Highly flexible KHS technology underpins further worldwide success

Jörg Hoffmann*

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. Exports started in 1978. Today, Kaiserdom products are available in more than 50 countries worldwide and the company is experiencing further growth in numerous export markets. According to Georg Wörner, Managing Partner of the Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei, there are several good reasons why the company has for decades relied on KHS technology. "Here, tip-top quality goes hand-in-hand with high flexibility and outstanding service," says Wörner. "It is exactly this complete package which perfectly complements our company strategy from the technical side." 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.  The special feature of the Innofill DVD is that it is designed for filling a wide variety of cans including the 1-l can variants. "When we introduced the 1-l can at drinktec for the first time in 2005, we were laughed at particularly by the German brewers," says Wörner. "In the meantime, this can variant accounts for almost one-third of our can business. By investing in our new KHS can filler, we are not only demonstrating our belief in the future growth of the 1-l can, but also our fundamental positive attitude to the can. We expect this container to have continued success on the export market as well as in Germany." As an entrepreneur who is always open to innovation and frequently helps to establish new paths, Wörner is also convinced by the positive development of the Petainer keg. "We see the Petainer keg as the variant for our export markets. Here, we benefit from the economic advantages associated with the non-refillable solution. At the same time, the Petainer keg scores with its environmental friendliness. It is fully recyclable and, as there is no returning of kegs, the CO2 output is reduced and there is no requirement for keg-cleaning media." 

Different from the others

Georg Wörner is the fourth generation of the family to manage Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei. He insists on the "c" in the word "Specialitäten". "In this way, the name of our brewery also demonstrates that we are a bit different from the others in the way we tick," says Wörner. The brewery's history initially reads like that of many German breweries. In 1718, the company started as a small brewery in Upper

* Sales, Germany, KHS GmbH, Dortmund, Phone: 02 31/5 69-18 77 

Franconia. Wörner's grandfather took over the business in 1910 with an annual sales volume of 5,000 hectoliters. His father and uncle joined the company in 1953. By that time, sales had risen to 10,000 hectoliters/year. The brewery took a significant step in 1969 when it moved to new business premises which were already designed for increased capacity - a wise prediction. While annual sales in 1969 amounted to 30,000 hectoliters, by the middle of the 1970s they had already reached 100,000 hectoliters. On joining the company in 1977 following his studies in foodstuffs and beverage technology, one of Georg Wörner's first tasks was to design new filling and packaging equipment. The special requirement here was that the technical solutions were to prepare the brewery for export activities. This was because it had been recognized that, with the high density of breweries and the associated cutthroat competition, there would be no further growth in the domestic market. The decision was specifically made in favor of a KHS glass bottling line and a KHS canning line. With both systems, great importance was placed on the use of widely differing types of packaging aimed at the requirements of the particular export country. As Wörner says, "These KHS lines made us capable of exporting for the first time and we have had a lot of positive experience with them."

60% of the brewery's sales go for export

The first three truckloads left Germany in 1978 bound for Italy. Wörner remembers this as if it were today. "At that time, we were delivering pilsner, dark lager and unfiltered wheat beer." What began well continued outstandingly. Italy has remained the Number One export country. In the meantime, sales figures here amount to 35,000 hectoliters annually. Export country Number Two is China. This is followed by Denmark and the Ukraine. At number five are the three South American countries Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Approximately 8,000 hectoliters of Kaiserdom beers are exported here every year. All told, Kaiserdom today has a presence in more than 50 countries throughout the world. In the meantime, 60% of the brewery's sales are achieved outside Germany. Among others, the "export plan" also includes the non-alcoholic beer, Prostel. This is particularly sought after in the Arabian countries including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Jordan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen, and is produced especially for them with 0.0% alcohol content (the European variant has 0.5% alcohol content). The Fassbrause variants, of which the most successful are lemon, apple and raspberry, are also much loved here and have been produced by Kaiserdom especially for these countries since 2002. They were also made available in the 1-l can for the first time in May 2013.

