PEPSICO DEUTSCHLAND HAS REDUCED ENERGY USE BY 19% AND LOWERED COSTS BY 16% ON A SIDEL BLOWER AT ITS PLANT IN RODGAU, GERMANY, DUE TO RECENTLY INSTALLED ECO LAMPS.
The lamps, which consume around 90-95% of the total electrical power used by a blower, were installed to support PepsiCo Deutschland's eco-friendly approach at the plant, which is close to Frankfurt. Calculations have since shown that the lamps generated a return on investment (ROI) in only 12 months.
Making environmental concern a real priority
PepsiCo Deutschland GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pepsico Inc, founded in 1898 and now the world's second-largest soft drinks manufacturer. The company is of course also a leading player in the German soft drinks market. Its local product portfolio includes its most famous brands Pepsi and Pepsi Light. Consumer awareness of environmental issues in Germany is particularly high. So too is that of PepsiCo, which is constantly looking to improve the environmental efficiencies of its operations. It strives for a balance between solid financial results and social responsibility via a 'unique commitment' to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose.
PepsiCo Deutschland distributes soft drinks such as Pepsi, Schwip Schwap, Mirinda and 7-Up, as well as fruit and vegetable juices including its overall leading brand Punica, along with the sports drink Gatorade. In 2010, PepsiCo Deutschland took over distribution of the Rockstar energy drink throughout the country, which is the second most popular brand purchased through forecourt retailers in Germany. The company also distributes the ready-to-drink coffee brand K-Fee, which is particularly strong in sales within supermarkets and hypermarkets.
As it does with so many customers, Sidel works closely with PepsiCo Deutschland with the aim of improving its operations wherever possible and helping the company to fulfil its strategy of environmentally friendly production.
Working closely to fulfil customers' strategies
Sidel provides tailor-made solutions for customers, which it reviews over time to identify potential areas for improvement. In the case of PepsiCo Deutschland's plant at Rodgau, Sidel supported the customer to identify the right solution to save money, targeting savings of 15% for the installation of the ECO lamps. Measurements taken before and after the fitting of the lamps, confirmed, however, that the savings achieved were actually as high as 19%.
The lamps, part of Sidel's ECO services, which are solutions combining sustainability and economic performance, are available for the company's SBO Series1 and Series2 blowers. As well as reducing both energy and costs, the lamps are robust and have a life expectancy of 5,000 hours. In some cases, no modification of the existing oven or the blowing process is needed at all. The ECO lamps also enable better process stability through the heating process of the preforms that results in a more optimised production output.
A history of close cooperation
The PepsiCo machine in Rodgau is an SBO18 Series2. It was installed to produce 1.5 litre and 2 litre bottles of carbonated soft drinks in PET for the Pepsi, Schwip Schwap and Pepsi Max brands.
However, the recent fitting of the ECO lamps is not the only time that the two organisations have worked together closely in order to further PepsiCo's strong commitment on saving energy. In 2008, the machine was fitted with Sidel's air-recycling system to reduce the air needed for blow-moulding by 16%. In 2011 another joint collaboration reduced package weight and improved the blowing process on a production line. Bottles were originally produced on the equipment using 36 bars of blowing pressure. Folllwing the 2011 collaboration this was reduced to 28-30 bars. Performance of the finished bottle was retained, yet energy savings were also achieved.
Ongoing investment in the German market
Soft drinks continue to perform well in the German market, with carbonated soft drinks forecast to represent 64% of off-trade volume in 2016. PepsiCo Deutschland retains a strong market position, both through its cola products and also through investing in high growth sectors of the beverage market, including flavoured bottled water and sports and energy drinks. Central to this investment is the PepsiCo commitment to constantly reviewing and improving its production processes. Through adopting such technologies as Sidel's ECO lamps and air-recycling systems, energy savings can continue to be made, resulting in improvements in environmental performance as well as significantly reducing operating costs.
