CHINA - Chinese Ting Hsin ordered 20 complete PET bottling lines from Sidel to package 0.6 L bottles of mineral water.

Ting Hsin, one of China’s largest instant noodle maker and a recent entrant to the beverage industry, will have 20 complete PET bottling lines installed at some of its thirty plants located throughout China, a move aimed at having the largest production capacity in a mineral water industry which has been averaging a 11 per cent growth per annum.

Scheduled to start production in December 2006, the lines, equipped with Combi 20 Select GL machines, Alfa Rollquatro F35 labelers and Gebo conveyors, will package 0.6 litre bottles of mineral water at a rate of 36,000 PET bottles an hour.

Ting Hsin has also ordered a hot filling line equipped with an SBO 14 HR (0.5 L, 2 L) a hot filler from Simonazzi and Gebo conveyors.  The output rate on this line is 9,100 bph. Three new SBO Universal 20 HR blowing machines have also been bought to package tea in square 0.5 L PET bottles at a rate of 26,000 bph. This is Sidel’s largest order ever.

Ting Hsin also plans to expand operations in China’s tea and fruit juice sector, expected to grow 14 per cent by 2008.

A division of Tetra Laval, the Sidel Group is a supplier of equipment for packaging liquid foods (water, carbonated drinks, milk, sensitive drinks, oil, beer and alcoholic beverages) in plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans.