Articles Tagged with ''automation''

Time is taken for granted in most industries. However, recognition must be given to the age-old cliché that time is money, and money can hardly be taken for granted, especially in beverage operations. From an operations viewpoint, time is inescapable and plays a prominent role in the beverage industry.

With the memorable theme song opening of “shlemiel, SCHLEMAZEL!, Hasenpfeffer Incorporated,” TV’s “Laverne and Shirley,” closes with the two friends “doing it their way” on the bottling line of Milwaukee’s fictitious Shotz Brewery. Although manufacturing facilities’ beer-capping lines have changed, speed, ease-of-use and flexibility are paramount for today’s processing automation equipment.

Charles Ross & Son Co. introduced large-scale, elliptical-head pressure vessels for use as carbon filter tanks. The 5,000-gallon stainless steel vessels are fabricated, designed and stamped for 100 psig at 230 degrees Fahrenheit in accordance with the ASME Code Section VIII, Division 1, the company says.

Chicago-based Mintel’s Global New Products Database shows that between January 2015 and January 2016, 5,226 new beverages were launched in North America.

VT Hackney Inc. introduced Sidekick, a low-profile, four-bay side-load body mounted on a Ford Transit cab and chassis. It offers many of the same features as Hackney’s larger beverage units, including all-aluminum construction, adjustable bay shelving, a bottom rail power step and rear-mounted hand truck, the company says.

Spirax Sarco Inc. offers its CSM-C 600 compact clean steam generator, which can produce as much as 1,275 pounds an hour of clean steam at 45 psig, depending on plant steam pressure and feed water temperature, the company says.

It’s an exciting time for the alcohol beverage industry. As the economy has improved throughout the past five years, consumers have enjoyed a rise in disposable income. This translates into more consumers opting for more expensive or premium beverages, such as craft beers.

In this video, Butterball’s Corporate Project Manager Matt Giroux discusses line efficiency, technological advancements of line design, automation of lines and robotics on packaging lines.