Many of the biggest beverage brands in China are responding to a scenario of rapid expansion by investing in more advanced and efficient production lines. One such instance is in Tianjing, where Huihuang United Food, a major bottler of well-known brands like Coca-Cola and C’estbon, turned to SMI, with which it has long collaborated, for the supply of an integrated blowing-filling-capping system (ECOBLOC® ERGON), the company’s first installation in China, for the purpose of bottling C’estbon brand products in 4.5 L PET containers.
The Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. Ltd.
Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Company was founded in 2011 as a subsidiary of Macau Huiyang International Investment Co. Ltd., a company belonging to the industrial giant Zhuhai Zhongfu Enterprises Co. The Tianjin-based company, which currently employs about 300 people, has distinguished itself since the beginning of its activity for the ability to manage large productions for third parties; since 2011 it collaborates, for example, with the US multinational Coca-Cola. The first supply of SMI to Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Company dates back to the same year, with the installation of an SK 802 F shrinkwrapper for packing 0.55 L PET bottles in 6×4, 5×3 and 4×3: this machine is currently installed in one of the two 48,000 bottles/hour production lines of the Tianjin plant. The Chinese company extends over an area of about 100,000 square meters, of which 68,000 square meters occupied by bottling plants. The warehouse area alone occupies an area of 36,000 square meters and allows Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. to store more than 1.5 million packs of C’estbon-branded water, while ensuring its customers a daily delivery of 250,000 packs.
Within the production area, 6 complete lines are currently installed for bottling and packaging various products in various pack formats. The new ECOBLOC® ERGON integrated system recently supplied by SMI, is part of a 6,000 bottles/hour production line for 4.5 and 6 L PET containers branded C’estbon; the new plant is therefore added to the first stretch-blow moulder supplied by SMI in 2015 (in partnership with Sacmi), intended for the production of the same bottle. While the SK 600 F shrinkwrapper supplied in 2013, dedicated to the packaging of 0.35 and 0.55 L PET bottles in film-only, is installed inside the 36,000 bph line.
The bottled water market in China
Among the most important factors in the development of the bottled water sector, it is certainly worth mentioning the constant growth in the size of the Chinese market, both in terms of litres produced annually and in terms of the number of consumers.
Bottled water volumes, increases yearly with a 10.9% increase in the first quarter of 2023, driven by the boom in retail sales. The increase in household consumption has fuelled demand for water in general and in particular in large packaging. In addition, the recovery of tourism, following the lifting of post-pandemic travel restrictions, represented another strong boost to the recovery and expansion of the sector. It is estimated that during 2023 the sales volumes of bottled water will grow annually by 8.7%, a trend that should also be confirmed for the following years due to the increasing propensity of the Chinese population for healthier and more responsible lifestyles for the well-being of society and the environment.
(Source Globaldata 2023)
Focus on Zhuhai Zhongfu Enterprises Co.
Founded in 1985 in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, Zhuhai Zhongfu Enterprises Co. is a private group active in a wide range of industrial sectors, with particular presence in the production and supply of PET bottles and in the bottling of beverages for third parties with plants among the most modern and extensive in China.
It currently has more than ten plants for the large-scale production of bottled water, soft drinks, tea and other liquids, all equipped with state-of-the-art automated production lines. Among these, the plant installed at Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Company stands out, which, thanks to its long experience in bottling in containers with standard and large capacity formats, has been producing beverages for years, on behalf of important brands such as Coca-Cola and C’estbon.
The company is also the market leader in the production of packaging materials such as PET preforms, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) labels, oriented polypropylene (OPP) film labels, shrink film, caps and cartons, which are mainly used in the food and beverage industry (soft drinks, bottled water, beer, juices, tea, isotonic drinks, milk, sauces, etc.).
Zhuhai Zhongfu Enterprises is one of the top 100 light industry enterprises in Guangdong Province and one of the top 500 in China, as demonstrated by the “Best of China” award given by the National Development Commission for primacy in the production of PET bottles.
SMI Machinery Beijing Co. Ltd.
SMI is constantly committed to providing its Chinese customers with fast and efficient local support to meet the needs of a rapidly evolving market.
For many years, in fact, SMI has been present in China with SMI Machinery Beijing Co. Ltd., which also owns the representative office in Guangzhou (Canton).
The commercial and after-sales activities of the two structures in China allow SMI to cover the main industrial centers of the country and improve the technical-commercial service offered to the many customers.
The current staff, consisting of 12 people, offers competence and professionalism in the management of numerous customer requests for technical assistance, spare parts, maintenance, new applications, and has represented a strong point for the project carried out at Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co.
