Iraqi National for Food belongs to the Iraqi National Group of Companies, which is one of the country’s leading companies in manufacturing, trade, and transportation. Founded in 2019, Iraqi National for Food is recognized for its high-quality nutritional products. The company has many self-owned brands, including Hindrin carbonated soft drinks, Dinar healthy water, and Ra’eege pasteurized juice.
Iraqi National for Food initiated a new greenfield project to meet a growing demand for bottled water. After witnessing and experiencing first-hand Sidel’s solutions at two customer sites in Turkey, Iraqi National for Food chose Sidel as their partner to install the complete PET water packaging line. 
Sidel proposed a complete PET packaging line for water featuring a Sidel Combi as a turnkey solution.
Two firsts in Baghdad: Sidel’s high-speed PET water line and the lightest preform
Following an analysis of the market and the customer’s requirements, Sidel proposed a complete PET packaging line for water featuring a Sidel Combi as a turnkey solution, covering the entire process from packaging design to equipment supply. It thus became Sidel’s first and fastest high-speed line in Baghdad. The 48,000 bph line has a line efficiency of 96%.
“We are very happy that we chose Sidel for our complete water line project, in particular during the pandemic. The Sidel team provided great consultancy and conducted efficient execution so that our product could be launched in a short period of time,” says Mohammed Jasim, Executive Manager at Iraqi National for Food.
The complete line solution not only ensures high efficiency and quality, but also high sustainability standards which are of utmost importance to Iraqi National for Food. For example, at the beginning of the line, Sidel’s EvoBLOW blower fitted with the AirEco2 double air-recovery option reduces the required volume of compressed air by 35%. Furthermore, the Sidel Matrix Filler SF100 reduced filler enclosure provides a smaller filling environment with fewer chemicals and less water used during external cleaning. The air filtration system used in the filling process keeps the environment safe while ensuring high product quality.
In terms of packaging design, the bottle is designed and manufactured in three sizes (330 mL, 500 mL, and 1500 mL) with what Sidel says is one of the lightest preforms on the market (StarLITE base), further enhancing the product’s sustainability. 
The water bottle line uses one of the lightest preforms on the market (StarLITE base from Sidel), further enhancing the product’s sustainability, the company says.
Close cooperation overcomes lockdown obstacles
To complete the installation on time, Sidel and Iraqi National for Food cooperated closely during this period, overcoming numerous logistic challenges posed by the lockdown further to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The situation made the process of dispatching our installation team as well as arranging spare parts more difficult. Although the line arrived at the site before the lockdown, the project execution was still hindered by the restrictions, especially because no one was allowed to travel to Iraq at the time. By tackling the dilemma together with the customer, Iraqi National for Food managed to arrange an exceptional flight for our team a few months after the lockdown,” says Vedat Guler, Sales Director – Middle East at Sidel.
The installation and start-up only took six weeks, and the first sellable bottle was produced and launched on the market by the middle of June 2020. -PW
