Pioneering Position Worldwide
Russia's Samko Brewery opts for a KHS Petainer keg line
Dr. Felix Wagner* Jörg Lauer** Alexander Burenin*** Samko is the biggest brewery in the Russian Oblast Penza region. Located in the capital of the same name, which has a population of around 500,000 and is 550 kilometers south of Moscow, the company in Penza sells approximately 450,000 hectoliters of beer, kvass, soft drinks, and water a year. The brewery owner, Valentin Petrovich Samko, is heralded as something of a pioneer by the Russian brewing industry, among other things because he decided to invest in KHS technology very early on. For example, as soon as the Soviet Union was disbanded Samko ordered the first electronically and pneumatically controlled KHS long-tube filling system in Russia under the new regime. He went on to gradually replace all of the components on the existing glass line with modern KHS equipment. Samko then decided to install a canning line engineered by KHS, a KHS keg line, and, most recently, a KHS Petainer keg line. It's with the latter that Samko has once again demonstrated his pioneering spirit, this being the first brewery in the world to procure a Petainer keg line with its own stretch blow molder. A semiautomatic system is used here that can be easily upgraded to operate fully automatically should a higher machine capacity be required in the future. Samko comments that "KHS has again helped us to become pioneers in the trade. In doing so – and this is the most important aspect of the entire undertaking – we hope to generate even more sales advantages." * Manager, Filling and Keg Technology Competence Center,KHS GmbH, Kriftel, Germany. Phone: +49 (6192) 4 91-125 ** Petainer Keg Project Manager. Phone: +49 (6192) 491-206 *** Sales, KHS Russia. Phone: +7 (495) 783-8100 From 150,000 hectoliters in 1992 to 450,000 hectoliters in 2011 Founded in 1943 as a simple bottling plant, since its privatization in 1992 Valentin Petrovich Samko has managed the Samko Brewery. Since then he has continued to modernize the plant which has had and continues to have a great impact on both the quality and acceptance of the products on the market. In 1992 the formerly state-owned brewery was producing just 150,000 hectoliters a year; following privatization this figure has risen to 450,000 hectoliters per annum – and further growth is on the cards. Samko is currently planning to extend its distribution area within Russia. At present 65% of Samko's total sales are destined for the Penza region, with 35% distributed throughout the other areas of Russia. According to Samko, this percentage could swing the other way in the near future without any loss of sales in Oblast Penza. Full, convincing range of products The brewery's main brands are Penza and Samko beer. Penza is marketed as the beer from the region for the region, with Samko sold further afield. Like the Penza range, Samko also has several types of beer within the brand. These have the no-nonsense names of Samko 1, Samko 2, Samko 3, and Samko 4, with the number indicating the strength of the beer. Samko 1 pilsner, for example, is the Samko beer with the lowest alcohol content; Samko 3 is a strong beverage with the most alcohol by volume of all the Samko beers. Samko 4 is unfiltered beer. This system of names is easy for the consumer to grasp. The brewery's portfolio not only includes Penza and Samko beer but also the light beer Zhigglevskoe, kvass, soft drinks, and bottled water. Samko explains, "It's our policy to provide our customers with a full range of products that's convincing in all respects." Kegs are big business for Samko Samko products are distributed to the retail trade and to the hospitality trade. The target group is the consumer who can afford high-quality Samko beverages. Supplying the hospitality trade is big business for the Samko Brewery, instantly recognizable by the fact that about 40% of quality Samko beer is racked in kegs. About 25% is filled in PET and glass bottles and the remaining 10% in cans. Petainer keg for further growth "As the keg is of such great importance for our brewery, I was particularly interested in the Petainer keg system presented by KHS", says Samko. Samko first came into contact with the Petainer keg at the Brau Beviale trade show two years ago. Not long afterwards he took part in the Upakovka exhibition and began discussing the new container in earnest. "It was while talking to the experts from KHS that I really became aware of the many advantages the Petainer keg offers", Samko enthuses. "I soon decided to invest in a KHS Petainer keg line, opting for a pioneering system and keg concept that in my view have excellent prospects both on the Russian market and throughout the world in general." Light weight plus many ecological and economic benefits One of the major advantages of the one-way keg developed by KHS partner Petainer Holdings UK Ltd. – as opposed to the classic steel keg – is its weight. Steel kegs that hold 15, 20, or 30 liters weigh between six and seven kilograms, while Petainer kegs in the 15 and 20-liter sizes notch up just 250 grams on the scales, with 30-liter Petainer kegs slightly over the 400-gram mark. This makes the processing of both empty and full Petainer kegs and handling in the hospitality and retail trades much easier. Moreover, the much lighter weight of racked Petainer kegs reduces transportation costs on delivery to the various distribution channels. Truckloads can be increased with Petainer kegs, thus cutting down on logistics costs by up to 30% per hectoliter compared to the delivery of steel kegs. Another decisive factor is that there is no longer any need to return empty containers to the brewery, as Petainer kegs are one-way receptacles and 100% recyclable. After being relieved of pressure, empty Petainer kegs and their fittings can be safely disposed of just like any other PET packaging. "The Petainer keg will prove very useful when we extend our distribution network", Samko states. "As customers don't have to return their Petainer kegs, we not only save a considerable amount of cost for transportation and washing as opposed to the steel keg; we're also being extremely environmentally friendly." The fact that the Petainer keg is non-returnable also means that