Cetie bottling guides: a reference by and for the profession!

Among Cetie's publications, the Bottling Guides are the result of a particularly broad collaboration:
all actors involved, from suppliers of packaging components to bottlers, contribute to the development of a guide.
A guide is mainly intended for bottlers, called "users" in Cetie's language. It encompasses the industry's best practice for components specific to a particular type of capping. (see list below).

It contains: 

In the complex areas, a guide can exceed 120 pages but the aim is to ensure that the text remains readable by the end-user, in particular by referring, for additional information, to annexes, external Cetie or other documents.
While drafting a guide, it possible to identify related subjects for which a new reference document would be necessary and to initiate their creation.
The Bottling Guides serve as reference documents for internal training, as well as for customer-supplier relations, and in the event of litigation, they can serve as a basis for judicial decisions (see L&C 396), which gives them particular importance.

By following these guides, bottlers can guarantee the implementation of good practices recognised by the industry.
A guide is drawn up by a working group made up of experts, all Cetie members coming from different industry sectors, sharing their experience and know-how.
They write, based on a consensus, rules and advice to follow, by exchanging objective and reliable data. In the event of uncertainty on particular subjects, additional data are required and sometimes a specific inter-business experience plan is launched to ensure the relevance of the published information. The entire process of developing a guide requires several meetings, over a period of two to three years.
These face-to-face meetings, most often at Cetie's premises in Paris, enhance experts’ knowledge and a deep understanding of the upstream and downstream business activities.
The meetings generally host 10 to 20 experts, mainly from Europe, but participation in the working group is open to experts from all countries. Although physical participation in meetings facilitates rich interaction, experts registered for the working group can follow the ongoing work and participate via the Cetie Extranet workspace. Thus, the number of people registered in a group can exceed 50 experts.
Once ready, a Guide follows the Cetie publication process: it is the first subject to a survey that allows all Cetie members to amend the proposed text.
It is then published in English, and translated in parallel or a posteriori in the required languages. The first Bottling Guides date from 1996, revised since then, of course, to include the latest state-of-the-art developments.
In 2019, several guides will be published (brand new or entirely revised). In addition to these guides, some manufacturers are asking for simplified versions more understandable by production staff to ensure they are applied properly.
Thus, Cetie data and fact sheets are very production and quality-oriented, in other words, very close to the needs of users!

Josquin Peyceré, Cetie Secretary General for french Magazine Liquides & Conditionnement N°401