Les Eaux Minérales Oulmès, Morocco's leading bottler of mineral water and other beverages, has won the exclusive right to make and market a special bottle celebrating the participation of the Moroccan football team at the World Cup in Russia. This eye-catching container was manufactured using the Sacmi-supplied SBF 408b stretch-blow moulder. Sacmi has always been a key supplier to the company, which distributes its products not just in Morocco but throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
From drawing board to supermarket shelf, the project was completed in record time. This was achieved thanks to smooth interaction between the two teams and close support from the Sacmi Beverage Lab, which worked on the customer's marketing idea by making the first 3D models. The result? An exclusive Sidi Ali brand World Cup 2018 line on which every label shows the number of a player on the Moroccan team. The product will remain on the shelves for a limited period, making this elegant bottle something of a collector's item. In addition to the mix of different labels, the team's strip is also represented by the cap colours.
This exciting project follows on from a multi-year partnership between Sacmi and Oulmès, Morocco's leading producer and marketer of bottled water with almost 75% of the market. The Oulmès plants in Tarmilate (Rabat) and Boskoura (Casablanca) are equipped with a broad range of Sacmi technology, from stretch-blow moulders to fillers, from labelling solutions to palletizers. There are also several complete lines.
The first plant, located near a spring in the Middle Atlas, has been a key producer and marketer of bottled water since 1950 (the first Sidi Ali brand bottle was made here). It hosts no less than 4 complete Sacmi lines as well as a series of SBF Hero stretch-blow moulders and further solutions for in-line blowing and filling that use the renowned Sacmi Opera and Kube labellers. Sacmi also supplied the palletizers.
The second plant, located in Boskoura outside Casablanca, hosts an exclusive orange juice-based drink production and distribution operation for Orangina Suntory France (the owner of, among others, the Schweppes brand); it has a complete Sacmi PET line and a further complete line for cans.
Sacmi SBF machines are ideal for stretch-blowing bottles both large and small. They have been installed at Oulmès for some time now and have, in recent years, produced about 1.5 billion bottles in a range of sizes from 0.25 cl to 1.5 L.
The soundness of Sacmi technology has been demonstrated yet again in the making of this special World Cup 2018 line: the container is of complex geometry and Sacmi succeeded in getting it production-ready at record speed so that marketing could begin in time for the World Cup.
For Sacmi, this project underscores the strategic importance of the North African market which, according to 2017 data, is one of the world's most receptive, dynamic areas for the sale of complete PET processing and bottling lines.
