Apemin Tusnad, the well-known Romanian mineral water player, has invested in Sidel's complete PET line for carbonated and non-carbonated mineral water to meet changing market demand and sustainability goals. Thanks to Sidel's Combi SF300 solution, running at 18,000 bottles per hour (bph), and to packaging innovations in the form of light-weighting and a shorter neck finish, a smaller carbon footprint has been achieved, yielding average savings of 5% on plastic consumption for each bottle and a high standard of hygiene.

Founded in 1999, Apemin Tusnad is one of Romania's leading mineral water bottlers, with over 30 million euros technology investments since the company was founded and a production capacity of 50,000 liters per hour. The company owns three brands – Tusnad, Artesia and Izvorul Ascuns. Apemin Tusnad uses mineral well water from the depths of the Harghita volcanic mountains, a mountainous area where nature has remained untouched. The high quality of the mineral well water has been recognized since the 16th century.

The privately-owned company works in harmony with the environment and aims to provide the purest water to consumers. To sustain this mission, it is crucial to protect the water source at its origin and ensure the hygiene of the whole bottling process.

In 2020, Romania's market share of packaged water was 51% on the non-alcoholic market by volume. Additionally, consumers pay more attention to superior water quality and, due to the rising importance of convenience, "on-the-go" consumption is also thriving.

Gyarfas Kurko, owner of Apemin Tusnad, says, "We chose Sidel not only because of its strength in PET solutions but also thanks to the great local service it offers. Throughout the pre-contracting phase and execution, we experienced a high level of professionalism from Sidel's staff, with clear communication and close support. This is the synergy we are looking for in a partner."

Hygiene goes hand in hand with sustainability

The partnership with Sidel began in 2003 when the first fully automatic PET line was installed in the Tusnad plant. After the reference visit to Italy in 2019, the company came to Sidel again to improve their performance with a new PET line.

Due to its high technical and hygiene standards, the company decided to invest in a new Sidel Combi carbonated and non-carbonated mineral water PET line. All bottle forming, filling, and closing operations are performed in an integrated and fully automated system. Thus, the entire circuit of bottling mineral water – from the underground aquifer to the enclosed filling environment – takes place in a controlled system without any external biological interaction. In addition, thanks to the Sidel SF300 filler with reduced filler enclosure, the purity and mineral character of the water is preserved, while the filling environment is kept compact and inconsistent overpressure with HEPA filters. The result is an assurance of the highest hygiene standards.

Responding to the homage to Mother Nature, Sidel's BlendFill integrated filler and carbonator solution also contributes to Apemin Tusnad's sustainable roadmap, as it requires fewer components and functions and reduces CO2 consumption, generating a smaller carbon footprint. Moreover, since 2020, all Apemin Tusnad brands have been produced with lightweight preforms and shorter neck finishes, achieving average savings of 5% on plastic consumption per bottle.

Production flexibility and local service generate trust

The new complete PET line for carbonated and non-carbonated water can run at up to 18,000 bph and accommodates various formats from 0.5 L to 2.5 L, which increases production capacity up to 40%.

"We chose Sidel not only because of its strength in PET solutions but also thanks to the great local service it offers. Throughout the pre-contracting phase and execution, we experienced a high level of professionalism from Sidel's staff, with clear communication and close support. This is the synergy we are looking for in a partner," concludes Kurko.