University of Benin

A report on a field trip to seven-up bottling company

MEE506

Emmanuel Akhuenose Uwayo

ENG1707865

Professor P. Olagbegi

Professor G.O Aravie

Date: 18/07/2023
 Introduction

The MEE 506 is a seminar type course and focuses on real life industrial practice. Engineering in is core is
practical and therefore familiarizing oneself with the mundus operandi of industrial or plants operation
is not an advantage but a prerequisite. As pertaining to gaining experience in the industry, the industrial
training program known as the students industrial and work experience program SIWES was a head start
for all university of Benin (UNIBEN) students. In further brooding to becoming an industry fit engineer,
Hence the need for the field trips and preparatory seminars from engineers in the industry.

The trip to Seven-up bottling company happened on July the 14th 2023 between 730 to 1340 hours. The
purpose of the trip was to

1. The history of seven up bottling company

2. Know the company’s mission
3. The company’s vision
4. Understand the operations at seven up bottling company
5. Know how carbonated soft drinks are produced
6. To know the challenges faced by Seven-Up bottling company and evaluate possible solutions
7. To build, if possible, relationships with industry experts

Seven up bottling company Nigeria has become household name as its products is consumed in almost
every household. The company specializes in the production of carbonated soft drinks popularly called
“mineral” in Nigeria pidgin; they also produce health care products such as 2-sure.

In the factory some core engineering departments are represented these include: Mechanical
engineering, electrical/electronic engineering, chemical engineering which is involved in quality control.
The factory makes use of engineering machines such as motors in stirrers, pumps, electronic scanners
and printers hence the above listed departments.

At the Benin factory we had our first stop at the marketing class room, where three members of staff
including the Human resource manager in the person of Mr. Enahora, the Assets care manager in the
person of Engr. Taiwo and the line manager in the person of Engr. Akin Ayodeji. All briefed us about the
history and operations of the seven up bottling company till date.

During the course of the briefing the Factory manager in the person of Engr who made is contribution to
what was been said by the other tutors in addition He gave a brief history of his gradual move from an
undergraduate to been the factory manager of the seven Up bottling company.
 History of Seven-Up bottling company

The seven-up bottling company Nigeria in 1959 was incorporated as a public limited liability company
under the name Seven-up limited. The firm is into the production of carbonated soft drinks and its one
of the largest manufacturing companies Nigeria producing and distributing some of the nations most
loved beverages.

The Seven-Up bottling company (SBC) has nine bottling plants with the state-of-the-art manufacturing
facilities located strategically across various regions in the country. This venture is a brain child of the El-
Khali family from Lebanon. The family patriarch is Mohamad El-Khali, a Lebanese by nationality who first
arrived Nigeria at 1926.

The production of its first product started on October 1st 1960. On the first day of production a total
number of 336 bottles of 7up was produced in each case 24 that is fourteen cases was produced on the
first day of production. Seven-Up Nigeria is 63 years in operation and they celebrate this day specially
because it is not just an anniversary for them but coincidentally Nigeria’s day of independence

The SBC initial market was within the mid-west and western regions of the Nigeria due to the location of
its first factory at Ijora Lagos state Nigeria. In order to raise awareness of the product, they distributed
outdoor branded kiosks to retailers. As the purchasing powers of consumers increased, the firm
embarked on an expansion program. This was at the beginning of the Nigeria oil boom during the 70’s.
the new factory was built at Oregun Ikeja, followed by Ibadan and then at Aba.

The company pushed for nationwide coverage, this led to more factories been built in places like Kano,
Kaduna, Enugu, Benin, Ilorin and Abuja. SBC plants are located strategically to enable each cover or
more neighboring states.

The seven-up bottling company Benin started production October 1 st 1993. The plant currently has two
functional lines in the facility, the major products are 7-Up, Pepsi and Mirinda which are bottled in the
Benin plant.

Mission: To refresh and inspire a youthful lifestyle.

Vision: To be the most admired and innovative company in Nigeria.

 Management of Seven-Up bottling company Benin

Below is a list of the management order in the factory. This order is the traditional way of ranking but
organizations vary. It suffices to say that we do not know how the ranking is done at SBC. But the below
is a general model.

1. Factory manager: The highest-ranking position in the factory is that of factory manager, who is
in charge of managing all aspects of operations. They are responsible for meeting production
goals, guaranteeing effectiveness, controlling resources, and carrying out strategic strategies.

