Nampak Closures Ups its Game with a New Production Line

The line is dubbed the ‘007 (appropriately its line number) High-Speed Wine Screw Cap Line’ and for good reason.

Oct 21 2011 --- Nampak Closures Epping, officially unveiled its new R14 million wine closure production line in Cape Town. The new line is currently being used to produce 30mm x 60mm screw caps for the wine industry, and is capable of at least doubling Nampak Closures’ capacity.

The line is a combination of machinery from two leading international suppliers, PackSys Global (PSG) and Alfons Haar. It presses flat sheet aluminium into 30mm x 60mm shells, before rolling and wadding them.

The line is dubbed the ‘007 (appropriately its line number) High-Speed Wine Screw Cap Line’ and for good reason. “This is the fastest known 30mm x 60mm line worldwide; at full capacity it can produce up to 700 closures per minute and will drastically increase our speed to market,” says Derek Coleman, Manufacturing Director, Nampak Closures Epping.

“The South African wine market is hugely competitive and the swing from cork to screw caps is still in a growth phase. Speed to market in this competitive landscape is key and very important to our customers, and that’s a major benefit offered by our new line,” says Barry Erasmus, Sales and Marketing Director, Nampak Closures Epping.

Barry explains that the market can be unpredictable, as demand changes constantly and it is difficult for customers to provide accurate forecasts early on. This leads to a customer base that cannot always order as early as it would like, but still needs short lead times with a fast turnaround. “It is this responsiveness, speed and added capacity that Nampak Closures intends to further improve upon with the new line,” says Barry.

“We certainly aim to be the preferred supplier in this industry. We are customer driven, it’s our philosophy and we strive to continuously improve going forward. With this latest investment we are making that clear,” adds Barry.

Nampak Closures’ customers produce many favourite wine brands for both local consumption and export. Customers who will benefit from this line include leading players in the wine industry, namely Distell, DGB, Accolade SA, Edward Snell & Co, Robertson’s Winery, Neil Ellis, Home of Origin, Spier Wines and La Motte to mention but a “few”.