Mazoon Dairy, the largest integrated dairy company in the Sultanate of Oman, and SIG Combibloc Obeikan, one of the world’s leading systems and solutions providers for aseptic packaging and filling machines for food and beverages, have announced the launch of a full range of liquid dairy products in various combiblocSlimline and combiblocMini carton packs from SIG. This latest step marks another significant step closer to Mazoon Dairy’s goal in establishing the Sultanate as a self-sufficient dairy producer and a hub for food manufacturing, Mazoon Dairy takes advantage of the SIG’s flexible filling technology for different product categories including white milk, flavored milk and juice. These products will be available in four different volumes (150ml, 200ml, 250ml and 1,000ml) and various varieties: chocolate, banana and strawberry in the segment of flavored milk as well as orange, mango, guava, pomegranate, mixed berry and cocktail in the juice segment. This unique flexibility provided by SIG will give Mazoon product differentiation across its beverage categories to accommodate families as well as single users. Dr. Arjun Subramanian, CEO Mazoon Dairy, said: “This launch represents another milestone in our journey of growth. It brings us closer to our bigger goal of fulfilling our national vision for economic development by establishing a self-sufficient economy. Today we are offering the Omani and other regional markets a wider range of products that appeal to every age category, using the highest standards and best practices in the industry. This could not have been possible without the support of our partner, SIG Combibloc Obeikan.” Abdelghany Eladib, Chief Operating Officer SIG Combibloc Obeikan, said: “Oman currently imports 70% of its dairy products and Mazoon Dairy is determined to reduce this to 10%. We are honored to play a role in supporting the Sultanate and Mazoon Dairy’s mission in boosting local self-sufficiency and meeting rising demand. This also falls in line with our strategic expansion into the Sultanate of Oman. By providing the latest product innovations and efficient flexibility solutions, we look forward to continuing our partnership with Mazoon Dairy in their journey towards growth.”

Where Obeikan and SIG Combibloc collaborate with our customers to think creatively—even disruptively—about the food and beverage industry. Where brainstorms turn into next-generation products and packaging that respond to accelerating consumer demands for freshness, convenience, traceability and sustainability. Where our customers can acquire new production practices and technologies that enhance their consumer responsiveness and operational performance, carving out a competitive edge Where our customers’ promising product ideas can be polished into final concepts and field-tested faster than ever before. 

(Dubai, 3 June 2020) SIG Combibloc Obeikan, one of the world’s leading systems and solutions provider for aseptic packaging and filling machines for food and beverages, and Zaki Group, one of the leading food dairy and beverage companies in the Iraq, launch a new range of flavoured milk including chocolate, banana, strawberry, caramel and fresh milk varieties under their brand ‘YOMME Abtalona” in SIG’s combiblocXSlim 150ml carton packs. The new products are the first aseptic milk locally produced in Iraq and will be the first range of a growing portfolio of flavoured milk released in the market. Bahaa Zeidan, General Manager, Zaki Group, said: “We constantly focus on research and development to distinguish ourselves and to enable us to introduce new products based on consumer preferences and demand. “YOMME Abtalona” flavoured milk is a convenient snack that comes with a differentiated proposition. With this, we aim to respond to the trend in consuming out of home, on-the-go milk for consumers from different age groups. With the support from SIG Combibloc Obeikan throughout the whole process, the product innovation is now in the market.” Abdelghany Eladib, Chief Operating Officer, SIG Combibloc Obeikan, said: “Dairy is a category, which is firmly rooted in Iraqi tradition and enjoyed greatly by consumers. It is a premium family drink not only for kids but for every age group looking for such flavoured milk which is not only nutritious and healthy but also offers a great taste. I am confident that this launch will have a great potential in the Iraqi market and with a variety of consumers.”

SIG is set to deliver the first integrated APM (asset performance management) and FSM (field service management) digital solution for the food and beverage industry. Developed in partnership with GE Digital, the Plant 360 Asset Management will feature a range of on-demand digital services designed to help manufacturers reach new levels of efficiency, productivity and connectivity in their operations.

SIG Plant 360 Asset Management is being co-developed with GE Digital in response to increasing demands in the food and beverage industry, particularly the need for higher productivity, quality and uptime. With this innovative and integrated solution comprised of GE Digital’s APM and ServiceMax’s FSM software, SIG will offer state-of-the-art digital tools to help its customers boost production, reduce downtime and ensure even greater quality to meet ever-changing consumer needs.

“Equipment manufacturers like SIG are increasingly leveraging Industrial Internet of Things solutions to differentiate themselves through superior after-sales service,” said David Ovadia, Product Marketing Director for GE Digital. “GE Digital’s Asset Performance Management and ServiceMax’s Field Service Management software help OEMs ensure their installed base of equipment is performing optimally, and their field service resources are managed efficiently. Our integrated solution allows SIG to detect and correct potential equipment issues in advance, before they result in unplanned customer downtime, delighting end-customers through improved OEE and driving improved NPS scores for SIG.”

A modular solution for maintenance

Plant 360 Asset Management is a modular solution designed to improve filling line reliability and availability while reducing costs. The Connector module enables the collection of digital data, which is loaded into the Predix Cloud – GE Digital’s cloud platform. From here, the data can be retrieved and evaluated at any time by SIG’s reliability engineering team. This module can also be used for SIG’s other Smart Factory solution, Plant 360 Controller, which enables manufacturers to monitor, control and optimise every angle of their filling plant operations.

 The Smart Maintenance module is based on a software-supported holistic process called Maintenance & Asset Data Analytics as well as an Asset Management Cockpit. This ensures customers have one data source for all maintenance-related activities. The third module is called Smart Performance and is based on Asset Health Monitoring and Predictive Asset Data Analytics, which will provide an optimal platform for predictive maintenance in the future.

Optimising assets at every stage

Together, the three modules will enable higher asset reliability and availability. The solution ensures a direct link between condition-based and predictive maintenance alerts in APM and the work being scheduled for field-service engineers in FSM. This helps translate alerts into efficient action on the ground and ensures field service teams receive as much advance notice as possible of an issue, which they can address before it impacts a customer’s operations. For example, defined wearing parts will no longer be replaced at fixed maintenance intervals. Instead, they will only be replaced when the data indicates a certain degree of wear.

 

“With Plant 360 Asset Management, any changes to equipment strategies – for example, changing service intervals or maintenance steps – can be quickly reflected in new FSM work,” said Klaus Andresen, Senior Vice President Global Technology at SIG. “This improves the efficiency and effectiveness of the overall SIG maintenance process. Data captured by field-service workers is immediately available for analysis by APM and the global SIG reliability engineering team, allowing us to better and more quickly detect emerging issues and trigger preventative steps.”

SIG Plant 360 Asset Management is being launched for the first time in the Middle East with Almarai, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest food and beverage producers, as start of the global rollout.

Robert Ross, Manufacturing Manager Dairy and Juice at Almarai: “Digital Solutions are vital for us to analyse exactly what is happening in our plant and going forward to produce reliably. The aspirational partnership with SIG & GE will greatly help us in root cause analysis and in providing valid answers. This will ensure reliable production and to improve our OEE. We are very proud to be an early adopter of this cutting-edge solution.”

 Plant 360 Asset Management is one of several value-added solutions within SIG’s Smart Factory segment, which is designed to help manufacturers meet the challenge of increasing output and driving down costs in today’s competitive environment. The solution-driven Smart Factory platform aims to deliver IoT-enabled systems and technical services that transform filling plants into connected factories that offer the highest efficiency, flexibility and quality.