At the Cutting Edge of Beverage Filling - Verpackungs-Rundschau

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BEER Robot Technology Booms Krones Bottling Machinery in the Brazilian Rain Forest Many Brazilian beverage bottlers are currently investing in automation, both to increase productivity and to cut costs. Three large Brazilian beverage companies are in the process of installing new equipment from bottling and packaging machinery specialist Krones AG, Neutraubling/Germany. Refrigerantes Amazìnia S.A. (Grupo Simões ) for example has ordered two complete lines for PET bottles in just over a year. The first line was installed in June 1996 at Compar – Companhia Paraense de Refrigerantes S. A., for an output of 11,500 bph for 2-litre bottles. The second line, for 11500 bph (2 l) and 20000 bph (0.6 l), is scheduled for commissioning in July 1997 at Rondònia Refrigerantes. Each of these two lines will incorporate two Krones Robogrip machines, replacing conventional pallet handling systems.The flexibility of these robots enables the bottler to change over quickly and easily to different containers by replacing the gripper heads. The programme-controlled vertical, articulated arm robot, Robogrip, can handle any kind of transfer job. With its userprogrammable superimposed movement axes it reaches every pick-up and dumping point. For pallet handling applications, the equipment can be fitted with a hookgripper head or suction grippers if required. And there are options for fully automatic changeover between different gripper,clamp or suction systems.The two 60-valve Mecafill fillers are coupled to a ten-head capper. Renato Simões, Board Chairman of Grupo Simões, emphasises: “Refrigerantes da Amazônia’s decision to progress automation at these two lines is in keeping with our long-standing corporate philosophy of always being one step ahead of our times. With ultra-modern kit, we are pursuing our goal for assuring the performance capabilities of our production operations, and thus safeguarding our future sales.” Grupo Simões is one of the front-runners in the field of robot technology in Brazil’s soft drinks industry “, explains Renato Simões. In the Manaus area, the group achieves a market share of 63.4 per cent, in Belém 61.1 per cent, and in other regions (including the licensees) up to 70 per cent. At the In less than six months, the two giant Coca-Cola bottlers, Refrigerantes Amazìnia S.A. and Refrigerantes Minas Gerais S.A., in the North and South-East of Brazil, have ordered six Robogrip machines facilities in Porto Velho (Rondônia), Cacoal (Rondônia), Rio Branco (Acre), Boa Vista (Roraima), Santarém (Pará), Marabá (Pará) and Macapá (Amapá), a total of 16 bottling lines produce a total of 84 million crates a year. Surging Growth at Minas Gerais Ltda. Minas Gerais Ltda. in the south-eastern region of Minas Gerais have also opted for the Robogrip. As of July 1997, two of these machines are scheduled to be working in lines 1 and 3 at the Belo Horizonte Enterprise Zone. Plant manager Alfonso Martos commented, “By automating our pallet handling operation,we achieve a more continuous production and can deliver a larger number of crates per working day”. Refrigerantes Minas Gerais, with facilities in Belo Horizonte, Divinópolis and Montes Claros, serves a market with 8 million consumers through an excellently structured distribution system. The products in PET and glass bottles are supplied to 50 sales outlets at locations covering the entire state. Kaiser Brewery Increasing Capacity The Kaiser Brewery ordered a complete canning line from Krones Brazil to increase capacity at their facility in Quei- VR Beverage Packaging 1997 15
