Sidel showcases EvoBLOW laser technology at the 2025 Gulf Food Manufacturing Exhibition

At Gulfood Manufacturing 2025 held in Hall 3 of Dubai World Trade Center, Sidel showcased its EvoBLOW laser PET preform laser heating technology for the first time in the Middle East and Africa region.

The system, shown earlier this year at drinktec, replaces traditional halogen ovens with precise laser sources. According to the company, the solution enables the production of lighter bottles while increasing strength, and reduces preform scrap by 50 percent compared with conventional heating. The debut comes against the backdrop of rapidly growing beverage demand in the MEA region, where water consumption is forecast to rise by 45 percent by 2030, and announced stricter sustainable packaging requirements in GCC countries. Sidel emphasizes that the new process architecture is intended to help producers combine performance targets with reduced environmental impact and optimization of total cost of ownership.

"The Middle East and Africa are among the fastest-growing beverage markets globally. With EvoBLOW Laser, we help producers achieve both performance and sustainability objectives by making bottles that are stronger, lighter and more sustainable, while optimizing total cost of ownership" said Bassam Ouissafi, Vice President Equipment Sales for the Middle East and Africa.

"This technology provides both a competitive edge and environmental leadership for our customers, who face increasing sustainability requirements and pressure to reduce costs. It is an innovation beneficial to all parties that is driving real industry transformation."

Technology principles and benefits
Compared with halogen ovens, which heat the preform surface in up to ten wide zones, EvoBLOW Laser uses up to 36 precise heating lines. This segmentation enables accurate control of material distribution during stretch-blow molding, which translates into the ability to design bottles with lower mass while maintaining or improving mechanical performance. Sidel also points to greater freedom in shaping body geometry, resulting from a different way of building wall stiffness.

Precise laser heating: up to 36 heating lines for accurate material distribution and production of lightweight bottles without compromising strength.
Design freedom: non-visible reinforcing rings as an alternative to traditional ribbing, improving product aesthetics while maintaining stiffness.
Operational efficiency: faster cold start, stable thermal profiles, reduced downtime, and the ability to run multiple formats.
Environmental aspect: lower oven carbon footprint, higher tolerance for rPET, and up to 50 percent less preform scrap compared with halogen systems.

Complementary solutions on the booth
Visitors to the Sidel booth will also discover other elements of the company’s offering:

Aseptic Combi Predis, an integrated blow-fill-cap system with dry preform sterilization, deployed in over 300 sites worldwide.
Super Combi, high-speed complete lines for water and carbonated soft drinks.
Evo-ON digital suite, a cloud-based solution for real-time monitoring, forecasting and performance optimization using AI algorithms.
StarLITER, a 100% rPET bottle design for carbonated beverages.

Projects in the region
Sidel has operated in the region for over 25 years, delivering hundreds of projects for major brands, from packaging design consulting to complete line installations and lifecycle services. In Egypt, the company installed and commissioned two ultra-clean, high-speed filling lines for glass bottles and jars equipped with advanced automation systems at the Kraft Heinz Egypt – Cairo Food Industrial plant. The project met food safety standards as well as URS specifications and quality standards, and fulfilled end-user expectations.

In Saudi Arabia, Makkah Water Company selected Sidel as the supplier of a complete line for still and carbonated water in glass bottles, using Evofill technology. According to Sidel, the solution provides process flexibility, fill homogeneity and finished product quality.

Source: Plastech