Champagne Chanoine

COMPANY: CHANOINE FRERES (GROUPE BOIZEL CHANOINE CHAMPAGNE)

MARKET: BEVERAGE
COUNTRY: FRANCE

Founded in 1730, the vineyard owned by Boizel Chanoine Champagne produces 3.65 million bottles of champagne (figures for 2003), mainly sold on the French mass consumer market, but exports have been climbing steadily (22% of net sales), especially to the United Kingdom.

In August 2004, Chanoine Frères replaced its standard cases with 8-sided cases. The new case is more eye-catching on the supermarket shelf, has a higher compressive strenght and a smaller surface area. Another advantage is that the cut-off sides and indentations on the flaps keep the bottles firmly in place and stop the pallets from caving in.

The case with its 8 cut-off sides is erected around a rigid mandrel on an Otor Systems FCO 140 S case erector. The mandrel allows for perfect squaring regardless of the speed. Economical divisions, also formed from a flat blank, are inserted mechanically into the cases with an Otor Systems CRX 324 division inserter. Six bottles per case are then added vertically. The production rate is about 5 300 bottles per day.