In the heart of the Caucasus region, Georgia is one of the richest countries in mineral and thermal waters, even if it has a very ancient history for the cultivation of vines and the production of wine, as evidenced by ancient archaeological finds.
The bottled mineral water industry has made great strides forward in the last decade, as shown by the successes of the company Aqua Geo Ltd, that uses increasingly advanced bottling and packaging technologies.
In order to automate its own plants, the Georgian company turned to SMI for the supply of several turn-key plants for the production of the carbonated water under the KOBI brand and the natural water under the SNO brand.
SMI solutions for KOBI water plant
KOBI plant is a recent project, officially launched in 2018. The carbonated water brand KOBI owes its name to the homonymous village, at 2000 meters above the sea level in the Caucasus Mountains, in which the spring is located.
Aqua Geo lies in a picturesque place that fascinates for the beauty of nature and for the countless historical and cultural testimonies, such as the Georgian Military Road, taken to reach the bottling plant.
This road is an enchanting 200 km long path through the Caucasus Mountains that connects the Georgian capital Tbilisi to the Russian city of Vladikavkaz, located in the north, not far from the border between the two countries.
Purity and quality preserved by technology
KOBI spring water is characterized by its unique taste and minerals and by a healthy, high-quality microbiological composition. KOBI source immediately strikes for the lack of pipelines above the surface, thanks to a highly technological system that preserves the natural course of the spring water, while fully respecting the surrounding environment.
The production plant for the bottling and packaging of glass and PET bottles of KOBI mineral water is equipped with modern fully automated lines, that use advanced technologies to fully protect the quality of the natural product.
Modern technologies for high-quality products
SMI, that has been collaborating with Aqua Geo since 2011, has been involved in the important development project of KOBI brand and has designed, built and installed two bottling lines side by side: one for 0.33 L and 0.5 L glass bottles and the other for 0.5 L, 1 L and 1.5 L PET bottles.
The logistic configuration of the two bottles side by side allows to optimize space and costs, due to the fact that both use the same area for raw materials and the same unloading and storage area for the finished pallets ready for distribution.
Production line for PET bottles
The solution includes:
– 10,800 bottles/hour bottling line equipped with an integrated, compact system from ECOBLOC® ERGON range for blowing, filling and capping 0.5 L, 1 L and 1.5 L PET bottles for carbonated water
– LSK 40F ERGON shrink wrapper with production up to 40 packs/minute for making bundles in film only in 3×2 (1 L and 1.5 L bottles) and 4×3 formats (0.5 L bottles).
Main advantages
– Compact solution, thanks to the integration of the blowing, filling and capping functions into a single machine with subsequent reduction of the space occupied and the production costs
– This solution does not require the presence of a rinser and of the conveyor belts between the blow moulder and the filler
– Reduction of the risk of contamination between the dry section of the stretch-blow moulder and the wet section of the filler
– High-efficiency rotary stretch-blow molding system equipped with motorized stretch rods, whose electronically controlled operation does not require mechanical cams
– Precise management of the movement of the stretch rod, accurate control of its position, significant energy savings
– Blow molds that reproduce the graphic concept of the bottle requested by the customer, characterized by special ribs on the bottom of the same
– LSK ERGON series packaging machine equipped with integrated handle applicator (very compact solution)
– Excellent quality-price ratio, thanks to the use of highly reliable components and cutting-edge technical solutions
– Quick and smooth handling systems of empty PET bottles and packs at the shrink wrapper outfeed
– Use of frequency converters (inverters), which optimize the operation speed of all systems.
Line for the production of GLASS bottles
The solution includes:
– ELC monobloc for rinsing, filling and capping 0.33 L and 0.5 L glass bottles with production up to 6,000 bottles/hour
– LSK 30T ERGON shrink wrapper for packing glass bottles in packs in tray+film in 4×3 format (maximum output: 30 packs/minute)
Main advantages
– Extremely compact line solution, with infeed designed to reduce the machine footprints
– Empty bottle labelling; this solution guarantees a high-quality product and avoids the condensation, typical when labelling on full bottles
– Empty bottle labelling does not require a drying tunnel, present on the PET bottle production line, where the full bottles are labelled at the outfeed of the ECOBLOC® ERGON
– Versatile and easy to maintain rinsing, filling and capping monobloc of the ELC series
– Electro-pneumatic filling system (pneumatic valves controlled by solenoid valves) for level gravity filling, which facilitates the automation of all filling functions
– The motors of the LSK 30T shrink wrapper are directly connected to the transmission axes, with the consequent advantage of reducing maintenance, energy dissipation and noise
– POSYC® control panel, with extremely intuitive graphic interface, which allows easy and efficient use of the packaging machine.
If you want to find out further information on the packaging solution installed at KOBI and on the advantages offered by the machines supplied by SMI, we invite you to read the last issue of our SMI NOW magazine or to contact our sales department.
SMI S.p.A.
e-mail: info@smigroup.it – www.smigroup.it
