WITH SIDEL'S SUPPORT A. G. BARR UK WANTED TO INCREASE OUTPUT ACROSS PET PRODUCTION BY 75%Two new Combis from Sidel increase production speed up to 75% whilst cutting environmental impact for UK's leading producer

An important part of Scottish drinks culture A. G. Barr, a soft drinks business founded in 1875, makes, markets and sells some of the UK’s best loved soft drinks brands. The company says its success is built on its core brands, portfolio development, route to market, partnerships, efficient operations and staff development. The company’s biggest brand is IRN-BRU, seen by many as part of the culture of the Scottish nation. Known as ‘Scotland’s other national drink,’ 12 x 330 ml can equivalents are sold there every second.

The producer of some of the UK's favourite drinksBarr’s is a national business with strong roots in Scotland and the north of England with sixteen sites including five manufacturing plants in Cumbernauld, Mansfield, Tredegar, Forfar and Pitcox, near Edinburgh. As well as IRN-BRU, the company’s other brands include Tizer, D’N’B, KA, the Barr flavoured range, Strathmore Spring Water, and the St. Clements, Simply and Rubicon exotic juice drinks. They are also the UK franchise partner of Schweppes International Limited.

A. G. Barr is the leading independent soft drinks business in the United Kingdom, producing a wide variety of soft drinks from five production sites

SOLUTIONS FOR CARBONATED SOFT DRINKS

sidel.com/CSD

first comprising an SBO 24 XS blower

and a Eurotronica FM-C filler

Second combines an SBO 14 Universal

and a Eurotronica FM-C

Conveyors, a cap steriliser and

a Rollquattro F35 labeller

The overall objective: increase output up to 75%Recently, with the overall objective of increasing output across PET production, the company decided to renew its PET bottling lines by installing Sidel Combis in its Cumbernauld plant. The first is a high-speed Combi (48,000 bph) comprising an SBO 24 XS blower and a Eurotronica FM-C filler; the second combines an SBO 14 Universal and a Eurotronica FM-C. The order also included the respective conveyors, a cap steriliser and a Rollquattro F35 labeller. In both cases, the fillers have more compact chambers and therefore a smaller footprint.

No production downtime and more sustainable packagingDespite the fact that the new machines in the first line had to be added to an existing line, work was scheduled to continue production during installation. To do so with a minimum number of stoppages, assembly was divided into seven stages - alternating existing and new machines day and night until the new machines reached a speed that ensured the target output. The client, A. G. Barr, also wanted to create savings by using less material and asked Sidel to take into account a number of key criteria: blowing pressure (reduced from 32 to 28 bar for 2 litre bottles), filling temperature and the quantity of raw material used for preforms and caps. Sidel also redesigned the three packaging formats (250ml, 0.5L and 2L) for products filled on the two lines. This involved making the preforms lighter (from 24 to 19.7 g for the intermediate format) and reducing the thread of the neck (from 21 to 17 mm).

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which do not always have to be present in each individual case. The required features should therefore be specified in each individual case at the time of closing the contract. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the previous written approval of Sidel. All intellectual property rights, including copyright, are reserved by Sidel.

High-speed Combi (48,000 bph)

PORTFOLIO