PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2021

BOTTLE MAKING 32 PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 07+08/21 www.petpla.net A new peak: APF-6004 blow moulder at Sairme Mineral Waters Another APF-6004 blow moulder by PET Technologies has reached Sakartvelo, or Georgia, as it is known everywhere else. Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd brought the equipment and installed it in the very heart of one of the biggest spa resorts in Europe. It is the land of high mountains with picturesque valleys; the land of mountain rivers and springs. Sairme waters have been famous since 1893. In Georgian the name “Sairme” means “the place where deer dwell”. The bottling plant is located in Western Georgia, 950m above sea level, in the resort of Sairme. The modern Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd plant was inaugurated in 2006. Since then its spring water has become widely known for a unique balanced concentration of calcium, magnesium and sodium. It is shipped to 17 coun- tries of the world. This is where packaging comes in. The role of the bottle increases with distance. The more kilometres that lie between the Sairme plant and the final destination of the water, the less vulnerable the container should be. For this reason, the company fills its products both in glass and PET bottles. Equipment developed by PET Technologies helps to produce the latter. Recently, Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd expanded its manufactur- ing facilities and installed an APF- 6004 blow moulder. PET Technologies supplied Sairme Mineral Waters with a turnkey solu- tion; from the design of the PET bot- tles to start-up and final commission- ing of the APF-6004 blow moulder. The training of Sairme technical staff and the aftersales service was an integral component of the contract. Thanks to a quick mould change Sairme is now able to produce the whole range of bottles from 500ml to 2 l. The company can switch from one format to another in 20 minutes. There is no downtime for maintenance, since the schedule allows any maintenance to be carried out during a shift change or days off. Bottle production The ergonomic bottle is transpar- ent with a tint of green that highlights its natural origin, life and energy. The bottle shoulders resemble a drop of water that forms high in the mountains at the source of the river. This is where Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd collects water. Narrowing in the centre of the bottle gives the impression of a swift running mountain river. The applied technology played a crucial role in the manufacturing of this bottle. Intense preform heating and simultaneous air-cooling guarantee a uniform tem- perature distribution between the inner and outer wall. 8-zone heating and the facility to move the lamps in any position guaranteed that this complex bottle meets the predetermined char- acteristics, even if it is 100% rPET. Partnership The roots of the fruitful coopera- tion between PET Technologies and Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd go back to 2015. At that time, the bottling com- pany was seeking a reliable supplier of blow moulds for 6-10 l bottles. PET Technologies seemed an attractive proposition due to the manufactur- ing facilities equipped with 4-, 5-axis machining centres and guaranteed terms of delivery. This first contact turned out to be successful. In 2017 the companies launched a second project together. This was also about blow moulds for up to 2 l bottles and Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd installed an automatic PET SBM machine of European manufacture. They perfectly matched the equipment. This second touch also turned out to be success- ful. In 2019 PET Technologies was again successful, when Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd chose PET Technolo- gies as a supplier of SBM machines. The bottling company was looking for alternatives instead of the blow mould- ing equipment for small bottles that they were currently using. A previous successful project for 500ml, 1.5 l and 2.0 l moulds, carried out in 2017, was a strong point in favour of PET Technolo- gies. Additionally, PET Technologies developed the design of these bottles taking into account the nature of the blowing process. Thus, Sairme Mineral Waters Ltd was able to achieve a func- tional and yet attractive PET bottle. www.pet-eu.com BOTTLE MAKING