Ducona Holland BV (Ducona), a leading family-owned manufacturer based in the Netherlands, strengthened its commitment to efficiency and sustainability by installing Sidel’s SBO 8 EvoBLOW blower with Preferential Heating technology to produce flat PET containers for sauces.
Ducona’s ongoing collaboration with Sidel reflects a shared dedication to sustainable growth and flexible, high-performance packaging. This last investment enabled Ducona to expand into the sauce market and further its focus on lightweight, energy-efficient packaging. The partnership between Ducona and Sidel spans more than three decades, with Sidel’s expertise and innovative solutions supporting Ducona’s evolution from its origins in 1991 producing bottles for Selchemie, to its current position as a leading PET packaging supplier.
“We are growing not only in volume but also in the variety of products and market segments, offering more added-value packaging for water, syrups, juices, smoothies and now sauces,” said Gerben Schepers, CEO of Ducona.
The company’s commitment to flexibility and rapid delivery, guaranteeing shipment within 48 hours, is underpinned by its investment in state-of-the-art equipment, a need consistently met by Sidel’s advanced technologies.
Preferential Heating technology for flat containers superior quality
Ducona investment in Sidel’s SBO 8 EvoBLOW with Preferential Heating marked a turning point in its production capabilities. The new equipment enabled the manufacture of 16,000 bottles per hour and delivered substantial PET savings, reducing packaging weight by up to ten percent.
This technology proved especially valuable for producing complex, shaped containers for sauces, allowing Ducona to achieve superior packaging quality at higher speed . “The Sidel Preferential Heating technology provides much better quality for the top-down flat bottles at a competitive cost compared with the traditional blowing process”.
The Sidel blower also helps the company to overcome challenges such as sustainable operations processing recycled PET (rPET) accounting for eighty percent of its total volume and lightweighting packaging. To match its sustainable ambition, Ducona is also supplying over thirty percent of the company’s energy needs with 8,800 solar panels. addressing the constraint of limited electricity availability in the Netherlands which makes energy-efficient solutions essential.
As Schepers explained: “Of course, we use recycled PET in a lot of our products. Depending on what the customer wants, we have from zero to hundred percent. If you produce rPET, the process window is more restrictive than if you blow virgin bottles. And with Sidel Preferential Heating process, we achieve superior packaging quality with a better bottle base’s shape whatever the recycling rate. And we also have the double air recovery system to save energy which is very important for Ducona”.
Sidel’s advanced technology addresses all these distinct manufacturing needs, supporting Ducona’s flexibility and rapid changeovers across more than 500 SKUs and over 300 million bottles produced annually. “With Sidel’s quick-change technology, we can easily produce a wide variety of bottles within the expected delivery time,” Schepers noted.
Long-standing partnership
The long-standing partnership with Sidel has been instrumental in Ducona’s growth and ability to meet evolving market demands. Schepers recalled the importance of Sidel’s early machines in improving bottle quality. He also highlighted the comprehensive support Sidel provides, from packaging design, testing, molds to operator training, counting on a turnkey supplier with everything in one hand.
Reflecting on the collaboration, Schepers concluded: “We are very satisfied with the new equipment, which offers higher output, better cost efficiency, improved quality, and packaging lightweighting that helps us gain market share.”
Find out more about this partnership and how you can access this kind of support for your business on the Sidel website.
