PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2010

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 28 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 10/10 www.petpla.net 1980: Sidel goes with PET. The first SBO was sold to an English customer in the United Kingdom for carbon- ated beverage. 1984: the first SBO high speed PET machine sold in the United States. Sidel’s American saga starts here. 1986: Sidel, with 120 SBOs in 80 countries, goes global.. Solutions for hot-fill and pasteurisable bottles were invented. The fastest SBO 40 (26,000 bph) crossed the Atlantic for delivery to SouthEastern Containers in 1989. Several innovative steps driven by Sidel: automation by computer management and control, first jars in PET, preferential heating, quick change, double-cavity for small capacity containers. At the same time (1995) the SBO 48/38 blows 50,000 small bottles for Pepsi in USA (24 moulds, 48 blow mould cavities and 38 oven modules resulting in 14 bottles/second). 1997: A new concept combining blow-moulding and filling. A technology without conveyors, compact, clean and economical. This is start of the Combi range. 1999: Actis, the internal plasma coating technology for carbonated, oxygen-sensitive drinks bottled in PET. 2005: A new generation of blow moulders with the SBO Universal range. 2006: Release of the high-speed range. SBO 34 runs at a speed of 61,200bph. 2007: Predis for preform sterilisation. An innovative dry decontamination system for preforms, using hydro- gen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) for the packaging of sensitive products. 2009: Sidel sells the 5,000th machine and promises:“ The adventure continues”. In 2001 PETplanet Top Talk spoke to Francis Olivier, the president of Sidel at that time, who said: “Innovation is perhaps my added value to the company.” He was CEO from 1972. He led the company until 2001, through the dark years of changing ownership into a phase of innova- tive design and development. “Every year I say to myself and my people: you have to have new ideas”, he is quoted in the interview. “Even knowledge and experience should not work against inno- vation. And as my first believe is innovation, I will quit in time.” Which he did at the age of 60 in 2001, when Tetra Laval was bidding for Sidel and Sidel went through a period of 2 years of standstill and stagnation awaiting European approval of the take-over. In 2003 the European Com- mission allowed the acquisition to go through. Euphoria returned to Le Havre under the leadership and with the capital of Tetra Laval. In 2005 Simonazzi, the prominent Italian maker of filling machines was acquired, making Sidel one of the three major global blowing/filling line suppliers. Simonazzi was able to add considerable experience and references of filling machines for beer to the enlarged Sidel group. In 2009 – with markets in depression – Sidel suffered losses, as did all the big players. There is a moder- ately optimistic outlook at Sidel for 2010. Recovery of the markets is essential for all, but especially for those whose first priority is customer service, because all those activities which are designed to ease life for the customer must be paid for by the supply of machinery. “There are good indicators that we are on track in 2010, despite the present downturn in economy and business”, we were told. That situation affects all of us, but some more and some less, including market leading Sidel. Product and production The Sidel group, with all of its own and/or acquired locations world wide, designs, manufactures, assembles, supplies and sells complete packaging lines for liquid food in three main categories: glass bottles, plastic and cans. In Le Havre the manufacturing focus is on the tradi- tional business of stretch blow moulds and SBO blowers, with options such as Actis coating and Predis dry decon- tamination for Combi equipment. Sidel’s customer base in France is between 100 and 120 companies with about 400 systems installed, making Sidel the market leader. IMD Ltd. Switzerland / www.imdvista.ch Swiss Made … more than a VISION SYSTEM _ Complete System Solution _ INOX Line (all in stainless steel) _ Vision System with COLOR cameras _ Self-learn functions _ Inline for 100% inspection _ Easy & fast product change _ Very compact Closure Testing Preform Testing