Packaging solutions provider SIG has supplied Tamil Nadu-based Milky Mist Dairy with advanced filling technology — installing three high-speed filling machines for aseptic carton packs. The machines will help the dairy product manufacturer to grow its offerings, increase its output, and provide innovative packaging solutions to Indian consumers. Milky Mist will be able to offer products in a wide range of different packaging formats and sizes to suit different consumption occasions and price points.
Milky Mist will utilize the three machines — SIG SmileSmall 24 Aseptic, SIG Midi 12 Aseptic, and SIG XSlim 12 Aseptic — at its manufacturing plant near Erode in Tamil Nadu. The packs can be combined with highly convenient opening solutions without complex setups. This will result in increased operational efficiency and cost savings, ensuring consumers get to enjoy its products in a large variety of packaging formats, volumes, and designs, company officials explained.
Vandana Tandan, head of markets in India and Bangladesh at SIG, said, “In the dairy sector, speed and flexibility are paramount. SIG’s filling technology can help with both. We are looking forward to this promising partnership, which will provide an excellent opportunity for both of us to expand our reach in India.”
According to Tandan, SIG’s filling technology will provide a distinct advantage to Milky Mist in maintaining the highest standards of product quality and safety. Unlike other systems on the market, SIG carton packs are delivered as flat-packed sleeves with the long side already hygienically sealed.
“In the filling process, the products are filled into the open-top SIG carton packs. After this filling process, the packages are ultrasonically sealed above the filling level. This prevents product residue or fibers from being trapped in the sealing seam, which could lead to leakage or contamination. As a result, the quality, taste, nutrients, and natural colors of the products are preserved for up to 12 months without the need for refrigeration or preservatives.”
Sathish Kumar T, founder and managing director at Milky Mist, said, “The partnership with SIG aligns well with our core values of providing safe and high-quality dairy products to consumers. We are convinced that SIG’s filling technology will enable us to enhance our offerings and cater to the evolving needs of our valued customers.”
For food and beverage companies, having an agile and flexible system for filling is crucial. But often when flexibility needs to go up, speed and efficiency go down and vice-versa. The key to high-performance filling is to ensure both increases at the same time, and manufacturers never have to compromise on either high speed or flexibility.
SIG’s flexible aseptic solutions
Tandon believes that with SIG’s fast and flexible filling system, customers will always be able to react quickly and efficiently to whatever trends are shaping up in the market. Its technology makes it quick and easy to switch between different formats, volumes, designs, and products. For instance, with the SIG Midi 12 Aseptic filling machine, Milky Mist can fill 12,000 SIG MidiBloc, SIG MidiFit, or SIG MidiStyle carton packs per hour in three different volume sizes: 500, 750, and 1,000 ml.
With the SIG XSlim 12 Aseptic filling machine, Milky Mist will be able to introduce dairy products in SIG XSlimBloc carton packs in nine different volumes from 80 to 200ml to reach diverse consumer groups and cover a wide range of different price points – and it only takes less than 15 minutes to complete the volume change, the officials explained.
The SIG SmileSmall 24 Aseptic filling machine, capable of filling 24,000 carton packs per hour with volumes ranging from 180 to 250 ml, primarily covers the premium product segment. With the SIG Drinksplus technology integrated into the machine, Milky Mist will be able to aseptically fill beverages with bits such as real fruit or nut pieces in SIG SmileSmall carton packs. Milky Mist will use the SIG filling machines to pack products with higher viscosity like dairy creams.
K Rathnam, CEO at Milky Mist Dairy, said “With the help of SIG’s sophisticated filling technology, we will explore our packaging options to meet the diverse needs of our consumers. The flexibility offered by SIG in terms of formats, volumes, and products can help us speed up our processes and reduce costs. We are expanding the beverage categories to cover all consumer needs from basic to specific. This will help increase our presence and gain significant market share.”
