Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

New PET Blow/Fill Line for Vinegar

This French company founded in 1797 recently installed a new Combi system for blowing and filling of PET bottles at speeds to 23,000/hr.

The new Combi system for blowing and filling of PET bottles runs at speeds to 23,000/hr.
The new Combi system for blowing and filling of PET bottles runs at speeds to 23,000/hr.

The rising demand for white vinegar has led Charbonneaux-Brabant, a key player in the packaging of condiments and seasonings, to install a complete PET line in its new production plant in Vauvert, in the South of France. There, they now bottle white vinegar in 1- and 1.5-L formats, managing a high level of flexibility requested by their supply chain and distribution network. The new line was supplied by Sidel.

The last few years has seen a boom of white vinegar usage in France and across Europe driven by a growing perception that white vinegar is a natural and effective cleaning product in addition to being useful for food preparation. Among natural cleaning products like baking soda or rubbing alcohol, white vinegar remains a very affordable choice in a highly competitive market.

Charbonneaux-Brabant, a family-owned company since Charbonneaux’ founding in Reims in 1797, is a historical player in the production of natural vinegar and cleaning products. More recently, they have moved into the packaging and distribution of alcohol-free products, solvents, and chemicals. In the past, Charbonneaux-Brabant’s production capacity was supported by three factories in France: their headquarters and historical site based in Reims (Eastern France), and two other plants located in Carvin (Northern France) and in Nantes (Western France). “All of those sites were nearly saturated and not able to cope with the growing demand for white vinegar without a potential risk of production shortages,” explains Industrial Director Loïc Dionis at Charbonneaux-Brabant.

Assessing the situation in the three existing factories, Charbonneaux-Brabant wanted to release the capacity pressure they were experiencing while also continuing to build its network in a market in which distribution costs represent a significant constraint and producing locally is key for success. Dionis explains, “We decided to enlarge our site in Vauvert, Southern France, where we were only producing vinegar in kegs before.”

Food product or home care item?
When establishing the new packing hall, Charbonneaux-Brabant carefully took its peculiar market position into consideration: the company stands at a crossroad of several industry needs, challenges, and sources of inspiration. On the one hand, vinegar as food remains an edible product, leveraging PET packaging processes that are very similar to those for edible oils, sauces, and dressings. On the other hand, white vinegar as a home care product has a high acidity that can negatively affect not only machinery but even the overall process itself. Sidel Key Account Manager Loïc Leon explains.

“Charbonneaux-Brabant wanted to be one of the first to apply the methodology and approach from the edible oil and water sectors—where inline PET bottle blowing, turnkey solutions, and fully automatic, high-speed, flexible packaging lines are key elements—to the production and packaging of vinegar.”

Conveying Innovations Report
Editors report on distinguishing characteristics that define each new product and collected video demonstrating the equipment or materials as displayed at the show. This topical report, winnowed from nearly 300 PACK EXPO collective booth visits, represents a categorized, organized account of individual items that were selected based on whether they were deemed to be both new, and truly innovative, based on decades of combined editorial experience in experiencing and evaluating PACK EXPO products.
Take me there
Conveying Innovations Report
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?