The first rolls of packaging material are already rolling off the belt fully automated.
CCGL, Comigo and Sabe.
Ricardo Rodriguez, director/GM, SIG Combibloc South America, told DairyReporter, it ended the 2013 financial year with growth of 40% compared to the previous year and won customers, including CCGL, Comigo and Sabe.
Since then, it has ‘further consolidated our contacts’ with existing customers such as Quatá, Shefa, ebba, Tirol and Piá with negotiations for its filling machines.
Rodriguez said the production capacity began operations in 2011 with 1bn carton packs per annum. With the installation of the extrusion line it will double capacity to 2bn carton packs.
“Brazil offers an outstanding environment from an overall economic perspective. Its GDP is enjoying significant growth,” he added.
“In international terms, it is one of the biggest economic growth markets. Its need for long-life packed food is growing. After China, Brazil has the highest consumption of products in aseptic carton packs: about 10bn units per year.
“With the new factory and the extrusion line, we are in a position to keep up with the growing demand for aseptic carton packs in South America. We're able to respond more quickly and flexibly to customer needs. And, having a local presence with a production plant and an extrusion line here means clear advantages when it comes to logistics and service.”
The project in Paraná has been planned and implemented in several expansion stages. With the completion of the first project phase, the packaging plant was opened and put into operation in mid-2011 after a 12-month construction period.
Cut to size, stamped and sealed
With the production line installed, the pre-laminated packaging material used to make the carton packs was printed, cut to size, stamped and sealed.
With the implementation of the second phase of construction, an extrusion line has been installed which laminates the unprocessed cardboard for the carton packs on-site in Campo Largo.
The inner polymer layers of an aseptic carton pack form a liquid barrier for the products that will later be filled in it; the outer layer keeps moisture out. The razor-thin aluminium layer protects the food and beverages packaged in the carton packs from light, oxygen and external odours.
According to the Canadean research institute, sales of aseptic carton packs totalled more than 14bn units in Brazil in 2013. Forecasts suggest this will climb to 21bn carton packs by 2019 – equivalent to a further increase of around 7% per annum.
“On request, we’ll guide and advise our customers all the way from market analysis and product design to the installation, start-up and maintenance of the filling equipment, and on to the continuous improvement of production facilities and processes,” added Rodriguez.
SIG Combibloc is working with the Canadean research institute and the Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) to collect and analyse data by its international team.