Kaiserdom "Technics & Technology" Division provides problem solutions for the brewing industry worldwide

Within Germany, Kaiserdom promotes its beers and a range of six types of non-alcoholic beverage (table water, Zitro, Orange, Spezi, apple spritzer, ACE) and alcoholic mixed beverages within a radius of approximately 100 km from the factory. "Considering our even greater success in the export business, our focus in future will also remain firmly on expanding the export business," says Wörner. "Our established Kaiserdom "Technics & Technology" Division will also continue to be of major importance." Kaiserdom offers widely differing services to breweries under the auspices of this business area which was established in 2004. For example, the company undertakes the production of beer under license as well as the filling and logistics, and is also extremely active in coming up with new product ideas for its partners. "Our range of services extends to the production of display pallets for the trade and also to the provision of export documents and export management," explains Wörner. "Breweries which use our "Technics & Technology" service know very well that we provide a complete package which has no equal." It therefore comes as no surprise that approximately 25% of the Kaiserdom company's turnover of more than 20 million euros is effected by this division. The latest initiative has been the conclusion of a contract with the Indian brewery, Kingfisher. As a result of this, Kaiserdom will in future also be brewing India's favorite beer, "Kingfisher Premium Lager," under license in accordance with the German purity law and will be bottling it in 0.33-l refillable glass bottles for the German market.

Number 75 among the German breweries

Looking at the position of Kaiserdom among the German breweries, with sales of 275 hectoliters in 2012 (290,000 hectoliters are planned for 2013) the company is in 75th place. At the same time, the brewery is 17th among export-oriented German breweries, in fifth position among the Franconian breweries, and Number One of the nine Bamberg breweries.  

Extensive range of beers

Kaiserdom's range of beers includes pilsner, dark lager, unfiltered wheat beer, Kellerbier, light beer and malt liquor. In addition to this there is also the non-alcoholic beer, Prostel. With 25%, pilsner has the lion's share of beer sales. It is followed by unfiltered wheat beer (22%), dark lager (20%), Kellerbier (15%) and Prostel (10%). The remaining 8% are shared between light beer and malt liquor. 

Cans are the cornerstone of sales

With a share of 50%, the glass bottle continues to be ranked in first place when focusing on the percentage distribution of sales by containers. However, this is closely followed by the can which lays claim to 40% and is mainly used for export. The remaining 10% are accounted for by kegs.

The 1-l can is gaining ground

Kaiserdom's success story with the can started directly after the KHS canning line was commissioned in 1978 with the 0.33-l variant. In the meantime, 0.25-l, 0.5-l, 0.568-l and 1-l cans are also in use. The progress of the 1-l can is particularly interesting. It was presented to a wide German and international public at the international drinktec trade show in 2005. The response was scathing, particularly from the German side. "We were laughed at," says Wörner. "The response without exception was negative, but we would not have been true to ourselves if we had given up as a result and gone against our convictions." The first 1-l cans consequently went for export, initially to export country Number One - Italy. "The 1-l can was subsequently dispatched to England and Switzerland," elaborates Wörner. "However, here too we had to wait a while for major success. In 2005, we sold just 500 hectoliters with this container. The breakthrough came in 2009. Ahead of all the other export countries, Australia, China and Russia were now interested in the large can. Today, the 1-l can is dispatched to all our export countries. Sales in 2012 exceeded 5 million cans. In 2013, we are planning to pass the 6 million mark." In realizing this success, Kaiserdom benefitted greatly from the behavior of consumers in some export countries. For example, in restaurants in China, it is fashionable to order large cans for joint consumption and to pass them around the table. In Australia too, they also like to open 1-l cans for joint consumption. Above all, a younger target group has been shown to be particularly open to this size of can. Fully in accordance with the Kaiserdom advertising motto "strong hands need strong cans".

Large cans are very much in fashion – among others in the Chinese market

The large can has also gained popularity in the Chinese market for quite a different reason. Kaiserdom had the brilliant idea of producing special editions with signs of the zodiac especially for the Chinese New Year celebrations. "In the year of the dragon (2012), we entered the Chinese market for the first time with our special red-and-gold cans, and from a standing start achieved sales of almost 200,000 1-l cans," explains Wörner. "We have also maintained this level this year in the year of the snake. For 2014 (the year of the horse), we calculate that demand will again increase considerably. Against the background that in China the 1-l can sells for the equivalent of 3 to 4 euros and the average monthly income in the country is between about 500 and 1,000 euros, we consider our sales figures up to now to be a significant success."

