The archipelago of the Philippines is, in a sense, divided into three parts. Given the Philippines’ unique geography, comprising more than 7,600 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, manufacturing and supply chain logistics are no simple matter in the Southeast Asian country. PCPPI maintains 13 production facilities that manufacture and distribute beverages to the people on the islands.
Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. is putting two Krones filling lines with Ergo Bloc L into operation in two years’ time. Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) is the exclusive manufacturer of PepsiCo beverages in the Philippines.
PCPPI is one of the largest beverage filling companies in the Philippines and as such, it places considerable importance to ensuring that its filling technology to produce a wide range of beverages is at par in the region.
In 2020, PCPPI thus invested in its Batangas facility, south of the nation’s capital, Manila, to serve its millions of customers. PCPPI installed the ErgoBloc technology. This was the company’s first turnkey solution from Krones.
Batangas
ErgoBloc L filling line rated at 60,000 PET containers per hour
Scope:
- ErgoBloc L wet-end block comprising Contiform 3 Pro stretch blow-molder, Solomodul labeler and Modulfill VFS filler
- Variopac Pro FS packer
- Modulpal Pro 1AD palletizer with a Robobox T-GS grouping system
- Cloud-based service Share2Act Connect (connects all people and machines along the entire value chain) and Share2Act Performance (provides an overview of line and machine performances)
Special features of the line in Batangas
The first ErgoBloc line impressed PCPPI not only with its technological advantages and high efficiency, but also because the line was commissioned on schedule despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
PCPPI ordered the line in February 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning to unfold. When the line was ready for installation in September 2020, Krones was no longer able to fly in specially trained technicians from its headquarters in Germany. The line had to be installed and commissioned entirely by a local team, with remote support from Germany. And they did it with great success. The line filled its first batch of product at the end of 2020, right on schedule.
It came as no surprise, then, when PCPPI ordered a second ErgoBloc system from Krones in September 2021. It has a nearly identical design with the first one, with only slight modifications. This second line is designed for the plant in Cebu, Philippines’ most progressive island in the central island group, the Visayas.
“The ErgoBloc L has a very compact and efficient design where there is no need for long connecting conveyors. It saves space and manpower at the same time. Krones and PCPPI have done a wonderful job in installing and commissioning this line in Batangas despite the on-going pandemic. This made our relationship stronger and we are looking forward to the same success story in Cebu this year,” says Engr. Wildon Y. Quipanes, Sr. Technical Service Manager PET/BIB/Injection.
Contiform 3 Pro strech blow-molder
Labeller Ergomodul with two Contiroll TS stations
Modulfill VFS-M with PFR valves and an integrated mixer
Special features of the line on Cebu
The first line installed in Batangas has a Contiflow mixer set up as a stand-alone machine. On the other hand, the second line features a Modulfill VFS-M filler with proportional flow regulator (PFR) valves and an integrated mixer. The filler uses the same number of valves and same filler speed. The PFR valves allow a filling temperature that’s three degrees warmer. As a result, the machine also consumes less cooling energy.
Both of the new lines fill CSDs into PET containers (300 to 2,000 milliliters). They each serve to expand the capacity of their respective plants and are intended to ensure and improve the supply of products to the country’s many islands.
“This ErgoBloc L at 1000bpm is the first complete PET line that we have from Krones in PCPPI and we would like to use it as a model for all the lines that we will build in the future. With the Cebu line, which is the first PET line in this plant, we expect Krones to provide to us the best service in order to make our success in Southern Tagalog Regional Operations in Batangas duplicated in this project,” says Engr. Walton A. Firmeza, Manufacturing Excellence Head.
