PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2011

BOTTLING / FILLING 28 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 10/11 www.petpla.net Refriso Bebidas increases its PET capacities The many flavours of Brazil Brazil is the third largest market in the world for consumption of carbonated soft drinks, helped also by its warm climate. One of the main players in this enormous “business” is located in Sorocaba, a town close to San Paolo in Brazil, where the company Refriso Bebi- das has its headquarters. To increase the capacity of the 2l- bottle PET line, the Brazilian company recently purchased from SMI a stretch-blow moulder and a shrinkwrapper which are able to reach production speeds of 18,000bph and 35 packs per minute. The majority of carbonated soft drinks brands produced in Brazil has, as their basic ingredient, a fruit, seed or extract deriving from locally-grown plants. In fact, in this large South Ameri- can country, there is an exceptional variety of fruits, a large amount of which are used in the industrial pro- duction of fruit juices and carbonated soft drinks. Just think of guarana- based drinks, which are made from a seed grown in the Amazon forest, whose consumption in Brazil exceeds that of cola-based drinks.* Refriso Bebidas occupies a strong position among carbonated soft drinks manufacturers in Latin America. The company has been able to seize market opportunities and meet the growing demand for soft drinks which has been witnessed in Brazil in recent years. Faced with an increasingly demanding market, Refriso has man- aged to diversify its product portfo- lio, which now includes numerous brands of carbonated soft drinks, colas, energy drinks, fruit juices and other beverages. The “Bacana” brand is among the most successful of the Brazilian company and includes car- bonated soft drinks in several differ- ent flavours (cola, cola light, guarana, lemon, Tutti Frutti and grape, to name just a few). Other product brands offer an equally broad range of beverages with the flavours of cola, guarana, grape, pineapple, etc. Production technology The Refriso production system is completely automated and enables rapid transitions from one container to another and one pack configuration to another. To enhance production of the 2-l PET bottles, for bottling prod- ucts under the “Bacana” brand, Refriso Bebidas turned to the techni- cal expertise of SMI, opting for a 10 cavity stretch-blow moulder from the Smiform SR series; for end of line packaging, the Brazilian company chose an Smiflexi LSK 35F shrink- wrapper, which packs 2-l PET bottles in 3x2 shrink film packs. The machine is also, however, able to package other types of containers already used