The Challenge
At Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ (CCEP) facility in Dongen, the production team faced a persistent issue: water droplets forming on bottle caps after filling. These droplets were being picked up by the inspection system as defects, leading to unnecessary rejects.
While the defect rate may have seemed small, it caused a knock-on effect, wasted product, increased costs, and extra work for the production team. With quality standards to uphold and efficiency a top priority, a reliable solution was needed.
The Solution
Through Secomak’s Benelux distributor, Nicoverkan, CCEP Dongen installed the Mistral V. Designed to remove residual moisture from containers caps, the Mistral uses multiple precision-engineered nozzles to deliver consistent, high-pressured air that clears droplets from the cap.
As a result, the water drips were eliminated, significantly reducing inspection machine rejects.
“The many nozzles ensure the water is blown off constantly, which was key to solving our problem.” – CCEP Production Team
The Results
The installation of the Mistral has delivered measurable improvements:
- Rejects reduced by 50%: with water-related defects dropping from 0.2% of the production run to 0.1%.
- Lower costs and less rework: With fewer unnecessary rejects, production runs more smoothly.
- Consistent quality: Bottles now pass inspection without issue, helping maintain Coca-Cola’s high standards.
Implementation
The Mistral was straightforward to install and easy to operate. Initially, operators required some training to correctly adjust the machine to avoid bottles hitting the guidance rails. Once this was addressed, the line ran without further issues.
“After a short learning period, the Mistral integrated seamlessly into our process.”– CCEP Production Team
Overall Experience
CCEP Dongen values the Mistral for its reliability and impact on efficiency. The ability to consistently eliminate water drips has directly improved line performance.
Conclusion
The Mistral has proven to be an effective, dependable solution for CCEP Dongen. By halving water-related rejects, it has not only improved quality control but also reduced operational costs and workload for the production team.
For Coca-Cola and other high-volume beverage producers, the Mistral offers a dependable and efficient way to uphold strict quality standards. By keeping bottles consistently clean and minimising defects, it enables a more streamlined production process with less waste and greater overall efficiency.
Coca-Cola has been a valued customer for many years and is very pleased with the 50% reduction in rejects, a performance reflected in their satisfaction with the product and their continued trust in returning to us with challenges, knowing we provide effective solutions.
Technical Specification
