Go with the flow! With the fastest complete water filling line in the Middle East

In the Middle East, consumers’ purchasing decisions are increasingly changing, especially when it comes to beverages. The demand for bottled water is increasing, and water accounts for a third of all soft drink sales in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) today. Water suppliers have to confront the rising demand and increase their capacities. Mai Dubai also faced this challenge, and turned to packaging solution provider Sidel for support in mastering it.

The new packaging line needed to fulfil special requirements. “Our key considerations were optimum usage of the available space, consistently high quality and efficiency without sacrificing flexibility. We received added value through Sidel’s help in increasing the stability of our 500 ml bottle without detracting from its stylish design. Furthermore, Mai Dubai is a leader in the area of sustainability, and Sidel’s solution perfectly mirrored our desire for low energy consumption,” explains Alexander van’t Riet, CEO of Mai Dubai.

With its Super Combi Compact, Sidel installed a complete PET line for water bottling that is also the fastest single line in the Middle East, Africa and Asia region. It features the blowing, labelling and filling functionalities. In addition, the line is supplemented by the EasyFeed ground-level preform feeder and the Gebo OptiFeed ergonomic cap feeder. The line can fill 86,000 bottles per hour in three different formats from 200 ml to 330 ml and 500 ml.

Every part of the system supports maintaining the high quality of the bottles. For example, auto-splicing systems are employed at the labelling stage that allow for non-stop production and also do not scratch or scuff the products. The Gebo OptiFeed cap feeder contains an inspection system that automatically detects cap quality and colour and ensures consistent quality.

Sustainability is also an important topic for both companies. Mai Dubai powers its factory with renewable energy, and even generates surplus power with its 52,000 solar modules. In this way, Mai Dubai supplied the city’s power grid with four million kilowatt hours of energy that the company itself couldn’t consume in 2020.

As a compact solution with low energy consumption, Sidel’s Super Combi doesn’t just meet the water supplier’s high quality requirements, but also conforms to sustainability goals. In this case, the companies’ aim to create more sustainable solutions and production lines mirrors the wishes of the customers. The UAE are among the countries with the highest per capita water consumption worldwide. This is also due to the fact that consumers tend towards more healthy beverages instead of sugary ones and also pay attention to more sustainable packaging.