Saudi Arabia-based Health Water Bottling Company (HWB) has acquired Sidel’s complete PET line to meet the growing demand for bottled water.
This acquisition will help HWB to increase its production speed as Sidel claims that the machine has the fastest turnover rates in the world.
The new machine uses the last generation Sidel Matrix equipment and will help HWB to produce 330 and 600 ml format PET water bottles at a speed of 134,000 bottles every hour by February 2015.
Saudi Arabia has seen a sharp rise in the demand for both still and carbonated bottled water in recent years. There was an increase of 52.4% in off-trade sales volume between 2007 and 2012 from 1,063 to 1,620 million litres.
This sudden increase in demand has been linked to Saudi Arabia's growing population which recorded an increase of 2% in 2011.
Sidel and HWB have worked together for close to 15 years where the latter has bought different standalone equipments like blowing machines and fillers from the former.
Speaking about the investment, HWB plant manager Harry Nowers said: "We have been using Sidel's equipment in our lines for many years now and have consistently been satisfied with their service and after-sales support. We have decided that, due to their superior knowledge and technical capabilities, Sidel would be the best option for us in terms of a complete line."
As a part of the acquisition, the facility will be equipped with two Sidel Matrix Combis, integrating blow-fill-cap in one enclosure. Owing to the machine's features, HWB will get greater freedom regarding the shapes of bottles and the ability to package lightweight bottles at higher speeds.
Image: HWB installs Sidel's complete PET line to meet growing demand for packaged drinking water. Photo: courtesy of Sidel.
