Sibeg employs approximately 400 staff and operates eight production lines dedicated to a variety of beverages, including soft drinks and energy drinks. With its capabilities in production, bottling, distribution, and development, Sibeg manages the distribution of Coca-Cola, Monster Energy products, and Acqua di Tepelene to over 24,500 retail locations across the island. This extensive reach underscores the company’s commitment to food and drink sustainability.
In a move to enhance sustainable packaging practices, Sibeg has recently collaborated with Sidel to implement a new complete-aseptic PET line capable of processing 18,000 bottles per hour at its Catania facility. This development marks a significant shift, allowing Sibeg to internalize the production of sensitive products that were previously outsourced to co-packers.
The newly installed line is equipped with Sidel’s Aseptic Combi Predis, EvoFilm Stretch, PalKombi machines, and advanced digital solutions. Together, these innovations contribute to significant water, energy, chemical, and plastic savings, aligning perfectly with current food and drink consumer trends toward sustainability.
Luca Busi, chief executive of Sibeg, remarked: “This move reflects our strategic effort to both expand our product portfolio and enhance flexibility in meeting customer demands, while also cutting down on pollution from truck transport from Northern Italy, further reinforcing our commitment to sustainability.”
He continued: “Sidel and Sibeg share a long-standing partnership, with a complete line previously supplied for CSD (carbonated soft drinks) packaging. Once again, Sibeg places its trust in Sidel, this time for aseptic production, relying on its well-known expertise to ensure the highest levels of product safety. The complete aseptic PET line will enable us to diversify into energy drinks and tea production.”
Sibeg selected Sidel as the sole vendor for the entire supply chain due to its proven specialization in sustainable packaging solutions. Sidel’s complete aseptic PET line includes the Aseptic Combi Predis, which integrates preform sterilization, blow molding, filling, and capping into a singular, efficient process. This integration not only ensures product integrity but also extends the shelf life of sensitive beverages, crucial for sustainable food and drink packaging.
Engineered for ease of use, the Aseptic Combi Predis allows operators to economically manage the sterilization process, effectively minimizing downtime and reducing training needs. The system boasts exceptional flexibility, enabling Sibeg to transition between ten different formats, ranging from energy drinks to teas, while maintaining the highest standards of food safety and productivity.
Sidel also equipped Sibeg with its EvoFilm Stretch packer, optimized for ambient temperature operations, thus eliminating the need for energy-intensive shrink tunnels. This innovation significantly contributes to the company’s sustainability targets.
Gianluca Tornatore, operations director at Sibeg, stated: “We felt safe relying, especially from a technical point of view, on a partner who is widely renowned for mastering the PET aseptic packaging production. Moreover, the collaboration with Tetra Pak for the processing part enabled us to cover the entire production process, from beverage preparation to the packaging line with a single contact point, bringing a strong increase in efficiency during execution.”
This collaboration has proven to reduce plastic usage by up to 60% and markedly decrease energy consumption, aligning with evolving food and drink marketing strategies focusing on sustainability.
Tornatore also added: “Using high pre-stretch LLDPE with a thickness of 10 to 23 microns, EvoFilm Stretch allows automatic sealing and flexible wrapping options. It lowers plastic use from 26 grams to 6 grams per pack, and energy use is only 10 kWh, leading to a 90% savings compared to traditional shrink-wrapping solutions.”
“The Sidel team were deeply committed to meeting our needs and timelines at every stage, from line design to ramp-up, while navigating the challenges of meeting Coca-Cola’s stringent safety standards.”
