PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2020

BOTTLING / FILLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 07+08/20 www.petpla.net 44 Edible oil in PET The Mega Factory by Michael Maruschke There is a widely-held view that edible oil factories tend to caution in the adoption of new PET production technologies. However, this preconception is overturned on our visit to B.L. Agro Industries’ Mega Factory in the city of Bareilly, 252 km East of New Delhi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh. B. L. Agro Industries Ltd. May 2019 We met: Ashish Khandelwal, Executive Director Ramneek Vats, Founder & CEO B.L. Agro Industries has a 60-year history and is a household name in edible oil. It imports about two- thirds of its edible oil supplies, which matches the proportion across India generally. Incoming supplies offloaded at Kandla Port, Gujarat, are trans- ported to Bareilly by railway to its own siding at its refinery at Jauharpur, in Bareilly. Total edible oil supply capac- ity is 225,000 t/a. 70% packed in PET B.L. Agro’s flagship brand is “Bail Kolhu” mustard oil. It also supplies sunflower, soyabean, palmolein, rice brand and canola edible oils to the Northern part of India. About 70% is packed in PET; the rest goes in tins and pouches. PET capacity is about 1,250 t per day and accounts for about 60% of sales; the most popular bottle sizes are 2 and 5 litre. All preforms and caps are supplied by Balaji Poly- mers, who also collaborate with B.L. Agro in developing new bottle designs and sizes. Major machinery upgrade Ashish Khandelwal joined his father’s business in the late 1990s, bringing new marketing concepts and production innovations with him. The edible oil packaging operation was founded in 1999; a major machinery upgrade was carried out in 2014, when new Sidel machines were installed. This upgraded what had been a rela- tively low-output facility into one of the most advanced and automated PET production plants in Asia. A linear two-stage stretch-blow moulding, filling and capping line produces 6,000 five-litre bottles per hour. A Sidel Combi line makes and fills 200ml, 500ml and 1 l bottles at a rate of 24,000 bph. The popular two litre package is produced, filled and capped on its own dedicated line at 14,000 bph. There is essentially no human involvement from the moment the preforms and caps enter the fac- tory to when they leave as finished, filled bottles, packed in cardboard boxes. Every step is automated, including the high-speed, in-line inser- tion of HDPE handles into the five litre PET containers, a function performed by a specially-made machine supplied by Spanish machinery manufacturer And & Or. The conveying and storage system, supplied by Japanese com- pany Daifuku, is also highly auto- mated; the similarity to an Amazon Production area Tour Sponsors: F.l.t.r.: Amit Arora, Ramneek Vats, Michael Maruschke, Ashish Khandelwal and Amit Kumar Namdeo (Husky Injection Molding Systems)