Refresco, the world's largest independent beverage bottler for leading retailers and premium brands, has installed the first Sidel Swing Evo tunnel pasteuriser in Italy at its production plant in Sulmona. The investment represents the first implementation of Sidel's next-generation pasteurisation technology in the country and is part of Refresco's long-term strategy to improve operational efficiency, optimise resource consumption and adapt to changing environmental requirements and customer expectations. The unit is based on an intelligent counter-current flow concept and modular architecture, which enables precise control of water and energy consumption as well as thermal treatment parameters at every stage of the pasteurisation process, without compromising product quality or production flexibility.
Strategic investment supporting ESG targets
As a global provider of beverage solutions, Refresco integrates ESG principles into its daily operations and customer service. The decision to install the Swing Evo pasteuriser at the Sulmona plant was taken directly in line with these priorities.
"The latest challenge we decided to tackle, following Sidel's proposal, was the installation of an innovative pasteuriser" explains Tullio Tiozzo, director of production and strategic operations at Refresco Italia. "This technology supports more efficient management of energy and water in our operations. Compared with our previous solution, we have achieved a reduction in energy and water consumption by a factor of 15 to 20, which means we are fully delivering on our ESG commitments. Thanks to its level of innovation compared with traditional pasteurisers, this project has proved to be a great success."
Intelligent heat recovery and media consumption control
The Swing Evo pasteuriser installed in Sulmona is equipped with two heat exchangers, one supplied with hot water and the other with steam. This configuration enables intelligent prioritisation of heat recovery from cogeneration systems and optimal use of available energy carriers.
"We were looking for a reliable and versatile solution that would combine performance with energy efficiency" says Daniele Di Luca, media and energy manager at Refresco Italy. "Swing Evo has met all these expectations. By giving priority to recovered heat, we have significantly reduced steam consumption. Water consumption fully corresponds to the declared values, and electricity consumption is even lower than expected, which clearly demonstrates the high efficiency of the machine. This is in line with our group-wide targets for energy efficiency and resource management."
Pasteurisation quality and flexibility for a diverse product portfolio
The Refresco plant in Sulmona processes a wide range of beverages and stock keeping units, so in addition to sustainability aspects, the accuracy of pasteurisation and operational flexibility were of key importance.
"In terms of quality and thermal treatment, the Sidel pasteuriser has proved to be extremely reliable" comments Federica Schiavo, quality assurance specialist at Refresco. "Swing Evo meets all pasteurisation requirements, both in terms of PU units and the holding time at a given temperature. It is flexible, easy to operate and simple to monitor, even for very different products."
The efficiency of the process is supported by Sidel's Prince X predictive control system, which continuously analyses temperature variations and dynamically adjusts spraying conditions. This reduces the risk of both under-pasteurisation and over-pasteurisation, with a direct impact on product safety and quality stability.
Installation, design and operating ergonomics
The compact, modular and largely pre-assembled design of the Swing Evo pasteuriser translated into a short implementation time at the Sulmona plant. The unit was installed and commissioned within around one week, which limited disruptions to ongoing production.
"What really impressed us was the simplicity of the installation" says Leonardo Di Vito, technical and production manager at Refresco. "The pasteuriser was delivered almost completely pre-assembled at the factory, and both installation and commissioning went smoothly, without any issues."
Designed with day-to-day operational efficiency in mind, Swing Evo is equipped with sliding front doors that allow safe, fast and convenient interventions by production teams. In addition, full access from the top and the possibility to carry out basic maintenance tasks without tools simplify servicing and reduce downtime.
Performance through process simplification
The first installation in Italy of a Swing Evo tunnel pasteuriser at Refresco's Sulmona plant illustrates how targeted technology investments can simultaneously improve line performance, increase resource efficiency and simplify daily operations. By optimising every drop of water and every kilowatt-hour of energy, Sidel's solution supports beverage producers in meeting regulatory requirements and customer expectations regarding quality and environmental responsibility. The project also shows that innovation in thermal beverage processing often consists in rethinking fundamental design and organisational assumptions rather than completely replacing existing approaches.
