Case histories

01/07/2013

Big 8 Beverages gets bigger with all-in-one package deal from SIPA

Canadian spring water and soft drinks supplier Big 8 Beverages is the recent recipient of a total package deal from SIPA that includes an SFR6 rotary stretch-blow molding unit coupled directly to a Stillfill S P gravity filling unit in a Sincro Bloc. Big 8 also came to SIPA for the development of new PET preform and bottle designs. SIPA worked with Big 8’s preform supplier to create the new unique preforms, which Big 8 uses to produce bottles in 500-mL, 1000-mL and 20-oz sizes for still spring water. The line runs at 12,000 bottles/h when producing and filling 500-mL bottles. “Big 8 liked the idea of getting everything it needed for its new production system from a single source,” says SIPA’s Denis Marcon. “As well as the bottle production and filling units, we also took care of the peripherals, including the chiller and high pressure compressor. It was a true turnkey project. Big 8 has a single partner, SIPA, to work with on the entire system, and SIPA was able to configure the system to run at high speed, producing high quality bottles. Big 8 is very happy with the complete service package we provided for them. “The customer also appreciates the SFR6 for its speed and its compact design, and of course the Sincro set-up integrating the blowing and filling units dispenses with meters of conveyors. But compact does not mean hard to access—on the contrary, changeover times between different bottle sizes are very short.” Located in Stellarton, Nova Scotia on Canada’s East Coast, Big 8 Beverages has been providing high quality water and soft drinks since 1986. Its state-of-the-art facility is capable of producing and shipping orders of any size, anywhere around the world. Big 8 is owned by major Canadian stores group Sobeys Inc. Big 8 gets its spring water from a pristine underwater aquifer with very low natural mineral counts, and its soft drinks are made using the highest quality syrups and natural sugars. It offers extensive private label services tailored to meet the specific needs of its customers.