there is no longer any need to maintain a costly keg fleet, as with the steel variety; also, no keg tracking systems are required, storage space is saved, and repairs for damaged kegs are simply not an issue. The elaborate washing process required for steel kegs is now also redundant here, both reducing brewery overheads and underlining the aspect of sustainability. Another plus of the Petainer keg in comparison with other one-way kegs is that the Petainer also has a non-returnable fitting which can be easily connected up to existing tapping equipment. Petainer keg users don't have to reinvest in their beer tapping systems and bar staff don't have to be retrained. Modern barrier technology ensures long product shelf lives The most important aspect of the Petainer keg system for the product is that modern barrier technology is used in the manufacture of the Petainer, therefore protecting its contents. The Polyester Plus material developed by Petainer with its active oxygen scavenger specifically prevents oxygen penetrating the product and minimizes CO2 loss. Pigments in the polyester guard the contents against infiltration of UV light. The minimum shelf life of beer racked in a Petainer keg is thus nine months. Inline Petainer production offers even more advantages When a company decides to rack its products in Petainer kegs, it needs to ask itself whether the kegs should be delivered empty with their fittings or if the Petainer kegs should be manufactured on site. Making them at the plant has the advantage that even less space is needed for storage; procurement and empty keg costs are also lower, and the company can react more flexibly to fluctuations in demand. Up to 40,000 non-returnable fittings and preforms can be delivered in one standard container; where the KHS Petainer one-way keg system is used huge savings can be made, as there are no longer any empty kegs to be handled. Emphasis on hygiene With these additional advantages in mind, Samko opted for the inline production of Petainer kegs. The preforms and fittings are supplied as kits and packaged so that they are sterile for use with beer. An operator places the preforms on a conveyor system that takes the preforms straight to the stretch blow molder. The blown Petainer kegs then pass to a discharge segment, where the operator removes one Petainer keg at a time and, using the fitting press, inserts the fitting kit which has been immersed in a sterilizing solution. The operator works under particularly hygienic conditions. Another aspect that speaks for this extremely hygienic setup is the fact that the Petainer keg manufacture and racking area is kept separate from the brewery's other areas of production and storage. Low oxygen filling process A different operator places the Petainer kegs with their inserted fittings in the Innokeg Till PETBoy F2 and removes racked Petainer kegs. The Innokeg Till PETBoy F 2 is a semiautomatic system with two racking heads that can process up to 60 Petainer kegs per hour. The Innokeg Till PETBoy F2 first performs a pressure test on each Petainer keg. If this proves negative, the relevant Petainer keg is channeled out and no longer processed. 'Good' kegs have their fittings rinsed with water, ensuring that any residual dust or dirt is reliably removed. After the rinsing process has finished, the fitting is opened and the Petainer keg purged of air with CO2. This is done 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. Only then does the pressurization gas cylinder close and the product valve open. 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 flowmetering. After the seal has been closed the Petainer keg is rinsed one last time to remove any beer residues. Packed in cartons Racked Petainer kegs are automatically pushed from the racking element onto a conveyor which takes them into another room where they are packed into cartons, labeled, and closed by hand. Focus on the 20-liter Petainer keg At present the Petainer keg comes in four different sizes holding 15, 20, 30, or 40 liters. At the time of writing Samko is only processing the 20-liter Petainer keg. "The 20-liter Petainer keg is exactly the right type of container for the high-quality beers we supply", explains Samko. "In using the Petainer keg we can ensure that our beer always reaches our consumers in the hospitality trade absolutely fresh." Conversion to a fully automatic system possible Samko currently only supplies the Petainer keg to the hospitality trade but this could quickly change. One idea is to also deliver Petainer kegs to retailers so that consumers can tap their own fresh beer from the Petainer keg at home. "If we take this next step", says Samko, "we reckon that the present capacity of our Petainer keg line will very quickly no longer be sufficient. KHS has thus designed the line so that capacities can be quickly increased." The blow molder currently has a capacity of 180 20-liter containers an hour. If certain variations are made to the line, this could be the top hourly output of the entire line. To this end, a handling robot would have to fit the assembled fitting and riser pipe into the Petainer keg automatically. Samko would also have to invest in two more Innokeg Till PETBoy F2s, automatically loaded by a robotic system which would have to be incorporated into the line. All told, the changeover from the present semiautomatic KHS Petainer keg line to a fully automatic KHS Petainer keg line would be quickly implemented with the above changes. Says Samko, "Judging by the success of the Petainer keg on the market, we'll probably make this additional investment during the course of 2012." KHS technology a step to success One attribute of the KHS Petainer keg line Samko finds especially positive is that it can rack very different products. At the moment only beer is racked in the Petainer keg, but this may quickly change in the near future. Kvass, soft drinks, and water are all doable. If requirements should change regarding the size of the Petainer keg, smaller or larger Petainer variants could be processed. "With the Petainer keg line KHS has once again shown us that we are right to always chose KHS as our trusted supplier", concludes Samko. "I consider KHS technology to be a real step to success for our brewery."
