With 45 years of experience in hot filling and over 1,000 pieces of equipment for hot fill packaging installed worldwide, sidel is highlighting how beverage producers can safely handle sensitive and n
13 October 2016
13/10/2016
Sidel ensures beverage safety with tailoredPET packaging solutions to provide a complete top quality,cost-efficient and sustainable production.
The annual market growth of 6%[1] for the consumption of sensitive drinks such asjuices, nectars, still drinks, isotonics and teas presentssignificant business development opportunities for beverageproducers worldwide. The popularity of packaging solutions usingPET Hot Fill technology continues to rise in this field. Sidelleads this development with a complete Hot Fill solution thatexpands packaging opportunities. The company's packaging engineersand designers are dedicated to developing attractive andsustainable PET bottles to differentiate beverages on thesupermarket shelf. Using the most advanced technical and fullyintegrated solutions, Sidel is able to ensure detailed control andtransparency throughout the whole process. Complemented by ongoingtailored services, producers are able to meet changing consumerneeds and market requirements.
Integrated efficient production for hot filledbeverages
Fully integrated and flexible, Sidel PET Hot Fillpackaging solutions provide reliable and safe production. By takinga holistic view of the production cycle and line performance, Sideloptimises uptime and operating costs. Focusing on the specificfeatures of the customer's packaged beverage, Sidel's solutionsemploy the processing equipment and capabilities from Tetra PakProcessing Systems, to ensure processing and filling systems areseamlessly combined to reduce downtime, consumption and costs.Based on control and regulation systems, producers can increaseperformance and make more informed decisions, ensuring optimumhygiene, efficiency and safety throughout the supply chain.
Pioneer in top quality PET HR bottles
Gabriele Gatti, Sidel Filling Product Manager, comments -"Today, juices, still drinks and teas constitute the fastestgrowing segment of the beverage industry. PET packaging - alreadythe material of choice for 40%[2] of these beverage types and still growing inpopularity - is an attractive and sustainable way for sensitivebeverages distributed at ambient temperature." Combined withaseptic or hot filling production, PET can ensure beverageproducts' safety across their shelf life. In terms of Hot Fill, thetemperature of the beverage heating process is as high as 80-92°Cwhich is above the normal thermal resistance of conventional PETbottles. "This requires specific packaging and equipment to allowPET to resist to hot filling temperature. In 1986, Sidel pioneeredthe heat-resistant (HR) stretch blow moulding process to allow PETbottles to withstand these high temperatures, since when thecompany has driven PET's transformation into the flexible packagingsolution it is today."
Enhanced design freedom for lightweighted HRPET bottle
Sidel's global packaging capabilities,including PET bottle design, combined with its expertise in hotfill production, provide the means to produce bottles that are bothresistant and attractive. Today, from designing the preform all theway to the blowing process, the company undertakes a singularapproach to achieve HR PET bottles of the highest quality. Sidelhas significantly reduced the weight of HR bottles while retainingtheir durability and increasing the bottle design opportunities.This latter achievement is due to the elimination of vacuum panels- previously a design necessity to absorb the variations in volumethat the HR bottle and contents undergo passing from hot to coldconditions, and also to the innovative and efficient electricalmould heating and accurate material distribution. As a result, thedistinctive bottle shapes stand out on the supermarket shelves -and consistently deliver a great consumer experience.
Responsive mould heating combined with accurateblowing
Sidel's latest model for HR bottle production - the SidelMatrix™ eHR blower - adds yet another innovative dimension to thecompany's hot fill solutions. Traditionally, PET bottles for hotfilling are produced via the heat-resistant stretch blow mouldingprocess at 120°/140°C - a temperature usually attained by circuitsof hot oil. By using electricity instead to heat the mould for thePET bottle body, the Sidel Matrix eHR blower enhances operatorsafety preventing hazards caused by oil leakages, such asoperators' slipping and product contamination. Probes are directlylocated in each mould shell to regulate the temperature as closelyas possible to the PET bottle as it is formed. The process is veryresponsive, heating at a rate three times quicker than by oil,accurately providing the correct temperatures immediately from thevery first bottles produced. This results in a blowing processwhich is uniform between blowing stations, ensuring high bottlequality and consistent performance in the hands of the consumer,even at outputs of up to 2,000 bottles per hour per mould.
Compared with Sidel blowers that used traditional heating withoil, this innovative electrical mould heating and the proven SidelMatrix blower technologies offer together energy savings of up to45%. A further saving of 25% can be achieved with Sidel MatrixEcoven, which uses infrared lamps with ceramic instead of metalreflectors. A reduction by up to 45% of air consumption is possibleby implementing Sidel's air recovery option, AirEco2.
Highest standards of hygiene andoperational reliability
To meet the production demands of sensitive and naturalbeverages, the Sidel Matrix™ hot filler - SF700 FM offers thehighest standards of hygiene and operational reliability duringfilling. It can be used for a variety of sensitive beverages, withor without pulps. Beverages containing particles up to 10 x 10 x10mm can also be handled with a double stage filling. It issuitable for PET bottle sizes ranging from 200ml to 3 litres.Operating at production rates ranging from 6,000 to 60,000 bph, itfeatures electronic filling valves equipped with individual flowmeters that ensure precise filling volumes while minimising productwastage. Its operation of contactless filling - where there is nocontact between the filling valve and the bottle neck - optimisesproduct safety throughout the whole process. Additionally, byintegrating the very best of the electrical HR blowing and hotfilling technologies in one single controlled productionenvironment, the Sidel Matrix Combi Hot Fill eliminates conveyingand allows hygiene and food safety to be maintained.
Safe, effective and sustainable processenvironment
Once the beverage is filled and the bottle capped, beveragesafety and consistency are ensured by sterilising the head-spaceand cap with the Sidel cap steriliser. It controls this process bytilting the bottle at a precise angle, temperature and contacttime. This step puts all internal surfaces and air space in contactwith the hot beverage, eliminating microorganisms and extendingproduct shelf life. Sidel's cooling system cools the product whileavoiding thermal stress and preserving organoleptic properties,taste and colour, for a great consumer experience. The modularcooling configuration can be easily upgraded to match theproduction needs of today and tomorrow. Additionally, the advancedengineering allows a precise sizing of the cooler with a 20%reduced footprint and minimal water consumption compared withtraditional solutions. Line integration with Tetra Pak ProcessingSystems can also lead to energy savings of up to 45% by recovering,for example, warm water from the cooler for pre-heating at thepasteuriser.
Optimising uptime and operating costs
Taking this holistic view of the production cycle and lineperformance, Sidel helps producers optimise operating costs andreach the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). Sidel Services™offers a tailored portfolio of maintenance, line improvement,training, spare parts and logistics, line conversion and moulds andpackaging services to help maintain, regain and even improveperformance throughout the line's lifetime. In this way, bypartnering with the company producers get the benefit of havingeverything centred around a single, reliable global supplier.Gabriele Gatti comments: "Once the productivity and performancetargets of a line are reached, we believe that the minimum goalshould be to maintain and even improve these levels over the comingyears. As new technologies and solutions are developed, Sideloffers existing line owners options and upgrades to ensure thatexisting equipment does not get left behind." Having staff trainedon new procedures and emerging methodologies to enhance theirperformance can also improve production by turning costly downtimeinto profitable uptime.
