A new 64-cavity CCM for the manufacture of water and CSD caps. Grupo Alucaps Mexicano, supplier to the world's top beverage players, thus strengthens its partnership with Sacmi in the plastic & metal caps business
Can two differently designed caps be produced using the same die? With Sacmi compression technology the answer is a resounding 'Yes', just one of the reasons why the Alucaps Group decided to purchase an all-new Sacmi CCM64MB press.
Renowned supplier of high quality plastic and metal caps to the world's leading beverage players – first and foremost the Coca Cola Group – Alucaps has a long-standing partnership with Sacmi: this latest machine is no less than its 32 nd Sacmi press, a model from the CCM series. Installed in several Alucap manufacturing facilities (the group has plants in four central American countries, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador and Guatemala), these machines use both standard dies and dies equipped with the innovative Sacmi COOL+ circuit. Then, of course, there is metal cap manufacturing, a sector for which this American giant has already purchased 15 Sacmi machines (nine PMC300 lining machines and six PTC027B presses), achieving nothing less than complete plant renewal within this specific business.
Designed to handle up to 1600 caps a minute with just 64 cavities, the just-purchased CCM64MB has the lowest cycle times in the industry (just 2.4 seconds) and can manufacture caps of variable diameter up to a maximum of 52 mm. Thanks to Sacmi compression technology, the machine allows – and is the only solution on the market to do so – the manufacture of caps with different designs (in this case, a cap for water and one for CSD) with the same die; this is because the thickness of the upper cap section can be set independently and directly via the operator interface.
Efficient and flexible, the Sacmi CCM lets manufacturers cover the entire cap range on the market thanks to the enormous variety of designs available. In addition to the capacity to make two differently designed caps with one die, the reasons behind Alucap's continued trust in Sacmi also include the superiority of compression technology compared to alternative solutions such as injection and Sacmi's ability to develop the lightest, best-performing caps on the market.
This partnership with Sacmi, which has gone from strength to strength over the years, has allowed Alucaps to expand its business both in Mexico and throughout Latin America. More specifically, over the last few years the Group has invested heavily to modernise existing manufacturing facilities; involving both the installation of new machines and strategic takeovers, the aim of such investment is to consolidate and expand foreign market shares.
