Major South African packaging company Polyoak Packaging is moving into new territory with SIPA. It has taken a SFL EVO 6/4 XL linear stretch-blow molding unit to make bottles up to 10L in volume at its plant in Johannesburg.
With headquarters in Cape Town, Polyoak Packaging produces bottles for juices, mineral water, and edible oils. At other locations in Southern Africa, it already has no fewer than seven SFL linear stretch-blowing machines making smaller bottles, as well as eight SIPA injection molding machines producing PET preforms.
The new SFL EVO 6/4 XL is already in operation, producing 5-L bottles in different shapes for water, juices, and oils, alternating with 10-L bottles for multiple products. It can produce as many as 1600 10-L versions every hour, and for the 5-L size the rate rises to 4800 bph.
Gary Bloom at Polyoak Packaging says the SFL EVO 6/4 XL was chosen above all for its flexibility, blowing 5-L bottles in four cavities and 10-L bottles in two cavities. “We can maximize the output on our 5-L bottles, which are already best-sellers, and we can use the same machine to test the market for water and other products in 10-liter bottles without having to make a major investment,” he says. The blower is equipped with QuickChange configuration that makes preform neck change a “walk in the park”.
On top we have GreenOvens that reduce power consumption and make bottle production cost extremely competitive.
Polyoak is one of the bigger packaging converter in Southern Africa, with manufacturing plants around the country and neighbouring countries. It has been partnering with SIPA for around 15 years.