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 manufacture and filling of up to 36,000 containers per hour, the efficient Innoket Neo labeler for roll-fed labeling 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. “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,” says 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.”