Niche Cocoa installs first-ever aseptic PET line in Ghana

The challenge

Founded in 2011, Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd is Ghana’s largest fully integrated cocoa processor and manufactures high quality, semi-finished cocoa products for export. These include cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, cocoa cake, and cocoa powder. Wanting to expand its range of products, Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd made its first venture into milk-based products in PET packaging and called on Sidel’s long-standing expertise in aseptic production to do so.

The solution

Having selected PET for its 100% recyclability, affordability, food integrity and lightweight properties, Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd opted to utilise Sidel’s Predis aseptic dry preform sterilisation technology. Aseptic Combi Predis™ offers optimum food safety, product quality and also reduces water usage and chemical consumption. The complete aseptic PET solution integrates Tetra Pak Processing Systems technologies, along with the Sidel Aseptic Combi Predis™ with dry preform and cap sterilisation systems. Two units of Gebo OptiDry®, a sleeve labeller, a VersaFilm® Access shrink-wrapping system, and finally a stretch wrapper, are incorporated into the line. Sidel also supplied its market leading EIT® (Efficiency Improvement Tool) data acquisition and plant intelligence system, widely used to support its beverage company customers in decreasing unplanned downtime, reducing waste and costs, and increasing factory output.

The outcome

Both parties worked closely together to ensure the smooth delivery of a product that required Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd to utilise Sidel’s vast experience in aseptic packaging to navigate a series of new challenges, due to the aseptic line being the first of its kind to be installed in Ghana. Now in full operation, the line operates to a 99.6% efficiency, which has resulted in a high level of customer satisfaction and is capable of producing and decontaminating 16,000 bottles per hour (BPH).

"Our expectations were fully satisfied. Aseptic Liquid Dairy Products (LDPs) are complex to produce, and this was a new area for us. Sidel’s technical experts and dedicated local sales and project management teams partnered with us: sharing knowledge and competencies and providing guidance every step of the way. As a result, we have successfully introduced Ghana’s first and only locally produced and aseptically bottled chocolate milk"

Edmund A. Poku

Niche Cocoa Industry Ltd Chief Executive Officer

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