PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2013

BOTTLE MAKING 40 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 09/13 www.petpla.net Meeting Serac in La Ferté-Bernard, France to see their new Combox H2F An integrated line solution to blowing-filling-capping by Wolfgang von Schroeter The company PETplanet Insider had previously visited Serac in 2010 – as part of our series of regional reports on the French PET market. The develop- ment of the company since that time merited a much closer look at their operation. In 2013, we talked to the key managers (in alphabetical order):  Auvray, Sylvain: Industrial Direc- tor - Filling and Blowing – Serac Asia  Binet, Marc: Managing Director– Serac France  Chériaux, Fabienne: Marketing Manager – Food, Dairy and Bever- ages – Serac Shared Services  Chevreteau, Ollivier: Sales Direc- tor – Serac France  Tilloy, Jean-Paul: Design & Pro- duction Manager – Food & Dairy – Serac France  Vague, Aymeric: Product Market- ing Manager – Blowing – Serac Shared Services Founded in 1969 by the French engineer Jean-Jacques Graffin, Serac supplies rotary filling machines for the food and non-food markets, mainly for dairy products (38% of turnover), home care & personal care (22% of turnover) and for edible oil (9% of turnover) to be filled and packaged in glass, metal and plastics. Capaci- ties of Serac machines reach up to 45,000 containers per hour. Serac’s target market is an international mid- size, demanding, quality-conscious clientele. A comparatively high propor- challenges facing the company. The company has 490 employees in six manufacturing facilities, in France (3), the USA (1), Brazil (1) and Malaysia (1). Filling and capping machines are assembled in all sites. Aseptic filling and ultra clean are handled in France only, whilst blowing is confined to Malaysia. Sales turnover is on the rise (financial year April 1 - March 31):  2010-2011 €80 million  2011-2012 €90 million  2012-2013 €120 million The sales target in two years’ time – i.e. for 2014-2015 – is for €140 million and this is already within reach today. 5,200 machines are installed world-wide in 100 countries, 60% in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, 15% in North America, 15% in the Asia, 10% in North America. Growth is expected particularly in Asia and North America. Variety of machines on shop floor in La Ferté-Bernard Full order books (as at our visit in July 2013) means that production is already running at over-capacity. Temporary facilities were needed to extend the assembly and testing tion of total sales (over 30%) are for customer services, which include life cycle services beyond the normal war- ranty periods. The objective behind this policy is to promote communica- tion between company and client, to maintain the efficiency of installed machinery and to maintain or improve productivity. The Serac product portfolio was supplemented by the acquisition of Nova in France in 2004 – they manu- facture machines for food product fill- ing in pre-formed cups. The purchase of shares in Agami followed in 2010 – they design and develop production lines for plastic bottles using thermo- forming technology with reels of plas- tics. In 2013 Serac introduced the first PET bottle blowing machine, designed and assembled in-house, which, on the eve of Drinktec, has become a vital part of the Combox H2F. The ownership of the Serac Group has remained unchanged since its foundation: 63.5% Graf- fin family, 18.8% managers, 17.7% investors. At Serac in La Ferté- Bernard the pioneering atmosphere is still very much present. On tour through the factory what stands out are the many different designs with individual extras and options for as many different applications, customers and markets. There is a lot (too much perhaps) going on in the factory, and Serac are quick to acknowledge that the layout is less than rational, but is a symbol of the Sylvain Auvray, Industrial Director, presenting the blower section Serac makes a bold claim for their new line for mid-sized dairy products manufacturers. Petplanet went over to their factory in La Ferté-Bernard, France, to investigate, as well as to wit- ness trials of the new machine, learn about the design and understand the strategy of the company. Combox H2F will be presented to the public on this year’s Drinktec in Munich.