PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2018

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 11/18 www.petpla.net 23 and vertically driven into the bowl of a rotary unscrambler. Positioned at the edge of a rotating table and supported by the neck flange, the preforms are moved onto a rail by a filtered airflow. Instead of traditional gravimetric infeed rails, the preforms are driven by two motorised, food-grade brush belts up to the infeed blowing wheel, contributing to keep the level of pre- form integrity very high. This pat- ented technology is claimed to ensure operators’ safety and overall easier operations by reducing the footprint and the height for preform infeed. Bill Hall, Executive Vice President of Manufacturing at Niagara Bottling LLC, comments, “As a result, we have seen OEE (Overall Equipment Effec- tiveness) improvements, which are worth about 2% more produced bottles per year according to our estimations. In a line like the one embedding Easy- Feed and the Sidel Super Combis, this translates to 2 million cases per year of extra productivity. That would not have been possible with a traditional preform feeder, so we are really happy with this achievement.” With output speeds up to 82,000 bph, the solution installed suits PET water bottle producers like Niagara Bottling LLC, who need to combine high-speed production lines with ultra-light PET bottles handling, while increasing the availability of their lines. Enhancing PET packaging quality The right preform feeder is crucial in reducing total cost of ownership (TCO) and maintaining a high level of efficiency. The team at Niagara Bottling LLC recognises that the tight layout of the Super Combi, a good uti- lisation of the integrated labeller and the redesign of the labeller itself are beneficial for their production targets. Niagara is one of the first compa- nies running the brand-new Roll-Fed labeller, which can handle lightweight containers and ultra-thin labels, yet allowing for better glue control and distribution, together with reduced consumption. While developing this labelling solution, which uses hot glue to apply wrap-around plastic labels, ease of operations has been high on the Sidel engineers’ agenda. The vacuum drum is built in light-weight sectors for easy and quick replace- ment and features newly patented adjustable pads for longer production time and minimal maintenance time. The ergonomics of the solution have been optimised for top productivity and a sustainable footprint, with all main components fully visible and accessible during production or main- tenance, without having to disengage the station. The whole solution performance is controlled by an integrated vision system. It is able to capture even minor defects on the bottle’s surface, body, and base, while duly checking the correct label application, filling level and cap positioning, states the company. With EasyFeed as the safe and easy-to-operate entry point to the line and Super Combis showing their per- formance in blowing, filling, labelling, and capping, the end-of-line produc- tion needed to be optimised for foot- print, efficiency at very high speeds, and overall lower capital expenditure. This is where engineers at Gebo Cermex, part of the Sidel Group, stepped in. The Gebo Cermex high speed shrink-wrapping system, which is part of the end-of-line at Niagara, delivers high quality packs. The fully accessible low-level palletiser with robotic layer preparation at the infeed is laid out to ensure reliable, non-stop production. www.sidel.com www.gebocermex.com Niagara Bottling LLC plant with Sidel PET line and Gebo Cermex conveying and end-of-line equipment Starting point of the new complete line at Niagara’s plant is Sidel’s EasyFeed, a compact and safe ground-level preform feeder for PET lines.