French preforms, bottles, rPET and roads
We reach the region around Volvic on Thursday, one day before our appointment with the world-renowned water bottler located there. Our chosen campsite is just ten minutes away from the Volvic factory.
The search for a decent coffee proves challenging but in the village itself, around a kilometre and a half away, we finally strike gold. Otherwise, there’s not a lot on offer here at the moment, but after all the driving, it does us good to stretch our legs and write an email or two outside the Editourmobil.Just like the last few days, it’s very warm. The heatwave has southern Europe in its clutches, although it’s not as hot here as it is in Spain.
It’s Friday and we are on the way to water bottler Volvic. The company belongs to Danone and the site is every bit as huge as expected. We’re received by Project Manager Michael De Macedo, who leads us via a small exhibition on the company’s history through the production halls and shows us the highly automated bottle production.
In the PET segment, Volvic relies on technologies from KHS, Krones, Sidel and SMI, among others. We also see inspection units from tour sponsor Pressco and a preforming area, where Husky HyPETs are used. A grinder from Herbold is also spotted.
The bottles have different proportions of recyclate. The largest is an 8l container introduced in 2019 and made from 100% rPET. The packing and palletising of the different containers is completely automated, for example using the latest in robotics and downstream equipment from the company Bema.
After the meeting and a photo in front of the Editourmobil, Heike and I continue on to preform manufacturer and recycler SGT/SGR. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to visit the main factory in Nantes and report back on it. But now, on this tour, we want to view the newer second factory, which is located in Chalon-sur-Saone.
Alongside preform production on Husky HyPETs with the SGR name, rPET has been being produced here since 2018. This is exclusively for inhouse needs and is made using Sortex and Polymetrix systems from the Bühler group, as well as equipment from Sesotec and Erema.
Factory Manager Jean-Marc Wiencek and his team take us through the factory. The high-end recycling system with dual sorting is particularly impressive.
After the appointment, we continue in a north-westerly direction to the town of Malesherbes to the south of Paris. Awaiting us here is our competition in preforming, PDG Plastiques.
The appointment with Director Francois Defretier is scheduled for the following day. After a typical night for us on a nearby campsite, we meet him onsite, accompanied by an old acquaintance from the sector – Philippe Blonda, who has since taken responsibility for Business Development at PDG.
A total of 20 Netstal machines are here, generating a wide range of different preforms for a huge range of applications, including overmoulded preforms for milk bottles. After an interesting discussion, we all move to a nearby restaurant for some delicious food (again, many thanks for the invitation), before we take our places once more in the cab of the Editourmobil and head for Germany.
The plan is to take two travelling days for the almost 700km to Heidelberg, where we intend to park the Editourmobil for the next assignment. Our interim stop that evening is at a campsite in Verdun. The search for a supermarket close to the motorway and en route turns out to be tricky. Either there are almost none, or those we find are already closed or no longer accessible during opening hours. C’est la vie, as they say here. So we’ll have to see where we can get some dinner. Even the route planning for the last 30km seems as though the “intelligence” part of the “AI” in Google Maps has gone astray, as we’re directed along tiny streets past remote farmhouses to the campsite.
For a long time, we’ve been the only vehicle on the road. And when we finally arrive at the campsite, we find that the entrance is a great deal too small for us. But on the opposite side of the street – miracle of miracles – is the “Chalet Gourmand”, a somewhat overinflated name for a snack bar, but it serves fresh, hot meals and even wine. We don’t need to be told that twice! And the situation with the small entrance is rectified after a conversation between Heike and the campsite operator; further along the street, there’s a broad second entrance. Hurrah! So we finally end up alongside other travellers and a field full of horses that gently but definitely whinny us to sleep late in the evening.
Thursday, the last tour day, has arrived and we are on our way to Heidelberg. The journey takes us via Saarbrucken towards the PETplanet office. After crossing the Rhine valley, we finally reach the city in the afternoon.
I’ve not been here since I moved to Vienna a year and a half ago. After Heike and I have packed up our suitcases, it’s time to say our goodbyes to this adventure for the present.
Now, because of holiday time and drinktec preparations, there’s a short, enforced rest, before we set off again.
So from time to time, keep an eye out for us on our website, in PETplanet Insider, on the motorways of Europe and of course at Drinktec itself. Our trade fair stand is in Hall C5, Stand 136.
There, we’ll be showcasing the tour, the companies interviewed so far and the highlights of the project.
Until then, all the best and enjoy the rest of the summer!
Stay tuned!
Kay Barton, Editor
