Sidel’s new Rollquattro Evolution labeler offers 30 percent faster changeover times and 20 percent more accuracy at high speeds. AlfaTM Rollquattro roll-fed labelers apply wrap-around labels in paper or plastic at high speeds (up to 72,000 containers/hour) onto glass, plastic or metal containers. The Rollquattro Evolution guarantees superior quality labeling while helping to lower production costs, which reduces overall bottle costs.

Filled glass bottles have to be leakproof. But this can only be assured if the bottle’s mouth is undamaged. To enable damage to the inside sealing surface of glass bottle mouths to be detected even more accurately, Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, has developed a “glass sealing surface inspection” module, which can optionally be fitted to empty-bottle inspectors of the Linatronic series.

For homesick Polish immigrant workers SABMiller is bringing its Polish beer brands into London.

Ok, so we have not had a major deal in the brewing industry for a while. But will it really be SABMiller and Diageo, as rumour has it, who will break up Scottish & Newcastle?

You’d thought you’d heard it all … that higher taxes make beer more expensive … that increasing transportation costs make beer prices rise. Now, here’s a new one: protecting the environment makes beer even pricier.

The golden barrels (“Zolotaya Bochka”) must have been rolling steadily, helping to fund SABMiller’s new USD 170 million brewery in Russia.

Overall soft drink growth across western Europe in the last three months of 2006 vs. 2005 grew at a similar rate to the year as a whole – at just under 3 percent, according to the latest quarterly report from Canadean.

With a turnover of EUR 1.911 billion in 2006, profits increased by 22.3 percent to EUR 77.5 million. To make its shares more trade-able, a stock split at a ratio of one-for-three is planned.

European Commission fines Heineken, Grolsch and Bavaria EUR 273.8 million over Dutch beer cartel in the late 1990s.

Czech Government mulls the sale of Budvar to raise budget revenues.