Sidel, the leading global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging, has created a new services business unit that aims to deliver greater value to the beverage products, installed Sidel equipment and bottom line of beverage producers globally. Called Sidel Services™, the new unit is split into six teams: Maintenance, Line Improvement, Training, Spare Parts & Logistics, Line Conversions & Moulds, and Packaging. Together the teams, comprising experts located all over the world, are focused on increasing value in five key areas: Product quality, Efficiency, Flexibility, Cost optimisation and Brand support.
“When customers invest in a Sidel production line, they need and expect high levels of service to support them throughout the entire working life of the equipment,” says Mart Tiismann, Sidel CEO and President. “That is why, in addition to introducing innovative technologies to our customers such as the Sidel Matrix™ liquid packaging system, we have also been working hard to improve our services offering.”
The company has spent the last eighteen months reviewing, reorganising and overhauling its services. One of the key inputs into this process was the feedback provided by over 1,000 individuals within hundreds of Sidel customers, which the company gathers using a comprehensive annual customer survey that has been running for the past several years.
“The survey responses reveal the realities of the current business environment, with issues such as increasing regulation, economic volatility and rising raw material prices directly impacting beverage production lines,” explains Dag Gronevik, Sidel’s Vice President for Services. With over 30 years of service, engineering and managerial experience acquired in different international assignments, Dag joined Sidel from sister company Tetra Pak in 2013 to help oversee the implementation of the new business unit. “This means manufacturers have to maintain a continuous focus on increasing production efficiency and reducing waste. At the same time, they need to be flexible enough to keep up with ever-changing consumer demands and increasing rates of innovation. Against this backdrop, the importance of production equipment that can continue to deliver with a reduced total cost of ownership becomes apparent.”
Now, following an in-depth analysis of all the customer survey responses, Sidel has reorganised its services operations. The new service offering is designed to help customers add value to their installed Sidel equipment, their beverage products and their bottom line, by achieving more product quality, efficiency, flexibility, cost optimisation and brand support. From reducing downtime to quick line conversions or designing innovative packaging solutions, Sidel Services can help beverage manufacturers and bottlers get more from their investment and lower their total costs of ownership.
In addition to internal changes, Sidel has also invested to implement practical changes that help improve the daily working lives of beverage production line operators around the world. Two examples are the new spare parts logistics and technical support initiatives that are rolling out globally in 2014*. With these, Sidel customers will have better access to the people and parts they need, so they can quickly turn costly downtime back into productive uptime. The improved global logistics network for spare parts includes a new warehouse management system that enables three levels of delivery service, from emergency delivery within 48 hours to planned maintenance deliveries within eight weeks of the order. The new technical support system enables faster responses to urgent issues through a new ticketing system that places customers in immediate contact with Sidel experts.
Examples of the results are as geographically diverse as Sidel’s customer survey itself. But they speak for themselves: PepsiCo in Germany enjoyed a 19% reduction in energy use at one of its plants while Brazil-based Spaipa experienced a 122% production increase, both following the introduction of Sidel Services initiatives. Tropic, one of Haiti’s leading beverage manufacturers, achieved 95% efficiency on two Sidel SBO blowers and energy savings of 35%, while Erikli in Turkey, part of Nestlé Waters, achieved a 36% weight reduction in their preform bottlenecks. Coca-Cola Romania received critical spare parts within 23 hours after utilising Sidel’s emergency delivery service. In the same month, PepsiCo India received emergency parts in just 40 hours, leading the producer to state: “Carrying the part to us by hand during the weekend was well appreciated. Please keep up the good work.”
Sidel Services is aiming to deliver more such results as it rolls out its new initiatives and delivery levels for beverage producers worldwide in the months and years to come. For more information please visit sidel.com/services or contact services@sidel.com.
*The new spare parts and technical support services are being rolled out globally in 2014, and may therefore currently only be available in selected areas at time of publication. For more information please contact your local Sidel Services representative or services@sidel.com.
