: “Gebo AQFlex is quite easy to use as it offers simple and automatic changeovers with just a few clicks on the Human Machine Interface (HMI) and minor mechanical interventions on the infeed and outfeed conveyors,” summarizes Hubert Couppey. As a result, such ergonomics help Orangina Suntory France save operator time.
Easy and efficient installation with the help of a ‘twin’ solution
Considering that this large model size was installed for the first time, it implied a high-level quality of collaboration between Sidel and Orangina Suntory France teams. To handle the unit’s modifications and start-up, a twin solution was set up at Sidel’s site. For fast troubleshooting a remote access was opened taking control of the Gebo AQFlex installed in Meyzieu site.
Gebo AQFlex at Orangina Suntory France was successfully installed in September 2018. As of today, the solution is running at a high-efficiency level of 99,5%. The proven performance of Gebo AQFlex and the overall success of the project led to an order and installation of another Gebo AQFlex at Orangina Suntory France’s site in Donnery, and further orders of two units in Nagano, Japan.
[1] Source: Orangina Suntory website
