FDBusiness.com

For some time now, at the various trade shows in Europe, there have been exhibition stands promoting Chinese equipment. Possibly some of the reasons for the lack of European bottlers taking the plunge were the logistical problems associated with after sales and service due to the distance between Europe and China and the general feeling was you might be left ‘holding the baby’.

Cornish Natural Spring were the first to install a 24-24-8 bloc in the UK to fill ½ L, 1L and 2L round PET for still and carbonated water, where the machines were manufactured by Zhangjiagang Huanyu Beverage Machinery Co Ltd and, to date, the equipment has not missed a beat.

Richard Portman and Mike Hill have now become the UK and Ireland agent for Huanyu and have just secured a second order, this time for an 18-18-6 rinser/filler/capper to fill 330ml, 500ml, 750ml, 1L and 1.5L round PET bottles. The machine is set up with a standard 28mm cap plus sports cap variant.

This latest unit will be filling both still and carbonated water together with some flavoured waters and soft drinks. The new block is being installed into an existing line and is being supplied with 2 metres of air conveyor on the in-feed to the bloc and 5 metres of slat conveyor at the out-feed.

Richard Portman commented, “Having inspected the equipment over a number of months I have been very impressed with the build quality, access to spares and change parts and almost more so by the price, which offers outstanding value for money. For companies who wish to start up or companies who are looking for a smaller line, the Huanyu range is just the answer. The recession has meant there is little second hand kit available on the market so the Chinese equipment is therefore the only viable option.”

Richard continued, “The equipment is being supported in the UK and Ireland by our team of in-house engineers and all equipment supplied comes with a full one year guarantee with delivery times as little as three months. I am very confident, now that we have two orders and something to show clients, that the take up will be excellent. The ROI for clients will be very short and with the level of interest in the past few weeks being exceptional I am sure further orders will follow very soon.