Two new water factories in Saudi Arabia – built entirely by Krones

There are more than 200 producers of packaged water in Saudi Arabia. The market is estimated at 3.5 billion Saudi riyal (almost one billion euros), with an annual growth rate of 8.2 per cent. So it is hardly surprising that the Pure Beverages Industry Company (PBIC) wanted to play an active role here. The goal is becoming the leading enterprise for packaged drinking water in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. An impressive production capacity of around 400,000 bottles per hour was installed in order to help the beverage filler achieve this target. But the goals go even further: The company has invested in these new lines and systems in pursuit of a global vision, not just to build up the Saudi market.

PBIC has more than 1,000 people on its payroll in Saudi Arabia alone. It sells its water under the two brands Ival and Oska. Oska is filled into 200-, 330-, 600- and 1,500-millilitre bottles, and Ival additionally into a 200-millilitre droplet-shaped PET bottle.

The entire equipment in the two facilities comes exclusively from Krones. The filling company has opted for the Krones group because it offers an integrated system with a complete set of services, that is ready for immediate use and can be flexibly adapted to requirements.

Special features:

For its PET lines, PBIC relies largely on ErgoBloc technology, in each case with Contiform 3 Speed blow-moulder, modular labeller and Modulfill VFJ. The machine configuration’s small footprint was a very important criterion in favour of the ErgoBloc L. Using the space available to optimum effect by having three key machines in a single block quite simply represents a huge advantage. The design is a definite cost-saver in regard to staffing levels. Additional savings potential results from the low energy consumption of the ErgoBloc L.

The local staff and the Krones crew worked hand in hand. Their excellent teamwork enabled all the equipment included in this project to be installed without a hitch. Both the reliability and performance of the lines and systems complied in full with what was agreed.

Another huge factor tipping the scales in favour of Krones was its option of remote maintenance and remote service support. PBIC is optimally prepared thanks to the Krones team of experts, which is always on call in case of major machine failures, and to the Krones.shop(opens external link in a new tab) as the central contact point for any spares needed.