Sidel installs high-speed PET packaging line for water in Baghdad
Sidel’s first and fastest high-speed line in Baghdad. (Photo courtesy: Sidel)
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Sidel has successfully installed its first high-speed PET packaging line for water in Baghdad as part of the greenfield project of Iraqi National Company for industrial food (Iraqi National for Food). With a speed of 48,000 bottles per hour (bph), the outstanding line efficiency of 96% corresponds closely with the high sustainability standards and right-weighting expertise in packaging design provided by Sidel. The new Dinar bottle produced for Iraqi National for Food comes in three sizes and is manufactured with the lightest preform on the market, based on Sidel’s StarLite™ design.
Iraqi National for Food belongs to the Iraqi National Group of Companies, which is one of the country’s leading companies in manufacturing, trade and transportation. Founded in 2019, Iraqi National for Food is recognised for its high-quality nutritional products. The company has many self-owned brands – including Hindrin carbonated soft drinks, Dinar healthy water and Ra’eege pasteurised juice.
Iraqi National for Food initiated the new greenfield project to meet a growing demand for bottled water. After witnessing and experiencing first-hand Sidel’s solutions at two customer sites in Turkey, Iraqi National for Food chose Sidel as their partner to install the complete PET water packaging line.
To complete the installation on time, Sidel and Iraqi National for Food cooperated closely during this period, overcoming numerous logistic challenges posed by the lockdown further to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The situation made the process of dispatching our installation team as well as arranging spare parts more difficult. Although the line arrived at the site before the lockdown, the project execution was still hindered by the restrictions, especially because no one was allowed to travel to Iraq at the time. By tackling the dilemma together with the customer, Iraqi National for Food managed to arrange an exceptional flight for our team a few months after the lockdown,” explained Vedat Guler, Sales Director – Middle East at Sidel.
The installation and start-up only took six weeks and the first sellable bottle was produced and launched on the market by the middle of June 2020. “We are very happy that we chose Sidel for our complete water line project, in particular during the pandemic. The Sidel team provided great consultancy and conducted efficient execution so that our product could be launched in a short period of time,” said Mohammed Jasim, Executive Manager at Iraqi National for Food.