2. Human resource manager: The factory's workforce management is handled by the human
resource manager. They are in charge of hiring, interacting with employees, providing training
and development, managing performance, and making sure labor rules and regulations are
followed.

3. Line manager: Within the factory, the line manager is in charge of overseeing a particular
manufacturing line or department. They manage daily tasks, keep an eye on output, plan
resources, and make sure that their designated area runs well.

FACTORY MANAGER

HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGER

LINE MANAGER
 OPERATIONS

The SBC offers a range of products for the consumption of Nigerians. These include beverages and
health related products. The carbonated soft drinks are packaged in three ways these include:
Returnable glass bottles, plastic PETs and cans. The brands include:

1. 7 up
i. 7 up
ii. 7 up free
2. Pepsi
i. Pepsi cola
ii. Pepsi-light
3. Mirinda
i. Mirinda orange
ii. Soda
iii. Tonic
iv. Lemon
4. Mountain dew
5. Teem
i. Soda
ii. Tonic
iii. Lemon
6. H20H! - (water lime mixture)
7. Lipton ice tea
8. Super commando energy drink
9. Aquafina (premium drinking water)
10. 2-Sure hand sanitizer

SBC Nigeria limited is divided into two segments; beverage and life care. During the outcome of the
covid-19, a new section of the company was birthed which was changed with responsibility of home and
personal care that led to the introduction of 2-Sure range of products from hand sanitizer to
antibacterial soap, multipurpose soap, beauty soap, just to mention a few.

The Benin factory helps to cover two neighboring states, Delta and Ondo. The factory produces these
three major brands of carbonated soft drink packaged in returnable glass bottles: 7 Up, Pepsi and
Mirinda. Now unto

How carbonated soft drinks are produced

The constituents of carbonated soft drink are as follows

a. Water (88 – 90) %

b. Sugar (0 – 10) %
c. CO2
d. Concentrate
At Benin plant the production starts with

1. The mixing process: Here mixture of water and sugar is done in a Dissolving tank, this process is
done at cold temperature that is room temperatures. The dissolving tank has an electric motor
with a gear box attached to a stirrer for stirring. sugar is added to the water through a sieve for a
better and easier dissolving. The product of the mixture is a simple syrup. This mixture is sent
through a covet filter to a simple syrup tank after which a pump takes it to the next stage of the
production.
2. The syrup production process: In this stage the simple syrup is taken by pump 1 into the syrup
tank. The syrup tank is arranged side by side with a water tank both connected to a mixing tank
at the bottom. Another mixing process is done. After mixing the solution is known as full syrup.
The syrup is sent to a carbo-cooler for carbonization, it is at this stage that CO2 is added. The
carbo-cooler has a gauge to help measure the amount of gas been added.
The system is synchronized with gauges such that at every given point in time there would be
beverage in the carbo-cooler tank, syrup in the mix tank and water in the water tank. If the
beverage level in the carbo-cooler tank falls below or exceeds a set value it triggers the pump
on/off. After carbonization the beverage is sent to the filler-crowner machine. It was observed
that the temperature of the beverage from the carbo cooler is chilled, the cooling is achieved by
ammonia cooling.
The filler-crowner machine is the central point in the production line. Next is the
3. Decaser and washing process: The bottles in crates are removed from the pallets in the ware
house via conveyors to the decrater/decaser. The decaser, decrates by pumping and sucking
process from observations it uses pneumatic systems to operate. When decrating, the nozzle
fixes on the bottle mouth, the air in the bottle is sucked, the bottle is help by the vacuum
pressure created through suction. The bottles are lifted, moved to over the conveyor, the air is
released and so the bottles.
The bottles are then taken from the conveyor by carriers into the washer.

The washer
The washer is the biggest machine in the production line, it is gigantic. It has nine
compartments,
i. Pre-rinse
ii. Soak 1
iii. Soak 2
iv. Soak 3
v. Hydro-soak
vi. Hydro-wash
vii. Fresh water wash
viii. Prefinal rinse
ix. Final rinse

The bottles are carried by carriers that orient them upside down ready for pressured water jets
to spray into them from beneath. In soak 1, soak 2, Soak 3 and hydro soak are stages where
caustic soda is added.
 The washing process is done by mechanical action of pressured water on a solid surface the
application of temperature to kill germs. A boiler is used in the washer to increase the
temperature of the washing liquid to a range of 65 – 70 degrees Celsius. The contact time is the
period within which the bottles are in contact with the caustic soap, this is a very important
parameter as it determines the degree of decontamination.

