Schweppes Zimbabwe’s new PET line, powered by KHS technology, delivers a 300% production increase, reducing costs and environmental impact significantly.
Until very recently, the production shop at Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited in the Willowvale industrial area in the capital of Harare called for low volume outputs. The recent installation and commissioning of a completely new non-returnable PET line had the beverage producer convinced; it is equipped, among other things, with a compact InnoPET BloFill stretch blow molder/filler block for the manufacturing and filling of up to 36,000 containers per hour, the efficient Innoket Neo labeller for roll-fed labelling of the bottles, the Innopack PSP Advanced shrink packer and the flexible Innopal PB N palletizer.
Continuous monitoring by KHS inspection technology ensures that only containers of perfect quality leave the plant. There were many reasons behind the decision to award the Dortmund turnkey supplier the contract, as Ms Ropafadzo Gwanetsa, corporate affairs executive at Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited explains. “KHS is considered to be a reliable systems provider by our parent company, The Coca-Cola Company, and is valued for its expertise in highly-efficient filling and packaging systems. Its range of holistic services that includes extensive technical support is also convincing.”
Production capacities increased by 300%
SZL continues to be extremely enthusiastic about the speed of the line in particular; compared to the previous competitor setup, Gwanetsa reckons that production capacity has increased by 300% – so much so, in fact, that the company’s current warehouse will probably have to be enlarged. This was a necessary step to take, for the demand for filled juice from flagship brands Mazoe Orange Crush or Minute Maid and for Bonaqua and Schweppes still water continues to grow on the domestic and regional markets. Production is also proving more professional than before in its flexible processing of various packaging formats holding between 400 milliliters and two liters.
Gwanetsa illustrates the positive development brought about by modernisation with further figures. “We’ve managed to cut our overall costs by about 80% compared to the former setup, with a 10% reduction in personnel requirements making a positive contribution to this.” Regarding resource savings, the new KHS plant engineering also scores with an up to 30% decrease in energy consumption, savings in water and CO2 and similarly reduced labeling costs. “Together with the entire group, we’re adopting an ambitious sustainability strategy with a directly noticeable cut in greenhouse gas emissions and also aiming for climate neutrality. Our state-of-the-art KHS technology is helping us to successfully pursue this objective.”
Less plastic use thanks to lightweighting
Savings in resources are also being made by consumption of less material for primary packaging. Thanks to proven KHS stretch blow molding technology, high-quality lightweight PET containers are now manufactured using up to 10 to 15% less raw material. Gwanetsa mentions a further major criterion with respect to sustainability: the long service life of the machines.
The longer the bottler operates a line, the lower its ecological footprint throughout its entire life cycle.
As the amount of room available at the Schweppes production site in Harare was extremely limited and the new system had to be installed in a small area, the KHS experts adapted the machinery to fit the available space. The line was thus installed in an L shape instead of the usual rectangle – in record time. Just six weeks after installation, the first saleable product ran off the belt – thanks to the excellent cooperation between KHS’ and SZL’s project teams.