A chat with the customer, interview with Huang Gang, Plant Manager of Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. Ltd.
Q: When and how did Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. start production?
A: Our company started the beverage bottling business in 2011 and immediately distinguished itself thanks to the production of Coca-Cola and C’estbon drinks.
Q: What were the main stages of the company’s growth?
A: The first investment dates back to 2011, the year Huijuang United Food was established, as part of the collaboration with Coca-Cola for the bottling and packaging process of their beverages. Another step forward was made in 2013, when the production capacity of our plants was enhanced to cope with the new collaboration with the C’estbon brand. Today, after 10 years, continuous innovation has led us to create a new project to further increase our production thanks to the new integrated system ECOBLOC® ERGON supplied by SMI.
Q: What are the main factors that convinced you to invest in a new bottling line supplied by SMI?
A: In 2015 we purchased an SMI rotary stretch-blow moulder and filler for the production of 4.5 L PET containers, which satisfied us and has guaranteed stable and successful production over the years. For this reason, also due to the recent investment that was necessary to increase production in response to a strong market demand, we had no doubts when choosing SMI for a new ECOBLOC® ERGON integrated system for the production of large capacity PET containers of 4.5 and 6 L for bottling still water.
Q: How do you see the food & beverages market in the future?
A: I believe that in this sector there is a lot of room for development and innovation in China, given the constant growth of social well-being of increasingly large sections of the population and the improvement to people’s lifestyle. Companies operating in the food and beverage sector must pay more and more attention to the new needs of consumers, creating a wide and diversified offer of products made with advanced and sustainable processes for the well-being of the planet.
Q: How do Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. products differ from others available on the market?
A: Quality and safety are the fundamental principles underlying our business activity. From my point of view, these are the elements that differentiate us the most and allow us to succeed within the market.
Q: When is it important for Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co. to have SMI’s direct presence in China through its subsidiary SMI Machinery Beijing?
A: It is essential to guarantee a fast, efficient and convenient technical and after-sales support.
The presence of a local branch has represented and will increasingly represent in the future, an essential element for our collaboration with SMI, because a large company like ours, must be able to count on qualified and high-level support from its trusted suppliers at all times.
SMI solutions for Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co.
The collaboration between Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food Co and SMI began 12 years ago with the purchase of an SK 802 F shrinkwrapper, installed within the production line dedicated to the packing of 0.5 L Coca-Cola bottles in 6×4, 5×3 and 4×3 in film only and with the subsequent supply of an SK 600 F shrinkwrapper installed on the 36,000 bottles/hour line, necessary to increase the production of 0.35 and 0.55 L bottles.
In the field of primary packaging, the collaboration between the Chinese company and SMI began in 2015, with the installation of a 6-cavity stretch-blow moulder for the production of 4.5 and 6 L PET containers for the C’estbon brand. The recent investment in SMI’s first ECOBLOC® ERGON plant in China, has allowed the customer to increase the production of 4.5 and 6 L formats, which are in high demand by the market, and to further increase the quality and technological profile of the solutions adopted.
Huihuang United (Tianjin) Food and Zhuai Zhongfu are two industrial companies particularly attentive to the environment. Consequently, energy saving and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions have become one of the pillars of corporate social responsibility, which requires the increasingly massive use of new equipment and technologies designed to combine business efficiency and ecosystem protection.
The ECOBLOC® ERGON 6-16-4 HC HEVF Stretch-blowing/filling/capping system
Containers worked: 4.5 and 6L PET containers of C’estbon natural water.
The main advantages:
- Compact solution for stretch-blow moulding, filling and capping large capacity PET bottles;
- Does not require a rinsing machine and air belts between blower and filler;
- Precise and fast filling and capping process, thanks to the electronic control system of operations, motorised stretch rods and the use of high-efficiency valves controlled by flow meters;
- Reduced energy consumption;
- Energy-efficient IR preform heating lamps;
- Two-stage air recovery system, which reduces energy costs for high-pressure compressed air production;
- Filling valves that manage two speeds in order to fill homogeneously, efficiently and without product spilling from the container. The duration of the filling cycles (slow or fast) can be managed in a simple and intuitive way through the recipes in the human-machine interface (HMI Posyc®);
- Reduced maintenance and management costs of the plant.
The EASY-CAP/cap Elevator/sorter
Function: gravitational cap sorter, which takes the caps from a hopper and turns them correctly until they reach the bottling line.
The main advantages:
- very compact structure, made of AISI 304 steel, suitable for any layout solution;
- Smooth and linear operation, that will only carry the caps that are in the correct position;
- System suitable for different types of plastic caps;
- User-friendly operator interface, which allows easy and efficient use of the machine by the operator.
