PETpla.net Insider 07 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 18 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 07/17 www.petpla.net An integrated platform for bottlers and converters Process integration to advance bottle production Sacmi Group presents the first integrated platform designed to bring bottlers and converters closer together. Introducing heroBlock, the all-new compact quadblock that combines stretch-blow moulding with labelling and filling. Plus new digital labelling solutions that allow testing, even on existing plants, with all the advantages of digital label customisation. With heroLine, the new dynamic cap and preform buffer, Sacmi has achieved total integration of the bottling process. heroLine is the first ‘all-in-one’ platform capable of integrating the two processes, thus offering potential added value in terms of logistics, efficiency and product quality. Developed as part of a wider Industry 4.0-focused integra- tion policy that has, for years now, seen Sacmi lead the way with solutions that are ever-more integrated and auto- mated, heroLine allows the Group to act as a partner both to bottlers who decide to internalise some production pro- cesses, and converters who choose to approach the market with in-house manu- facturing solutions. Arriving at a certain point on our ‘industrial beverage journey’, that first began back in the‘70s when plastic bottles first began replac- ing glass containers, Sacmi heroLine brings us to the modern era of the wall-to-wall converter and all in one integrated pro- cesses, by merging the preform produc- tion (IPS, Injection Preform System) and cap production (CCM, Continuous Compres- sion Moulding) lines with downstream stretch-blow moulding, bottling, labelling and packaging. Clean and linear, the configuration of the new Sacmi heroLine takes the development of the business model into account, providing major advantages in terms of quality, cost reduction, process and product safety (contamination risks always result in additional costs that heav- ily weigh on the bottler). Thanks to the automatic magazine and process integration, heroLine keeps caps and preforms at a constant temperature and humidity, and saves on the preform handling costs incurred during the tradi- tional storage and conveying stages on stretch-blow moulding lines. Reduction and optimisation of intra-logistic costs, process traceability and a capacity to obtain higher-quality products while optimising and reduc- ing raw material and energy costs are said to be the advantages of heroLine. Sacmi sees this as representative of its numerous technologies on the market that operate at every single line node, at high efficiency and effectiveness levels. Alongside the tried and tested IPS and CCM units that operate upstream from the CPB magazine, Sacmi has intro- duced heroBlock, the new quadblock that combines stretch-blow mould- ing, filling, closing and labelling - all in one machine. Providing compactness, efficiency and versatility thanks to the elimination of conveyors and intermedi- ate stages, this solution allows process optimisation in terms of both efficiency and costs, says Sacmi. Making the most of the expertise already gained in digital cap printing with the proven ColoraCap, Sacmi is also presenting the new digital label print- ing module. Smoothly integrated into the labeller, this system allows ‘mass customisation’ of pre-printed labels. A clear choice, then, that allows potential customers to immediately test - with an easily, affordable investment - all the advantages of ‘digital personalisation’. www.sacmi.com bottle making