Austrian Brauerei Zipf upgrades bottle washer from 1991 with full conversion package

Boosting sustainability and cutting costs were the two main reasons for Brauerei Zipf from Upper Austria investing in a conversion for their outmoded KHS washer for non-returnable bottles.   The brewery first asked itself if it should invest in new machinery or upgrade the existing setup. Master brewer Dr Günther Seeleitner describes the decision-making process as follows: "Our KHS bottle washer from 1991 has worked perfectly up to now and we're extremely pleased with it. Why should we replace it when we can profit from the benefits of a new machine by simply upgrading it?" Zipf therefore ordered a full conversion package which included the replacement of the steel carriers with energy-saving bottle carriers equipped with plastic bottle pockets and the integration of a fresh water control and pump drive system into the cleaning concept. The existing control unit was also removed to make way for a new controller. The results following the upgrade are impressive. The fresh water consumption has sunk from 340 ml to just 200 ml per bottle; instead of 1.5 liters of caustic per 1,000 bottles to be washed, only 0.8 liters of caustic are needed, with the caustic carryover reduced by 14.3 ml per bottle. The same ratio of additives is also saved. To boot, the amount of energy used has dropped from 15 to 12 kilowatts  per hour. According to Zipf's calculations, on the basis of the modernizations to their bottle washer alone the brewery will cut their water consumption by 14,000 m³ per year, their electricity consumption by 49,500 kWh, the amount of steam used by 560 metric tones, the use of NaOH by 97 tons, and the consumption of other chemicals by 17 tons. With this Brauerei Zipf is supporting the sustainability strategy of the Brau Union Österreich or Austrian Brewing Union, to which eight breweries belong (Zipf, Göss, Puntigam, Schwechat, Wieselburg, Schladming, Falkenstein, and Kaltenhausen). Within the Union Zipf is known as the innovative brewery, famous for its Zipfer brand and range of Edelweiss wheat beers. Both brands are widely known in Austria and also exported, with annual sales notching up about one million hectoliters. In 2012 the entire Brau Union Österreich sold 4.55 million hectoliters, meaning that the brewery group accounts for over half of the beer consumed in Austria (8.54 million hectoliters) and thus has a great impact on the Austrian beer market. A study recently commissioned by the Union revealed that beer is a subject that is close to the Austrian heart, with 92% of those asked considering beer to be a composite part of Austria's culture. This is small wonder considering the high per capita consumption of beer here; at present, the Austrians hold second place to the Czech Republic in the international consumption stakes at 107.7 liters drunk per head per year.