Galactika Group stands out in the Russian dairy market with Tetra Top packaging and Tetra PlantMaster automation

07 Feb 2012

As one of the largest producers in Russia’s highly competitive dairy industry, Galactika Group is continually challenged not only to operate efficiently and produce high-quality products, but to find new ways to attract customers. Doing so requires a complex mix of production efficiency, product quality, consumer safety and convenience, and appealing packaging and branding. To bring all these factors together, Galactika looked to Tetra Pak.

Galactika Group is a modern Russian success story, producing a wide range of milk, sour milk and yogurt products, including the popular Bolshaya Kruzhka, Milk Time, Tom and Jerry and Sudarynya brands. Over 1,000 employees deliver high-quality products that are sold in more than 8,000 retail and wholesale companies in Russia and range of CIS countries.

Standing still is not an option for Galactika; the company is focused on expanding sales and its product portfolio, supported by investments in new technology. In 2008, Galactika opened a state-of-the-art, 2 billion rouble facility in Gatchina, in the Leningrad region of western Russia. With plans to grow the plant from its current 420 tonnes of raw milk per day to over 800 tonnes, the plant includes the latest processing and packaging technologies. It is among the first companies in Europe to adopt Tetra Pak’s Tetra PlantMaster™ automation solution, which combines optimum efficiency with uncompromising quality and safety.

Processing - for efficiency, quality and safety

Tetra PlantMaster automates the entire production process, from the moment raw ingredients come into the factory to the moment the finished product leaves it. Tetra PlantMaster gives Galactika complete control, providing real-time information about the volume of product being processed, the number of packages produced, the efficiency of specific machines and overall production performance.

Tetra PlantMaster allows Galactika to:

Identify the best suppliers and combination of ingredients, building in consistency
Assess and replicate optimum efficiency by ensuring best use of raw materials, cutting product loss, lowering energy consumption and reducing unplanned stops
Use the data collected to identify, isolate and solve potential problems rapidly, contributing to food safety

Today, the only manual process left in the factory is the physical attachment of the hose used to fill milk tankers — just 40 employees per shift are needed to run the entire operation, cutting down on the potential for human error.

“This plant sets a high standard for the Russian dairy industry,” said Anatoly Sirotinin, CEO Galactika. “The complete automation of production made possible by Tetra PlantMaster is a serious step forward. Thanks to Tetra Pak’s new technological solutions, this new facility will supply Russian consumers with high-quality dairy products for many years to come.”

Packaging - convenience and differentiation

As consumers lead ever-busier lives, packaging convenience can influence their purchasing decisions. So, in addition to its investment in high-tech processing solutions, Galactika sets its products apart with innovative packaging.

Galactika has chosen Tetra Pak’s Tetra Top® packaging solution for its pasteurized and sour milk products. Tetra Top is a roll-fed packaging solution with a carton sleeve and an injection moulded top, which is sealed, to the package, in a single process. It offers many advantages, including bottle-style convenience, rounded corners for good grip, One Step Opening (OSO) re-closable caps with wider openings — ideal for easy pouring of thicker products — and the positive environmental profile of a wood-fibre based package. With a 100 per cent printable carton sleeve, it also brings new marketing design options over packaging alternatives.

“We decided to switch to Tetra Top in 2008 because it has the shape, convenience and safety features that appeal to consumers and the branding opportunities, production flexibility and efficiency that we need,” said Anatoly Sirotinin. “It’s a solution that drives both profitability and consumer trust, which favours the expansion of our product range.”

Galactika is taking advantage of the flexibility of the Tetra Top range, selling premium, vitamin-enriched sour milk and whey-based beverages in 200, 250, 330, 500 and 750 ml packages. This allows them to target products at specific audiences and expand the product portfolio. Tetra Top also played an important role in the major rebranding of the company’s Bolshaya Kruzhka drinking yoghurt range in 2010.

The decision is paying off: Products in Tetra Top packages constitute about 20 per cent of the company’s overall sales volume. The Bolshaya Kruzhka brand sales volume has grown between 70 and 80per cent in just two years, with almost half of it sold in Tetra Top package.

Galactika uses the TT/3 XH IC (Extended Hygiene & Integrated Capping) filling line for Tetra Top-packaged products. It applies OSO caps inside the machine, reducing floor-space requirements by up to 20 per cent. It also brings flexibility, simultaneously filling different products and delivering a 9,000 package per hour two-line filling capacity.

Partnership with Tetra Pak has notched up a number of notable technological achievements for Galactika: it was one of the first companies in Russia to invest in the TT/3 XH IC; delivered the world’s first Tetra Pak Carton Bottle Mini 250 ml packaging format; and installed the first OSO system in the country.

Galactika’s integrated approach to the latest Tetra Pak processing and packaging solutions is central to its growth strategy. “We are investing in Tetra Pak solutions because they deliver what we need to compete effectively in today’s markets,” said Anatoly Sirotinin. “Tetra Pak’s innovation, cooperation and originality bring us quality, efficiency and differentiation.”

Source: Tetra Pak