Rexam PLC, a leading global beverage can maker, announces that it has taken an equity stake in Magnaparva Packaging (MP Packaging) to help develop new technologies for its beverage can making process. MP Packaging is part of Magna Parva, a UK based advanced engineering and research and development company.

As an international manufacturer of filling and packaging equipment for the beverage, food, and non-food sectors, KHS pursues its vision of being ’First Choice in Technology and Service’. Anke Fischer, head of Finance, Human Resources, and IT at KHS: "Because highly qualified employees are essential in being and remaining the first choice for our customers around the globe, we pay special attention to developing young talent."

VLB Berlin merges the Research Institute for Engineering and Packaging (FMV) and the Department of Brewing and Beverage Science & Applications (BBSA) to the new Research Institute for Beer and Beverage Production (FBGP). The new institute will be headed by Dr. Roland Pahl.

Kaiserdom Specialitäten Brauerei invests in new equipment

The Kaiserdom Specialitäten Brauerei (Kaiserdom Specialty Brewery) based in the Franconian city of Bamberg operates differently than other German breweries in many sectors and with great success. It was recognized at an extremely early stage that an increase in the volume of beer sales on the German market was highly unlikely, so export activities started as early as 1978. Today, Kaiserdom products are available in more than 50 countries worldwide. The company’s most recent investment is in the electronically controlled Innofill DVD volumetric can filler and the Innokeg Till PETBoy F 2 Petainer keg racking system by KHS, Dortmund, Germany.

Budweiser Budvar invests in KHS turnkey canning line

Budweiser Budvar brewery is one of the best known breweries in the Czech Republic. It’s also the only brewery in the country owned by the state. According to Petr Samec, PR manager at Budweiser Budvar, “what’s especially important to us is our clear principle of maintaining our premium beer quality – as we have done for centuries. Our great flexibility is another great plus point, enabling us to react to consumer demands very fast.” The most recent example of this can be found in the great growth potential the can holds on both a national and international scale for the brewer. Adam Brož, the master brewer and director of production and technology at Budweiser Budvar, is convinced that the new KHS turnkey canning line keeps them in safe hands concerning flexibility, product quality and sustainability. The Czech state president Václav Klaus could experience this first hand when attending the opening ceremony.

Little Creatures – the brewery on the seafront

Little Creatures has since the turn of the century been driving forward the craft beer movement in Australia. At the facility in a picturesque fishing port, Little Creatures uses Krones technology throughout its entire brewing operations. All the kit has been integrated in a beer hall with a restaurant. Because the beer is so popular, a second brewery is going into operation this year, this time on the south-east coast, a mere 3400 kilometres away from Fremantle, once again featuring Krones technology throughout.

New filler series for cans

With the electronically controlled, volumetric Innofill Can DVD filler KHS is launching a new series of canners to market. Like the generation of Innofill Glass fillers it is distinguished by its optimized hygienic design. Its excellent filling quality goes hand in hand with a further improved line availability, this brought about by shorter cleaning cycles and longer maintenance intervals. The system also profits from minimized water, energy, and sanitizing costs. In addition, a newly designed inert gas purging process (CAN+) is performed prior to filling. This not only cuts the amount of CO₂ used but also greatly reduces the residual oxygen content in the can. The centering bell for can sealing was hygienically improved and flavor-resistant materials were used in the filling valves. The Innofill Can DVD belongs to a new generation of can fillers which is based on tried-and-tested practices and has also been greatly optimized.

“Star” is still the star

For many decades now, Nigerian Breweries Plc. (NB) has been the undisputed Number One in Nigeria’s beer market. The group is expanding vigorously, but is meanwhile having to cope with fiercer competition. NB/Heineken upsizes its brewing and filling capacities firstly by acquisitions, and secondly by upgrading its existing facilities. The group’s operations include six complete lines from Krones. Its most recent investment was a new returnable-glass line at its Aba brewery in 2012, which replaced two existing smaller lines.

Model-based efficiency analysis for beverage filling plants

Filling and packaging of beverages and food is one of the last steps in the value added chain in food production. Filling and packaging plants are highly complex linked production lines with individual units achieving outputs of up to 90 000 packs per hour. Stochastic upsets and interruptions cause upsets time and again, leading to downtime of the central unit due to congestions and shortage of material. Plant operators would like to have automatic evaluation of operational data, making direct classification of causes of downtime of the central plant unit possible. Two successive collaborative research projects were carried out in order to get closer to fulfilling this objective. This article explains the project goals and the approach to find a solution. It provides a first overview of results.

Technological acceptance testing and microbiological considerations relating to beverage filling units

Parameters for filling units to be used in acceptance test runs have been set out decades ago in DIN 8782. The definition of effective output in par. 4.3 is given as: “effective output = number of units in perfect condition outputted during the general run time by the machine per unit time on average”. Apart from the legally applicable criteria stipulated in the Pre-Packed Products Regulation, particularly the fill quantity, determination of contractual conditions (relating to what constitutes perfect condition) is a matter to be agreed by the contracting parties in the case of beverage filling units. The important points arising are covered in the following article.