BEER To meet rising demand, Kaiser has now installed a new Krones line producing 120000 cans an hour. Centred around a Volumetic filler, the line reached an efficiency of 90 per cent just two months after commissioning mados, Rio de Janeiro, by about 30 per cent, to around 500000 hl a month. In 1996 alone, Kaiser’s sales of canned beer rose by approximately 20 per cent. Kaiser is Brazil’s third-largest brewery (November 1996) with a share of 17.3 per cent on the beer market, and is the market leader in the states of São Paulo and Paraná. Crucial factors in awarding the contract included punctuality and efficiency: Udo Mário Haertel, Plant Manager in Queimados, stresses that the line was running at an efficiency of 90 per cent just two months after being commissioned, with three-shift operation and an output of 120000 cph. Thanks to extensive automation, it can be handled by eight operators only (all of them technicians), explains Haertel. Kaiser uses the line to can five sorts of beer for the entire Brazilian subcontinent: “This is the second canning line here at Queimados, and the third in the Kaiser Group as a whole. The new line is able to cope with 30 per cent of our entire production output”, says the plant manager. In his opinion, non-returnable containers, especially cans, are on the advance in Brazil, with sales being substantially boosted by increased consumer prosperity. Can Deliveries Just in Time The canning line in Queimados is based on a concept totally new for the Brazilian beer market. The vendor supplying the aluminium cans, Latasa, has a storage facility inside the canning plant, and delivers the cans “just in time” to the depalletiser. An integrated empty-can inspector makes sure that only faultless cans get as far as the filler. Latasa takes back any rejects. Commenting on relations with Krones, Mr Haertel said, “Why a Krones line? That’s quite simple: Krones has a production operation here in Brazil, and is known the world over as a manufacturer with unrivalled experience in can filling. Plus, of course, the good service back-up with maintenance support, fast delivery of spares, and staff training courses, which all pay off for us in a medium and longterm view”. A fourth complete canning line from Krones is scheduled for installation in September 1997 at the Jacareí facility, São Paulo, where it is confidently expected to reach 90 per cent efficiency within two months. The Krones canning line is part of a capacity expansion programme at Kaiser begun two years ago and budgeted at 60 million US dollars. Kaiser owns facilities in Jundiaí (São Paulo - 1987), Gravataí (Rio Grande do Sul – 1988 ) and Feira de Santana (Bahia – 1994). In October 1995, the seventh facility started operations in Araraquara – São Paulo, while the eighth was inaugurated at Ponta Grossa, Paraná, in March 1997. There are ongoing plans for more production facilities in Anápolis (Goias) and Pacatuba (Ceará), and in Pernambuco State. ❐ Smooth Operator A total of nine Genesis pallet wrappers from Robopac Sistemi, Verucchio/Italy, have now been installed in the factory of Corona beer producer Cerveceria Modelo, Mexico City. These pallet wrappers are designed to offer an extremely low level of routine maintenance, owing to the elimination of most wearing parts.Brush contacts,which are subject to wear or sudden interruptions, have been replaced by a rotating arm. The machines also incorporate an electronic film prestretcher which generates all the electrical power it requires by itself, offering advantages in safety and maintenance. New customers for the Genesis pallet wrapper include Guinness and San Pellegrino. ❐ New PEN Range from Shell Shell Chemicals Europe has developed a PEN range of products called HiPERTUF for hot-fill beverage applications. Key market for the range is beer as the material is capable of withstanding the high processing temperatures associated with bottle washing and pasteurisation of beer. Shell is undertaking a number of HiPERTUF development programmes with leading packaging companies and some of the world’s largest drink brands in twenty different countries. ❐ 16 VR Beverage Packaging 1997
Page 1 and 2: At the Cutting Edge of Beverage Fil
Page 3 and 4: COVER STORY At the Cutting Edge of
Page 5 and 6: DESIGN Style Comes to the Plastic B
Page 7 and 8: Tear and stack DESIGN Travel bottle
Page 9 and 10: BEER speed glass bottling line was
Page 11: BEER look of the design on the fini
Page 15 and 16: SOFT DRINKS No vehicle is too small
Page 17 and 18: GLASS/PET Chopping and Changing Gla
Page 19 and 20: GLASS/PET New RefPET Plant in the C
Page 21 and 22: CANS Photo: The Coca-Cola Company I
Page 23 and 24: CARTONS A Bottle Made of Cardboard
Page 25 and 26: LABELLING clean and dry. This enabl
Page 27 and 28: BITS & PIECES More Than Just Bottle

At the Cutting Edge of Beverage Filling - Verpackungs-Rundschau

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