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Under the Single-Use Plastics Directive, caps must be firmly attached to single-use plastic bottles from July 2024. Coca-Cola Europacific Partners was supported by Sidel in converting the closures and reducing the weight of the neck finish of plastic bottles for carbonated soft drinks.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) introduction of tethered closures and the implementation of a new bottle neck finish with a weight saving of 1 gram posed numerous technical challenges. In order to realise the changeover on all CCEP PET bottling lines in Europe, the correct preforms and closures as well as the appropriate technical machine configurations be determined.
During the planning phase, pilot tests for the new product were carried out on two different systems, including a SidelThe new GME30.40 tethered caps and the new reduced-weight muzzle developed and made available to the industry have been converted in Barcelona. These tests have enabled the new specifications and the new machine configuration to ensure optimum system efficiency, to validate the quality requirements of the new mouths and allow CCEP to conduct a small-scale market assessment to determine consumer acceptance.
„The combined project management of CCEP and Sidel was key to the success of the project. Anticipation, planning and collaboration between the parties involved was essential to the successful preparation of these plants. We were able to bring the first sealable bottles to the UK market as planned in May 2022. The pilot plant in Barcelona helped us to identify and understand all the potential issues together.“
Geert Marse, Technical Packaging Lead at CCEP
In some cases, Sidel combined the plant retrofit with a plant overhaul, while CCEP carried out the maintenance to deliver an optimised product design and maximum plant performance.
„The majority of the converted plants have achieved the target set for plant efficiency. We are absolutely satisfied with the preparation, including the assessment of the plant status, the pilot plant tests and the excellent cooperation that made the project a success,“ continues Geert Marse.
As soon as the pilot tests in Barcelona were completed, Sidel was commissioned by CCEP to retrofit all systems in all European CCEP factories. Some Systems had to be significantly further developed for a changeover to tethered caps and the new neck finish and required the adaptation of various machines, such as the preform feeder, blow moulding machine, capping machine, cap feeder and labeller.
CCEP was one of the first organisations in the carbonated soft drinks market to convert to tethered caps. The first plant to be converted, a plant for the production of the 1.5-litre bottle for CCEP in East Kilbride, Scotland, was completed in April 2022, and a second single-serve plant was converted at the end of 2022.
„To support the changeover, Coca-Cola launched a broad communication campaign with the aim of explaining the use of the new closure and contributing to the gradual change in consumer habits by collecting all consumer feedback and taking corrective action where necessary.“
Geert Marse
Sidel has currently converted a third of CCEP's PET bottling lines for carbonated soft drinks in Europe. The last line conversion is scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Source: Sidel
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