Renaissance of the can also forecast for the German market

Incidentally, in the meantime, Kaiserdom has also entered the German market with the 1-l can. The sales share here is 3%. "In my opinion, the can will generally experience a renaissance not only in the export trade, but also within Germany," says Wörner. "We expect cans to have a share of approximately 5% of the German beer market in the medium term."

Highly flexible KHS can filler equipped for all eventualities

In order to be as equally well-equipped for export requirements as for a possible Germany-wide renaissance of canned beer, Kaiserdom has recently invested in the highly flexible KHS Innofill DVD can filler. It is set up for processing 0.25, 0.33, 0.5, 0.568 and 1-l cans and also leaves the option open for filling slim and sleek cans in the future. "On the one hand we chose KHS because we have previously had only excellent experience with this company's technical systems," says Wörner. "Another reason was that there are already several KHS filling systems in the global market which, among others, also process the 1-l can." Wörner personally convinced himself of the performance of an Innofill DVD with the 1-l can option together with his technical team at the Moscow Brewing Company. "The impression was very good," summarizes Wörner. "Our final decision was basically made as a result of the positive feedback on this system provided by the brewery managers."

Capacity of up to 35,000 cans/hour

The pitch of the filling valves on the Innofill DVD for Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei is 114.5 mm (usually 89 mm) especially to enable the filling of 1-l cans. The pitch circle diameter of the can filler is 2,622 mm. With 72 filling valves, the filler processes 18,000 1-l cans and 35,000 cans in the range between 0.25 and 0.568-l every hour. The computer-controlled volumetric filling system achieves maximum fill level accuracy using the principle of electromagnetic inductive flow metering. 

Particularly low-oxygen filling process

Prior to the actual filling process, the cans are first placed, sealed, purged, and then pressurized on the Innofill DVD. Purging cans with CO2 is important in order to meet the so necessary requirements of low-oxygen filling of beer. Once the CO2 purging and pressurization processes are complete, the liquid valve opens. Pneumatic cylinders control both the liquid valve and gas passages. The filling process takes place under pressure. Once filling is completed, the existing pressure is reduced to that of the surrounding atmosphere. Gas escapes through the snifting channel. Snifting is pressure-controlled with little foaming. 

"In particular, we value the extremely low-oxygen filling process on our new filling system as this maintains our high beer qualities over a long period," says Wörner. "This is of the utmost importance, particularly for an export-oriented brewery such as ourselves. In addition, we are impressed by the high flexibility of the system and the associated rapid changeover facility for new types of can and when changing the product to be filled."

Minimum changeover times, maximum hygiene

In fact, the shortest possible changeover times are achieved with the Innofill DVD. The machine operator simply calls up preprogrammed settings and continues production with the new beer or, thanks to central filling level adjustment, with the new size of can. This both saves time and increases machine availability. Normal format part changing is necessary only if cans with other diameters are to be processed. Smooth product passages throughout the machine from the ring bowl to the filling valves are also a major advantage of the Innofill DVD. Aseptic membrane and sealing technology is used in all Innofill DVD filling valves and in all other channels exposed to the product.  

Petainer keg will in future be the "keg of choice" for long-distance exports

Wörner is also highly satisfied with the new Innokeg Till PETBoy F 2 Petainer racking system. It was ordered at the same time as the can filler. "We had already been continuously gathering information on the non-refillable keg for about four years," explains Wörner. "In our opinion, with the Petainer keg and the associated technical solution, we have now opted for the most highly developed non-refillable keg concept on the market." Wörner believes a decisive advantage of the Petainer keg system to be that Petainer kegs are fitted with non-returnable fittings which can be easily connected to existing tapping equipment, as the tapping heads fit conventional kegs and Petainers. Consequently, there is no need for the restaurant trade to reinvest in new equipment, and bar staff do not have to be retrained. A further plus of the Petainer keg from which restaurant workers benefit directly is its low weight. The 30-l Petainer keg variant filled by Kaiserdom weighs only approximately 400 g. The considerable weight advantage compared with the classic steel keg simplifies handling when transporting both empty and filled Petainer kegs. Transport costs are also reduced as the number of kegs loaded on the truck can be increased. Designed as a non-refillable container, there is no need for empty Petainer kegs to be returned to the brewery. What is more, Petainer kegs are 100% recyclable.

