PHOTO: Members of the SRF team at the commissioning of the huge line in Cato Ridge earlier this year
The ultra-modern plant is the first BOPP manufacturing site built outside of India by SRF Flexipak, which is part of SRF Group (formerly Shri Ram Fibres), one of India’s largest and oldest chemical and industrial dynasties.
The 18-month construction project was completed in November. Phase one of SRF’s long-term strategy is to install up to four film lines on the site.
The ergonomically-sound factory includes a new five-layer coextrusion plant and an imposing 150m-long and 8.7m-wide Brückner BOPP film line, complemented by a top-of-the-range 2.8m Applied Materials metalliser, a Kampf rewinding and slitting hall and a world-class warehouse terminal. Also on site is a central service building, an administration building and canteen – all sized to cater for the proposed expansion to four lines.
Manufacturing operations are carried out by a 160-strong workforce, supported by highly-experienced management and sales teams.
“As African economies grow, and as transport and distribution infrastructures improve, more and more multinational brand owners are recognising the potential for packaged food production in Africa. In turn, they’re asking packaging convertors to deliver sophisticated flexible packaging solutions that offer excellent barrier properties for extended shelf life and are easy to transport,” said Grant Page, SRF Flexipak’s country head.
With its first-world infrastructure and stable economy, South Africa is the perfect base for SRF to implement its African growth strategy. Local BOPP film demand stands at at 31,000 tons/annum.
“This line has the capacity to extrude 80 tons/day, providing local and export markets with consistent quality, high-clarity film, produced using the world’s foremost equipment and processes,” said Page.
Production commenced in late November and has run smoothly since day one.
“From the very first mill roll, the 8.7m-wide line has been producing high-quality five-layer plain and coextruded films between 15 and 40 microns – in line with local convertor demand,” he added.
Flexibility, stability, speed and superior film quality
Combining the process know-how of SRF and Brückner, the BOPP line incorporates a ‘direct fluff’ recycling system and Brückner’s well-proven TDO heat recovery technology, which allows for considerable energy savings.
“Every aspect of the fully-automated process is designed to maximise up-time, yield and raw material efficiency. This ensures flexibility, production stability, fast product changes and, ultimately, superior film quality,’’ said Page.
Other plant design highlights include water run-off to a holding dam, air conditioning along specific sections of the line, a production process with 100% reusable internal waste and a pallet recycling programme. Overseeing production quality is a professionally-staffed laboratory, featuring cutting-edge testing facilities.
Ludwig Eckart, COO of Brückner Maschinenbau, supplier of the BOPP extrusion line, said “The African packaging industry is developing very positively, partly with two-digit growth rates. With a modern infrastructure and stable economy, South Africa is the perfect base for SRF to implement its African growth strategy.”
WWW.SRF.COM