Sidel, a global provider of PET solutions for liquid packaging, in collaboration with the Société des Eaux d'Aix-les-Bains (SEAB) in France, designed and produced a stylish new triangular 0.75 L PET bottle for SEAB's still water product.

The distinctive bottle represents several firsts in water bottle design. It is currently the only PET triangular bottle in the market and the only PET bottle for mineral water with labeling and product statutory information engraved directly onto the bottle by laser machine during production.

SEAB will be marketing its natural spring water drawn from Aix-les-Bains in France in Sidel’s PET bottles to be distributed within the French hospitality sector (cafes, restaurants and hotels) - in which mineral water is traditionally served in glass bottles and carafes. SEAB expects to gain a share in the growing market for water in this sector, with the new bottle., to differentiate its water product from other established brands.

With the collaboration, Sidel was able to convert its whole production line without having to modify any of the installed equipment, simply adapting certain package-dependent parts to accommodate the new shapes and sizes, instead. The line is able to blow-mould the bottles, fill and cap them in a single, integrated system that now handles two distinctly different products: the previous commercial mineral water in 0.5,1,1.5 and 2 litre sizes as well as the new 0.75 L triangular shape one. The modified line was in full production by the end of October 2012.

On the other hand, SEAB plans to capture also the Asia and South America catering sectors, relying on Sidel’s capability to fill around 25,000 bottles/hour to meet the demand.