Sidel unveils Starlite technology to boost bottled water production

To boost bottled water production in Nigeria and other parts of Africa, Sidel, a PET bottle solutions provider, has introduced a technology known as StarLite Base.

“Bottled water remains the top selling item in the global non-alcoholic beverage market. With countries like Nigeria which is forecasted to consume 49,647 million litres in 2018 and have a steady growth of over 11 percent over the past four years, it has become increasingly apparent that we have to make our customer’s PET do a lot more for them,” said Samuel Gobbe, customer service director, at Sidel.

“This new technology will ensure that their PET is being used efficiently and effectively, while they enjoy the savings,” Gobbe said.

According to him, StarLite is compatible with Sidel’s Matrix technology, as well as integrated into already existing bottle designs, as it is a perfect fit in high heat environments as it shows resistance to the very high temperatures and is easily adaptable to customer requirements.

Sidel StarLite is a new design to the base of standard PET bottles and a slightly altered design

from the standard base. The new technology gives added durability, stability, and overall resistance to the bottles, according to the firm.

According to Sidel, the new design offers a more energy efficient method of production, allowing producers to achieve significant savings on both energy and the amount of PET used for the overall production of the bottles.

The design employs two different components in the base simultaneously. The first component is the Edge BeamTM, which is a groove system that keeps the base rigid, while the second component is called the Smart DiscTM.

“This underlying facet gives the base more structure while preventing deformities during any part of the production line,” according to an abridged statement from Sidel.

The firm further said producers adopting this new base design can expect to see up to 30 percent resistance from top-load denting on the pallet and up to 55 percent side-load resistance on the conveyor belt or in a vending machine.

“Under frozen conditions they experience up to a 50 percent reduction in bottle rollout. This will be extremely beneficial to producers in Africa region during the hot summer months,” Sidel said.

The firm said the design, released last year, had already had much success in terms of environmental impact and sustainability.

ODINAKA ANUDU