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Founded in 1993, Sant Aniol has always operated with a focus on sustainability, striving to preserve nature and make the world a better place to live.

Among the many innovations introduced are its striking PET bottles, inspired by the volcanic rocks of the Garrotxa region and produced by an EBS 8 KL Ergon stretch-blow moulder equipped with the ReduxAir system to reduce energy consumption.

Bottles with a volcanic spirit

Sant Aniol PET containers feature a distinctive and elegant design that conveys the unique qualities of the water whose spring is located within the Natural Park of Garrotxa, at a depth of more than 120 metres, in a place characterised by sedimented lava and volcanic rocks that give the water its purity and excellent qualities.

SMI solution for Sant Aniol

Food companies are increasingly committed to the green and digital transition, placing the well-being of consumers and employees at the centre of their production processes.

For Sant Aniol, the environment is a primary asset to be safeguarded, and to achieve this goal, the company relies on next-generation technologies that maximise energy efficiency. Building on the supply of its first-generation SR 8 stretch-blow moulder 15 years ago, Sant Aniol has once again turned to SMI for the installation of the new EBS 8 KL Ergon model, designed for the bottling line of natural water in 0.33-litre, 0.5-litre and 1.5-litre PET containers.

Environmental benefits

The EBS 8 KL Ergon stretch-blow moulder, installed at the Girona plant, is fitted with stretch-blow moulds equipped with the special 'ReduxAir' bottom, which, through special technical and design measures, allows the air between the outer walls of the bottle and the surface of the mould to be released more quickly, making it possible to produce rPET/PET containers with lower air pressures, especially:

• 0.33-litre containers at 15 bar air pressure

• 0.5-litre containers at 17 bar air pressure

• 1.5-litre containers at 25 bar air pressure

This makes it possible to reduce the use of a high-pressure air compressor, significantly lowering electricity consumption.

Energy efficiency benefits

The EBS 8 KL Ergon stretch-blow moulder supplied by SMI is equipped with an energy counter with a digital LCD display, which, through the control of energy consumption, enables the optimisation of the operational efficiency of the plant.

The counter installed on the machine is used to record and display, alternately, electricity consumption, voltage, current and power over a given period.

Thanks to these devices, the solutions supplied by SMI can leverage the services offered by the platform SmyIoT, an interactive database that remotely collects, verifies, processes and enhances all operating parameters of the plant, both at the level of individual machines and across the entire production line.

This allows users to improve operational efficiency and energy performance across all processes, schedule maintenance interventions and reduce overall production costs.

Energy: Saving benefits

The EBS 8 KL Ergon stretch-blow moulder is characterised by the presence of an innovative preform heating oven that is extremely compact and equipped with an aluminium diffuser that ensures optimal temperature control to prevent overheating.

The energy costs for the production of bottles are also reduced thanks to the presence of energy-efficient IR lamps and heat-reflecting panels equipped with ceramic elements.

The stretch-blow moulding module is equipped with a high-efficiency two-stage air recovery system, called AirMaster, which recovers the air from the blowing circuit and thus ensures a significant reduction in compressed air consumption and significant energy savings, thanks to the reduced use of the high-pressure compressor.