A Romanian beverage producer has succeeded in making significant energy savings by installing a blow moulding system from Sidel.
The Sidel SBO10 Universal 2eco blow moulder was installed at Rio Bucovina's facility in Vatra Dornei and has slashed the company's energy consumption by as much as 47 per cent.
Sidel
The drinks manufacturer also teamed up with the Sidel Services packaging team to create a stylish new bottle design for its still water.
Through developing the new design - which included adopting the international 29/25 short-neck bottle standard across the range of sizes - the weight of the bottles was reduced by some 45 per cent. Rio Bucovina is now producing the lightest bottles in the Romanian market.
A 22-year partnership
Rio Bucovina is a major player in the Romanian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) market and is in the top three producers of natural mineral water. The company produces a wide array of beverages and foodstuffs at its two production sites. This includes the bottling of Bucovina still and carbonated natural mineral water and the production of La Vitta branded water in addition to numerous soft drinks and energy drinks.
Rio Bucovina has long been a customer of Sidel - a leading provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging - to whom the company first turned in 1993, when it purchased two Sidel SBO16 blow moulders. One was installed at the bottling plant in Vatra Dornei in the Carpathian Mountains in north-east Romania, for the production of both still and sparkling water. The second Sidel SBO16 blow moulder was purchased for bottling soft drinks at the Rio Bucovina plant in Timisoara in western Romania.
Following the success of these projects and the trust built between both companies over more than 20 years, Rio Bucovina has recently acquired another Sidel blow moulder for its Vatra Dornei plant, choosing the SBO10 Universal 2eco for its flexibility and its reliability, coupled with
the technical support that the company knew Sidel was capable of providing.
Cristian Serban, Business Development Director of Rio Bucovina, said: "Having worked with the company for over 20 years now, we know the good work we can expect from Sidel. The SBO Universal 2eco, along with its Ecoven, has substantially cut costs for us, reducing the new line’s energy consumption by 47 per cent when compared to other blow moulders we might have chosen."
The Ecoven technology requires fewer heating modules and lamps, with the preform-heating time reduced by up to 15 per cent. Power consumption of the ovens is therefore substantially decreased and the use of installed power lowered. As well as providing a wide process window, the Ecoven's large heating reserve and fast heating ensures there is no slow-down in production, whatever kind of preform is used. It also delivers excellent heat treatment precision, which ensures identical bottle characteristics and quality. Rio Bucovina also benefits from the air consumption reduction of the SBO Universal 2eco range due to improved efficiency in the air circuits, integrated cylinders, solenoid and flow limiters. This equates to additional savings in production costs.
Market-leading design
Rio Bucovina also launched redesigned Bucovina bottles, characterised by their very modern and elegant approach.
Compared to the previous bottles, the attractive new designs weigh considerably less – 31.5 grams compared to 43 grams for 2 litre bottles; 24 grams compared to 39 grams for 1.5 litre bottles; and 12 grams compared to 22 grams for 0.5 litre bottles.
"The Sidel packaging design team listened to our branding needs for the new bottles and implemented our goals in the final shapes," said Serban. "Most importantly, they worked with us to optimise the lightweighting opportunity available to us. As a result, the stylish new bottles that the team optimised for us, which reflects everything we asked of Sidel, are the lightest bottles in the Romanian market – with a significant weight reduction of some 45 per cent. The installation of the Sidel SB010 Universal 2eco has enabled us to move to the 29/25 standard – with the direct result of achieving the lightweighting benefits. This has naturally led to a more environmentally friendly production process, as well as substantial savings."
In Romania, bottled water is in demand. Domestic manufacturers - most of whom have been supplying the country with bottled mineral water for decades - dominate the market through tradition, brand recognition and affordable pricing.
Sales of water have been undergoing an annual growth of around 5 per cent over the past two years, which has mainly seen the consolidation of leading brands. This moderate growth is the result of penetration into households of all income levels. Although carbonated water has a larger, established consumer base, still bottled water has moved ahead in terms of volume growth over the past couple of years. However, the decrease in Romanian consumer spending power has led to their growing acceptance of cheaper water.
By introducing the Sidel blow moulder, Rio Bucovina is in an excellent position to build on its already strong position in this market with a lightweight, modern and attractive bottle produced through a blowing process which is more environmentally friendly.