Maximum product safety

However, according to Wörner, the most important advantage of the Petainer keg is that it provides maximum product safety ensured by the use of cutting-edge barrier technologies. Scavenger material integrated into the PET specifically prevents oxygen from penetrating the container. Nylon particles protect the product against CO2 loss. Pigments in the polymer used also help to guard the contents against the infiltration of UV light. The minimum shelf life of beer racked in a Petainer is thus nine months. At the same time, the quality of Petainer-racked beer is comparable to beer in steel kegs in every possible way.

Although Petainer kegs can easily be produced in line, as Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei first wants to test the acceptability of the container on the market, the company initially invested only in the racking system. The Petainer kegs to be filled are therefore supplied ready-blown and already provided with fittings. 

Innokeg Till PETBoy F 2 manages the gentle filling process

An operator couples the Petainer kegs, which are already equipped with fittings, to the KHS Innokeg Till PETBoy F2 racking system and removes racked Petainer kegs. The Innokeg Till PETBoy F 2 is a semi-automatic system with two racking heads that can process up to 60 kegs per hour. The machine first carries out a pressure test on each Petainer keg. If this is negative, the keg is removed and not used again. 'Good' kegs have their fittings rinsed with water, ensuring that any residual dust or dirt is reliably removed. After rinsing with water, the fitting is opened and the inside of the keg purged with CO2. The reason for this is to replace the existing air with CO2. The next step is to pressurize the keg with CO2 to a level just above the relevant product pressure. The pressurization gas cylinder closes and the product valve opens.  The racking process starts with a slow initial racking phase, followed by a fast racking phase and a concluding slow racking phase. This ends only when the Petainer keg contains the given volume of liquid measured by electromagnetic inductive flow metering. After the fitting has been closed, the Petainer keg is rinsed one last time to remove any beer residues from the outside.  

Objective: To sell 10,000 Petainer kegs in the first year

"We are interested in the Petainer keg for delivery distances of more than about 1,000 km," says Wörner. "We see great sales potential here, particularly with regard to exports. We are planning on racking at least 10,000 kegs and therefore achieving sales of 3,000 hectoliters with this container in the first year. We are currently still in the test phase and are introducing the new concept to our partners. The response to date enables us to view the future very optimistically, particularly as the Petainer keg is the ideal container for perfectly maintaining the product quality."

Regular recipient of the DLG gold "Award for the Best" for 15 years

"Our beer prices worldwide lie in the upper mid-range or in the premium segment only because we are known for our outstanding product quality," remarks Wörner. The high quality is impressively confirmed by the DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft). For exactly 15 years, Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei has every year been the recipient of the gold "Award for the Best" for the products submitted, pilsner, dark lager and unfiltered wheat beer. Three years ago, Kellerbier was also included in the DLG beer test and since then has likewise received the annual accolade of the gold "Award for the Best". 

Perfectly equipped for ongoing positive development

Kaiserdom Specialitäten Brauerei also intends to fully play to its market strengths in the future and, as an owner-managed medium-size company, look for niches in the German as well as in export markets. "High flexibility and the associated rapid decision paths of a privately managed company are our significant plus points," says Wörner. "At the same time, we have great stamina when we are convinced by an idea." When asked about further goals, Wörner says, "Our vision is to be Number One among Germany's privately managed export breweries in the medium term. We are also planning to expand our presence outside Germany - from the present 50 export countries to 100." Allowance has already been made for this. The trademark for the Kaiserdom brand has already been registered in the aforementioned 100 countries and the trademark for the non-alcoholic beer, Prostel, has been registered in approximately 70 countries. The success story of the Kaiserdom Specialitäten-Brauerei will continue. In any case, with innovative KHS technology, the company is today already perfectly equipped for implementing a vast multitude of new ideas.