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Overall costs cut, quality improved, carbon footprint reduced
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Monday, 27 January, 2025, 16 : 00 PM [IST]
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Willowvale, Zimbabwe
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A big step towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions: now that KHS has installed an ultramodern non-returnable PET line for Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited (SZL), the bottler’s production setup is not only much more efficient but also saves on resources – at an increase in capacity of 300% compared to the replaced production line.
Until very recently, the production shop of the company, 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 manufacture 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 palletiser. 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 Ropafadzo Gwanetsa, corporate affairs executive at Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited, said, “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.”
The company 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 millilitres and two litres. “The ability to easily process a whole range of different container sizes on a single line, with format changeovers now much quicker, gives us a great competitive edge over other bottlers,” said Gwanetsa, who also appreciates the automated processes on the new acquisition. “Operator intervention on the line has been reduced to a minimum, thus improving the efficiency of our production line,” added Gwanetsa.
Gwanetsa said, “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 labelling 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,” concluded Gwanetsa.
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