Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG), an aseptic carton packaging solutions provider, has built a new SIG Combibloc production facility for printing, cutting and finishing of aseptic carton packs in Queretaro, Mexico.
With an investment of €73m ($80.4m), the plant aims to cater to North American markets and enhance SIG’s global production network, reinforcing its successful growth trajectory in the region.
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SIG financed the land and building for the facility through a long-term lease with a net present value of around €20m ($24m).
The plant began operations in April 2023 and created more than 200 new jobs in the region.
SIG Combibloc’s carton packaging production facility details
The plant covers an area of 20,751.21m² (223,364ft²) and features state-of-the-art production capabilities for the operations. It has a highly resilient layout, focussing on the environment and ergonomics.
The production capacity in the first year was 500 million carton packs to be increased to 1.2 billion sleeves in 2024.
The plant manufactures medium and large-sized cartons which will be expanded to a small format in the second phase of the plant.
Technology details
SIG’s state-of-the-art highly engineered filling machine technology offers flexibility to its clients and facilitates the production of up to 16 product variants on a single machine.
The filling technology together with a unique aseptic sleeve system helps to deliver the highest levels of speed and flexibility throughout the production.
The company delivers and integrates all downstream equipment while offering innovative digital tools for intelligent line monitoring and automation.
SIG’s aseptic carton packaging sleeves and closures facilitate rapid change-over times for format, volume, design and filling capacities.
The aseptic filling and packaging solutions of SIG ensure food products retain their colours, nutrients and flavours with a shelf life of up to a year without refrigeration.
SIG’s product portfolio
SIG provides aseptic carton solutions for beverage and liquid food products, from juices and milk to soups and sauces.
Its product offerings include Combibloc, Combifit, Combidome, CombiblocStandard, CombiblocMidi and CombifitMidi carton packs.
The CombiblocStandard packs are available in 500ml, 750ml, 1,000ml and 1100ml capacities while CombiblocMidi is available in packs of 500ml, 750ml and 1,000ml.
SIG’s sustainability features
SIG supports sustainability by offering paper straws as an alternative to plastic straws for beverage carton packs. Its fully renewable and recyclable paper straw is made of paperboard to address the need for plastic-free packaging.
The company offers plant-based packs with tall-oil-based polymers through mass balancing.
SIG Combibloc offers FSC™ (Forest Stewardship Council)-certified carton packs for food and beverages to support its sustainability practices, while the aseptic carton packs use foil certified to the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative Standard.
SIG’s SIGNATURE PACK is a beverage carton packaging made of paperboard sourced from up to 82% FSC-certified wood. Claimed to be the first aseptic carton pack fully linked to plant-based renewable material, the SIGNATURE PACK contains polymers that originate from renewable European wood sources.
The SIGNATURE PACK is available as SIGNATURE PACK 100, an aluminium-free package, and the SIGNATURE PACK Full Barrier, which has a thin layer of aluminium. The aluminium layer protects the packed food from light and oxygen.
The Life Cycle Assessment for SIGNATURE PACK revealed that it has a 66% lesser impact on climate change compared to a standard carton. The SIGNATURE PACK won the title for the best carton or pouch in the Beverage Innovation Awards 2017. The company’s Ecoplus structure also eliminated the layer of aluminium foil, and its production takes 28% less CO₂ compared to a conventional 1,000ml carton pack.
In May 2023, SIG added Barenmarke oat beverages into its Vita packaged products family.
