Manufacturing & Supply Chain

The benefits of Sidel’s Modulomould™ swappable mould insert system, along with the company’s packaging design expertise, have both been demonstrated in award winning bottles from Hariss International, one of Africa’s leading producers of water and soft drinks. At an awards ceremony on 10 September at the 2014 East AfriPack Exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya, Hariss International received the AfriStar Award and medal in recognition of the unique designs of its Riham-branded bottles.  The awards, organised by the Africa Packaging Organisation (APO), are the first to cover all African regions, recognising the best in creative design, technology and marketing.

Modulomould – a winning concept

The winning bottles were blown on Hariss International’s Sidel PET bottling lines using Modulomould, a patented technology which allows the production of several bottle shapes from a single mould.  Based on removable mould inserts that can be changed in less than 30 seconds with no tools required, Modulomould offers the flexibility to easily adapt bottle designs to meet the needs of different markets.  Retaining a constant design for the labelling area and base of the bottles, the inserts allow customisation of the bottle shoulder, body or both.

Also crucial in the design process of the winning bottles was the support given to Hariss International by Sidel’s dedicated packaging design team, part of the company’s Sidel Services business unit.  The innovative and engaging bottle designs were tested and validated by Sidel’s packaging experts who have decades of experience in optimising and qualifying PET packaging for a range of supply chains globally. The final moulds were then produced by the Sidel Services™ line conversions & moulds team, precisely engineered for the most demanding production conditions to protect Hariss International’s innovative designs.

Andrews Ruben, Managing Director of Hariss International, comments – “We decided to work with Sidel on this project because of their open, transparent and regular communications regarding the project. They passed on their technical knowledge to the Hariss team, so they could understand the solution in-depth.”

Investment to meet demands of a growing market

Hariss International is based in Uganda and produces a range of beverages under the Riham brand on two existing lines supplied by global provider of liquid packaging solutions Sidel.  These lines, including the first ever Sidel Combi line in East Africa and another for bottling still water, are soon to be joined by a further two PET bottling lines from Sidel.  These will become operational in November 2014 and January 2015, further increasing capacity and brand support for the popular Riham drinks.  Winning the award is the latest demonstration of the close working relationship established between Sidel and Hariss International.  In addition to the supply of the original still water line followed by the aseptic PET bottling line in 2013, Sidel has supported Hariss with a range of services. That includes packaging and preform design to help in the creation of unique bottle designs for the company’s brands, and high-quality mould production to efficiently turn the designs into an industrial reality.

Speaking about the award recognition, Georgios Diakakis, Regional Commercial Manager at Sidel, said – “Sidel has had a long relationship with Hariss International, and we’re delighted to hear that Riham has been awarded an AfriStar.  The award reflects our continuous efforts to provide our partners with quality services and innovative solutions.  Sidel’s vision has always been to adapt packaging to the goals of the end product and consumer, and the Modulomould method is a perfect example of this. We look forward to continuing our work with Hariss and help them reach new levels of achievement.”

Now, with the installation of the further two PET bottling lines dedicated to producing carbonated soft drinks and juices,  Sidel will further help Harris International to remain competitive in what is a growing market.  Uganda has recorded an impressive 31% increase in the consumption of soft drinks since 2008, with 2013 seeing 199.6 million litres consumed – a growth of 6.6% on the previous year.