After the final rinse the bottles are discharged for manual sighting so that any contaminated
bottle can be removed for appropriate attention. Just before the manual sighting, a test against
contaminants is done using phenolphthalein, if the sample turns purple, when drops are
released into the bottle, it indicates the presence of contaminants.

4. Electronic bottle inspector (EBI): This machine is used to separate bottles with contaminants
that cannot be seen with the naked eye or detected with a. It has mechanical, electrical,
electronics and pneumatic systems in it. The bottles that pass the EBI are then sent to the filler-
crowner for filling and crowning.
5. Filler- crowner: The filler crowner does two jobs it fills the bottles with beverages and covers
them with metal crowns. The bottles enter a bowl in the filler-crowner, a nozzle is fitted firmly
on the bottle opening, the pressure difference in the bottle and bowl is then used to determine
to what extent the bottles would be filled. A nozzle with a faulty rubber seal will allow air to leak
into the bottle this could cause the bottle to fill pass the set level hence the over filled bottles
you sometimes see. There’s a CO2 pressure valve used to regulate pressure to avoid bubbling.
After filling the bottles metal crowns are fixed in the same machine. The bottled beverage is
then sent to the sighter post.
6. Sighter post: At the sighter post irregularly filled bottles are spotted and removed manually.
7. Coding machine: The next stop is the coding machine used to print the manufacturing date,
expiry date and the factory where it was manufactured.
8. Palletizer/crater: The beverages is then sent to the crating machine. The crater works just like the decrater the

FRESH WATER WASH

PREFINAL RINSE
HYDRO WASH
HYDRO SOAK

FINAL RINSE
PRERINSE

SOAK 1

SOAK 2

SOAK 3

difference is that it does the opposite of the latter. The crater helps keep the bottles in the crate
ready for dispatch to the distributors.
 Fig 1: A block diagram of a bottle washing machine at SBC Benin

SIMPLE SYRUP WATER

DISSOLVING SYRUP CARBO-
TANK TANK COOLER

MIX
COVET PUMP 1 PUMP 2
FILTER

ELECTRONIC
BOTTLE
INSPECTOR

MANUAL
SIGHTING FILLER SIGHTER
POST

BOTTLE
WASHER

CROWNER

DECRATER/ CRATER/
DECASER CASER
 WAREHOUSE

Fig 2: A flow chart describing the work flow of SBC Benin.

MARKETING
In the past the SBC would supply kiosk directly to retailers but as demand increased, they now
had a system of distributors whom they now supply to. The distributors give them the feedback
on the condition of the market so the company knows how to respond to the ever-dynamic
market.

KNOWLEDGE GAINED

During the course of the tour in the plant I learnt the following lessons and discoveries.

1. The seven up bottling company does not only produce beverages but also health care products.
2. The SBC Benin only produces carbonated soft drinks in bottles.
3. The constituents of carbonated soft drinks (CSD) in their various proportions.
4. The process involved in producing CSD
5. The application of mechanical machines, chemical processes and pneumatic systems
electrical/electronic all work together to achieve a single product. It is a beauty to behold.
6. As a good manager you do not wait for failures to happen, you anticipate them sometimes even
going in search for them. In summary preventive maintenance is a must in any factory that want
to be efficient in production.
7. Understanding the market and its dynamics in a changing world is crucial to keep been relevant.
The SBC proved this during the covid-19 pandemic
8. The use

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

It was observed that the staffs were not fully protected. In the filler-crowner some bottles explode
under pressure and the particles were restrained by a glass wall in the machine. Cases of bottle
explosion was also found around areas just after the filler machine. The factory workers in this
environment were found without safety glasses and some without a personal protective equipment.

Other observations made was that the floor of the factory was moist even with obvious drainages.
 While these might not be totally eradicated without leaving a hole in the bag, it could be controlled
by ensuring the fillers installed are completely sealed to prevent liquid from splashing out of control.

Secondly all staff working in hazardous area should be provided with PPE and safety googles.

RECOMMENDATIONS

I would recommend routine preventive maintenance of the facility, an unloading and loading machine
could be added to help unload and load the crates from and to the trucks with very little supervision

They could consider production in disposable cans with bottles so the product still be purchased by
previous consumers. Since cans are metals, they can be crushed processed and reused.

Also, the use of safety equipment should be made mandatory for all workers, this would reduce the
cases of casualties to minimum.