Long-standing South African customer Polyoak Packaging has turned to SIPA once more for the development and production of small bottles for one of the country’s favorite ice teas, BOS.
Polyoak is one of bigger packaging converters in South Africa, with over 30 manufacturing plants around the country (as well as in neighboring Namibia and Zimbabwe). Its PET bottle production operations are looked after by its Polypet division, which has been using SIPA equipment since 2007. Polyoak now has a large fleet of SIPA injection molding systems for production of PET preforms in both Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as a fleet of stretch-blow molding systems covering Cape Town, Durban and Harare.
One of Polyoak’s customers for PET bottles is BOS Brands, which five years ago burst onto the local market with a range of premium quality ice teas that contain extracts from the Rooibos plant native to South Africa. Rooibos means “red bush,” and in some areas herbal tea made from Rooibos leaves is actually called redbush tea.
Since hitting shop shelves in 2010, BOS ice tea has become very popular in South Africa, and is now on sale in most retail outlets across the country. BOS is also increasingly available overseas. The range continues to expand, and is now available in a wide range of flavours and in various formats (cans, packs and bottles). BOS recently decided to revitalize the 500-mL PET bottles for its BOS SPORT, and SIPA worked closely with Polyoak to deliver the goods.
The new format has a hot-fillable design. SIPA carried out pilot development to optimize the weight of the bottle and also to make sure the new design answered all the esthetic demands of the final customer. BOS was very keen to have their new container that made the drink stand out from the competition on the shelves.
With the green light from BOS, a SIPA unit has been converted to produce hot-fill bottles, and production of the new bottle recently got underway.
“Polyoak appreciates the flexibility of the SFL system,” says Roger Kerr, Operations Manager at Polyoak. “One of the key reasons we chose SIPA machine was because of the ease with which the equipment can be quickly set up during our frequent format changes.” Polyoak appreciates that commercial success of its customers is often a function of how quickly they can respond to consumer demand. They partner with market leading brands as well as more niche, emerging brands with smaller initial volume. This means we need to be flexible and efficient in changing between different products”. The SIPA SFL system also has the important advantage of using very cost-effective molds (made by SIPA).
“The customer also greatly appreciates the assistance we provided in designing the new packaging,” says Giovanni De Rosa, General Manager at SIPA South Africa. “And of course, now that we have our own sales and service operation in South Africa, we are close to Polyoak to provide continuing technical support. We have technicians paying regular visits to Polyoak plants in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
“Polyoak has been using our equipment for many years to make cold-fill bottles between 200 mL and 3 L for juices, soft drinks and water, and now it is confidently entering hot-fill territory for the first time and it is doing it with us!”
Polyoak Packaging is a privately-owned South African company with almost 40 years of experience in the industry. It is a true 'one-stop packaging shop' offering support with everything to do with rigid plastic packaging for dairy, beverage, food and industrial applications. This covers bottles, preforms, closures, buckets, drums, tubs, and garments hangers. The service includes packaging design, mould manufacture, testing services, rental of filling equipment and technical support.
Polyoak is one of bigger packaging converters in South Africa, with over 30 manufacturing plants around the country (as well as in neighboring Namibia and Zimbabwe). Its PET bottle production operations are looked after by its Polypet division, which has been using SIPA equipment since 2007. Polyoak now has a large fleet of SIPA injection molding systems for production of PET preforms in both Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as a fleet of stretch-blow molding systems covering Cape Town, Durban and Harare.
One of Polyoak’s customers for PET bottles is BOS Brands, which five years ago burst onto the local market with a range of premium quality ice teas that contain extracts from the Rooibos plant native to South Africa. Rooibos means “red bush,” and in some areas herbal tea made from Rooibos leaves is actually called redbush tea.
Since hitting shop shelves in 2010, BOS ice tea has become very popular in South Africa, and is now on sale in most retail outlets across the country. BOS is also increasingly available overseas. The range continues to expand, and is now available in a wide range of flavours and in various formats (cans, packs and bottles). BOS recently decided to revitalize the 500-mL PET bottles for its BOS SPORT, and SIPA worked closely with Polyoak to deliver the goods.
The new format has a hot-fillable design. SIPA carried out pilot development to optimize the weight of the bottle and also to make sure the new design answered all the esthetic demands of the final customer. BOS was very keen to have their new container that made the drink stand out from the competition on the shelves.
With the green light from BOS, a SIPA unit has been converted to produce hot-fill bottles, and production of the new bottle recently got underway.
“Polyoak appreciates the flexibility of the SFL system,” says Roger Kerr, Operations Manager at Polyoak. “One of the key reasons we chose SIPA machine was because of the ease with which the equipment can be quickly set up during our frequent format changes.” Polyoak appreciates that commercial success of its customers is often a function of how quickly they can respond to consumer demand. They partner with market leading brands as well as more niche, emerging brands with smaller initial volume. This means we need to be flexible and efficient in changing between different products”. The SIPA SFL system also has the important advantage of using very cost-effective molds (made by SIPA).
“The customer also greatly appreciates the assistance we provided in designing the new packaging,” says Giovanni De Rosa, General Manager at SIPA South Africa. “And of course, now that we have our own sales and service operation in South Africa, we are close to Polyoak to provide continuing technical support. We have technicians paying regular visits to Polyoak plants in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban.
“Polyoak has been using our equipment for many years to make cold-fill bottles between 200 mL and 3 L for juices, soft drinks and water, and now it is confidently entering hot-fill territory for the first time and it is doing it with us!”
Polyoak Packaging is a privately-owned South African company with almost 40 years of experience in the industry. It is a true 'one-stop packaging shop' offering support with everything to do with rigid plastic packaging for dairy, beverage, food and industrial applications. This covers bottles, preforms, closures, buckets, drums, tubs, and garments hangers. The service includes packaging design, mould manufacture, testing services, rental of filling equipment and technical support.