‘Cream of the crop’: Brazil co-op expands SIG carton pack production

The Co-operativa Central Gaúcha Ltd (CCGL) in Brazil has increased production capacity at its Cruz Alta plant with the purchase of a filling machine from SIG Combibloc.

Cruz Alta is the main collection point for raw milk obtained in the region, which is processed on-site. It produces 2.2m liters of milk at the facility a day.

12,000 carton packs/hour

The CFA 712 can aseptically fill up to 12,000 carton packs per hour. It will initially be used to fill cream products in a Combibloc small carton pack.

Antonieta Hilst, regional director, SIG Combibloc South America, told DairyReporter it started working with CCGL three years ago, when the first CFA 712 was put into operation to fill chocolate milk and cream into its carton packs.

CCGL’s favorable experiences with filling technology from SIG Combibloc and our partnership have encouraged them to opt for another SIG filling machine in their current stage of plant expansion,” she said.

Dairy processing

CCGL was founded in 1976, and is one of the country’s largest dairy cooperatives. It comprises 39 individual cooperatives, representing a total of 170,000 rural producers from 350 municipalities in the Federal state of Rio Grande do Sul.

It has three business units including research and development, manufacturing and marketing to logistics. A special division CCGL Lac, was set up in 2008 in Cruz Alta, and specializes in dairy processing.

Guillermo Dawson Jr, managing director, CCGL, said it chose to purchase another SIG filling machine due to the high productivity of the machines, cost-effectiveness and low wastage rates during production.