The new line from Sidel, the leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging, will allow the Caribbean bottler to boost production by an anticipated 40%, as well as minimise total cost of ownership (TCO) and increase sustainability.
Growing smart
Blue Waters Products is the preferred brand of bottled purified drinking water in the Caribbean. Starting from small beginnings in 1999 in Trinidad and Tobago, the company has grown at a fast pace over the last 16 years to become a dominant force in the marketplace.
Currently, the company has more than 500 employees in the 23,200 square metre plant in Trinidad, with 100 employees in the 3,700 square metre St. Lucia plant, and continues to expand by making smart partnership choices. For example, earlier this year, Blue Waters Products collaborated with Sidel to add a highly efficient complete line to its modern Orange Grove facility in Trinidad, where purified artesian water is bottled for distribution throughout the Caribbean. By increasing operating capacity, Blue Waters Products aims to better serve existing customers, improve cost efficiencies, add new products, and enter additional markets.
Partnering for the long run
After collaborating successfully with Sidel in the past on a smaller project, Blue Waters Products decided to invest again in Sidel's innovative technology by adding a dedicated line for still water. The new complete line reaches a speed of 48,000 bottles per hour (bph) - a high rate compared to local standards - and consists of a Sidel Matrix™ Combi, a Sidel Rollquattro Evolution labeller, as well as end of line equipment (shrink wrappers and palletiser).
"During the due diligence process for this project, we thoroughly evaluated several equipment manufacturers' offerings, and Sidel was the natural choice because of their PET expertise and their innovative solutions for water lines. The high-speed complete line solution we chose is simple, reliable, and economical, and it will allow us to increase our capacity and improve our sustainability while lowering our production costs," said Dominic Hadeed, owner and Managing Director of the company. "Having already experienced Sidel's outstanding customer service, I am also looking forward to continuing the collaboration with their talented and dedicated team of professionals. I never cease to be amazed by their staff's responsiveness and personal commitment to a job well done."
Selecting the optimal solution
Once the installation of the new Sidel water line is complete, Blue Waters Products estimates plant capacity will increase by 40%, allowing them to expand their presence in the Caribbean.
"We chose to invest in Sidel's complete line solution in order to keep abreast with a constantly evolving marketplace," said Hadeed. "Quick changeovers and minimal maintenance requirements are vital to maximising production uptime and efficiency when working with multiple beverage products on the same line. The technology is easy to learn compared to that of other suppliers, and the lower TCO will enable us to stay competitive in a challenging market."
Taking advantage of innovative technology
The Sidel Matrix Combi brings together all the benefits of Sidel's blowing and filling innovations in a seamlessly integrated blow-fill-cap solution that is compact, flexible, efficient and sustainable. It also reduces total operational costs by up to 12% compared to traditional lines.
The Sidel Matrix Combi also occupies up to 30% less floor space compared with traditional equipment and gives producers more design freedom to differentiate their beverages while enabling bottle lightweighting at high speeds. As it has one simple control interface, it requires only one operator. Due to faster changeovers and minimal maintenance needs, the Sidel Matrix Combi also significantly increases production uptime and reduces operating costs compared to traditional lines.
Sidel's Rollquattro Evolution labeller uses proven roll-fed technology to speed up accurate label application while reducing operating and maintenance costs, and increasing the sustainability of the labelling process. The Rollquattro Evolution has a compact footprint, offers easy access to the labelling station, and can be installed in various configurations. It can run up to 60,000 bph and it works mainly with wrap-around plastic labels on PET containers of up to 2.5 litres and diameters ranging from 53 mm to 110 mm.
Headed for a more sustainable future
Technological innovation and line efficiency were not the only considerations in choosing the supplier for this expansion project. Sidel's PET expertise and commitment to sustainability were also important factors in selecting a partner for Blue Waters Products.
"Although we already have one of the smallest environmental footprints in our marketplace, our company is looking to further improve its sustainability by optimising bottle design and lowering resource consumption," said Hadeed. "Besides allowing us to use less raw materials by producing high-quality lightweight bottles, the Sidel Matrix Combi will also help us decrease our consumption of air, water, chemicals and energy, while the Sidel Rollquattro Evolution will allow us to use thinner labels and will help minimise our energy and glue consumption."
Sidel is dedicated to PET bottling solutions and its tailored production systems cater for beverage producers' exact needs, are simple, sustainable, efficient, reliable and easily adaptable to future technology. For more information about Sidel's complete line solutions, please visit www.sidel.com/equipment.