Rapid launch of a new 1l bottle on a Guinean line
Braguinée is a family-owned company and part of Gaselia Group. It opened its plant in 2018 in Conakry, capital of Guinea. Braguinée is one of the top three players on the Guinean CSD market with growing demand for its products. Its best-known products are “Planet”, available in six flavours, “Bubble Up”, in three flavours, and “American Cola”. It also manufactures other beverages such as energy drinks, juices and bottled water.
As Gaselia Group had already experienced successful collaboration with Sidel since 2009, Braguinée once again turned to its trusted partner to align with market demand. The company was previously producing beverages in small, on-the-go formats (300ml and 350ml) and needed to adapt its production for home consumption with a larger format (1l).
With travel restrictions due to Covid and to ensure a fast launch of the new 1l bottle, line tuning was carried out remotely thanks to Sidel Remote Video Assistance and Remote Access solutions. The complete packaging line with a Combi SF300 for CSD, installed in 2018, can now manage not only on-the-go formats but also 1l bottles for three of its flagship brands (“Planet”, “Bubble Up” and “American Cola”) with high efficiency, running at 22,000bph.
The main objective of the intervention by Sidel experts was to empower Braguinée’s employees with in-depth equipment expertise to ensure a safe and efficient line adjustment to the new format. To do so, an international team of high-level Sidel experts from Pakistan, Italy, Portugal and the United Arab Emirates were mobilised to ensure flawless line conversion. Remote collaboration, continuous availability of Sidel experts, accurate and clear communication between both parties as well as specific documentation facilitated the successful installation of the new equipment parts required to run the new 1l bottle format.
Line tuning for the new format involved a combination of complementary digital remote solutions: Remote Video Assistance (RVA) and Remote Access to customer equipment. Braguinée’s team could successfully check all mechanical aspects: correct installation and adjustment of parts, validation of machine operations, and optimisation of line efficiency. In addition to live chat and drawing-over functionalities, the video-supported Augmented Reality feature accurately guided the customer. With Sidel’s expert hands showing the movements and pointing to details in real time on the equipment, seamless exchanges were possible. This resulted in Sidel experts having complete situational awareness and in accurate corresponding actions from the customer’s operators. Also, during line adaptation, Sidel experts checked all settings and set the correct ones for the new format to ensure its quality and maintain optimal line efficiency.
