New Sidel aseptic complete PET line and bottle design for UHT milk boost business

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For the very first time, the local Italian milk producer Fattoria Latte Sano have switched their ultra-high-temperature (UHT) milk production from carton to aseptic PET with a new safe and simple packaging line, featuring Sidel’s proven Aseptic Combi Predis™. Combined with a new bottle design, it opens the door to sustainable business growth with flexibility for future shelf stable dairy production needs for their own brand and private labels.

With a love for the countryside and a passion for livestock, Fattoria Latte Sano have been serving households in the province of Lazio for more than 70 years. Located just a short drive away from Rome the company have grown into a well-known local player for consumers and retailers in the region. Fattoria Latte Sano produce milk, which is collected in selected high-quality farms. The company are selling products under their own brand and are also co-packing dairy products for private labels and other industries.

Boosting milk production capacity with aseptic PET bottling solution

Although the Italian market is still dominated by milk packaged in carton or high-density polyethylene (HPDE), bottling milk in PET is becoming more and more popular in the country, offering a higher perceived value for the consumer.

Fattoria Latte Sano have switched their production of extended shelf life (ESL) and UHT milk to the 100% recyclable PET packaging material. “A combination of the market demand and our willingness to pursue a sustainable business practice encouraged us to choose Sidel’s proven aseptic PET packaging solution with its integrated blow-fill-seal solution based on the dry preform sterilisation technology,” comments Marco Lorenzoni, President at Fattoria Latte Sano.

The large number of major names in the worldwide dairy industry that already trusted Sidel contributed to Fattoria Latte Sano decision to cooperate with Sidel. Another key element was the approval of the Aseptic Combi Predis by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017, validated for low acid manufacturing and commercial distribution in the United States. This made it the first aseptic bottling solution with the dry preform sterilisation technology in the world. For the Italian player, this was a great recognition of the food safety level, reinforcing their confidence when investing in the first aseptic PET solution for the company.

Sidel’s team of engineers worked in close collaboration with the Fattoria Latte Sano team to design the most optimised line layout, which features a relatively small footprint, to install and validate it. They also provided the right support to the customer team by improving their operational routines and guiding them in terms of good manufacturing practices. “Since the successful start-up in January 2019, the aseptic complete PET line maintains the highest food safety standards, production simplicity and flexibility as well as the ergonomic aspects we were looking for,” explains Marco Lorenzoni.

Additionally, the line gives freedom in terms of production schedule and product range; it can manage multiple SKUs with a variety of four different types of milk – whole, partially skimmed, skimmed and organic – produced aseptically in 1 L and 500 ml bottle formats with different label types according to the produced brands. In respect for environment, the line also guarantees a significant reduction in water and chemical consumption.

New PET bottle design with cow outlines: A modern and original look

Packaging liquid dairy products (LDP) in PET bottles is bringing benefits for both, producers and consumers: from meeting high food standards to providing outstanding customer experiences. PET is the most cost-effective and sustainable packaging solution that allows producers to differentiate dairy products on the supermarket shelves from the traditional square carton boxes or HDPE bottles. Its virtually endless freedom in package design was very significant for Fattoria Latte Sano to set the brand truly apart from the competition.

During the implementation of the packaging line, Sidel also helped to design the new PET bottles. Made from a monolayer material – for easier recyclability – and with iconic cow outlines on the top part of the bottle, the new design gives a modern and original look. The 1 L bottle weighs only 26 g because there are no thermal constraints associated with the traditional bottle-rinsing process, contributing to significant PET savings. It also ensures easy opening and closing options as well as the milk quality and integrity due to the perfect tightness between bottle neck and cap with no aluminium foil.

As stated by Luigi Camorali, Account Manager for Sales Southern Europe at Sidel, the design process for the UHT packaging for Fattoria Latte Sano marked an important landmark in the entire implementation project: “Our support played a great role when selecting and qualifying the most suitable PET barrier solution for the new packaging, and also in advising our client in the most cost-effective solution for labelling: we suggested to maintain the same bottle diameter and labelling panel for all the bottles to minimise additional costs when changing labels,” continues Luigi. The labels are applied with a Sidel’s RollQUATTRO Evo labeller, delivering all the flexibility needed to match the dairy player’s requirements in terms of product changeover, accurate label application and lightweighted container handling.

By leveraging Sidel’s expertise in packaging design, Fattoria Latte Sano also sought to open wider business opportunities in the private label segment. “To help with this goal, the company’s logo was included on the label rather than embossed on the bottle, so the same containers in different formats can be used to bottle LDP sold under their own as well as other brands,” concludes Luigi.

With a production capacity of 12,000 bottles per hour, the line is currently running eight hours per day, five days a week with more than 90% average efficiency for each bottle format. With its great attributes, it definitely offers Fattorie Latte Sano a huge opportunity to boost production capacity and increase their UHT milk market share.

 

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