Sidel's First Complete Line Equipped with a Combi Predis in Germany for Bottling Tea in Aseptic PET at Hauser

Sidel has just obtained final technical acceptance of the first aseptic PET complete line in Germany, equipped with a Combi Predis for dry decontamination of preforms. Since June, the line has been up and running at the Hauser plant for flavored teas in lightweight 0.5 and 1.5 liter bottles.

Oct 25 2010 --- Hauser Weinimport GmbH is specialized in vermouth, liqueurs, wine-based drinks and, more ecently, fruit juices and flavored teas, which were previously packaged in glass and cartons. In 2009, this family-run company decided to innovate by adopting PET as the packaging material for its range of flavored teas (“Eis Tee”): “Our objective is to remain on the market and to give our customers a comprehensive offer,” explains Hauser. To package its teas in the 0.5 and 1.5 liter formats, which are filled without preservatives and sold at room temperature with a shelf life of about one year, the company wanted an aseptic solution that ensures product sterility, without altering its organoleptic and microbiological characteristics. In the end, it opted for Sidel’s Combi Predis FMa: a real technological breakthrough.

The Combi Predis guarantees 100% decontamination of the preforms with hydrogen peroxide vapor (H2O2), which means that there is no water consumption and minimal chemical use. With 100% sterile bottles. TCO (total cost of ownership) optimization and the environmental benefits of Predis also played an important role in Hauser’s choice. “The choice of Predis wasn’t very difficult to make,” says Hauser. “By decontaminating preforms with H2O2, we chose to use a system that has been well established for several years. From an economical point of view, dry decontamination technology, when compared with conventional technology, significantly lowers costs related to chemical and water consumption, as well as decreases waste water. Predis is truly unique and much simpler than traditional aseptic solutions.”

Since the PET field is new to Hauser, packaging studies and development were an important phase of this project. Sidel provided its support in terms of design and technical characteristics for containers (e.g. stability) as well as for the selection of preforms.
The Combi technology, which combines blowing, filling and capping functions for PET bottles in one machine, along with Predis dry decontamination of preforms, offers Hauser many preform lightweighting possibilities, while also ensuring complete freedom for bottle shapes: just 15 g for 0.5 liter bottles and 29 g for the 1.5 liter format. Package lightweighting is made possible by preform decontamination and the absence of conveyors between the blow molder and the filler.