One-Stop Line Conversion Service Enhances Bottlers’ Market Responsiveness

Sidel not only provides central project management for line conversion, but also assists customers in designing bottles for new products. Both strengths were in demand at the Norwegian bottler Isklar.

6/3/2011 --- Whether it’s lightweighting bottles or launching a new product before the high season, the stakes are similar. The new products have to reach the market at the right time and under the best conditions with regards to both production and distribution. Consequently, bottlers face the challenge to adapt their lines as quickly and efficiently as possible. Sidel supports its customers in their efforts with centralized project management, not only as an original equipment manufacturer, but also as a package designer. With this integrated approach, Sidel guarantees bottlers immediate equipment efficiency, short times to market and low costs for optimal Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).

Usually, customers have one of three reasons for converting their beverage packaging lines – lightweighting, format or design change as well as product change. Project management is a key factor in performing the necessary line adaptations successfully. Sidel’s experienced senior project managers help bottlers to ensure optimized and secured conversion of their line. Their profound engineering knowledge enables them to take all industrial considerations into account to prepare the production line in advance and to determine the exact parts that need to be adapted. This centralized project management helps bottlers to ensure that their products are released on time.

Shorter necks – significant savings
As raw materials account for 70 to 80 percent of a bottle’s price, lightweighting preforms and caps along with shorter necks can lead to substantial savings in weight and costs. In addition, these benefits come with a quick return on invest¬ment and a smaller carbon footprint, factors that are increasingly important for customers’ purchase decisions. This is why more and more bottlers worldwide adapt their lines accordingly.

Last year, Sidel helped its customer Zywiec Zdroj, a Polish water brand of the French food and mineral water, Danone, to switch their lines to short necks. After a close analysis of various contractors, Zywiec Zdroj decided that Sidel could best suit their needs for quality, reactivity and close support during implementation. The order concerned two lines at their northern plant in Miroslawiec. Sidel guaranteed intimate partnership during the whole process. And only four days of stoppage for each line was necessary for the short-neck conversion. “This project proceeded in a very positive way, especially in terms of coordination and support from Sidel”, states Mr. Grzegorz Krzak, Buyer at Zywiec Zdroj.

Quick launch of new product
Sidel not only provides central project management for line conversion, but also assists customers in designing bottles for new products. Both strengths were in demand at the Norwegian bottler Isklar. The company decided to launch a sparkling water for several reasons: to tap a huge market potential, to better meet the needs of the gastronomy industry, and to address individual customers who increasingly prefer sparkling water over still water.

Isklar had to completely redesign the sparkling water bottle as it had to withstand the pressure after adding carbonation. Sidel supported Isklar’s design engineers in this effort and helped to create a bottle that still had the brand-specific facets, but was stable enough to contain sparkling water. Another mission-critical aspect of the project was a tight time frame. The new product had to be launched before the trade’s shelf review which is when wholesalers perform major changes in their assortments and planograms. Although an optical detection system had to be installed for the first time ever in a high speed PET line, Sidel managed to finish the line conversion within only two weeks of complete stoppage. Thus, Sidel put Isklar in a position to launch the new sparkling water as scheduled. “In many markets, the trade has shelf review dates, meaning that if you fail to launch within that date, you can miss the full year. In Norway, the trade’s shelf review date is the 1st of February which is when they do the major changes in their assortment and planograms. If you are late for that date, it is more difficult to get into the trade later in the year. We had a tight schedule in order to meet that date, but Sidel succeeded. Isklar officially confirmed its intention at the end of July. It was required that the first bottles were produced by December due to a scheduled taste panel to finalize the carbonation level of the product. That target was achieved and we were very pleased with that. We have to credit Sidel for staying on the project’s schedule”, states Helge G. Valeur, Chief Operating Officer at Isklar.

With all line conversions, Sidel’s experts guarantee the technical validation of the project, its feasibility and its industrialization. Every project can rely on centralized, comprehensive project management with a single contact person, in-depth knowledge of installed equipment and packaging, complete analysis of the line, short times to market and low costs for optimal TCO. Finally, there is the guarantee of quality, with original spare parts and installation by Sidel experts for immediate equipment efficiency.