Premium packaging technology for premium spirits
Jim Beam bourbon whiskey is famous all over the world. Its story of success began in 1795 when Jacob Beam sold his first barrel of American whiskey. The Jim Beam range today includes the classic Jim Beam White Original brand and several other variants, such as Jim Beam Rye, Jim Beam Black, Jim Beam Devil’s Cut and Red Stag by Jim Beam in the flavors Black Cherry, Honey Tea and Spiced. This range of brands accounts for about 50% of all bourbon produced in Kentucky. If we consider that 98% of all bourbon distilleries in the USA are located in Kentucky, that's a very impressive figure.
Jim Beam is now made by the company in its seventh generation. The brand is the flagship product of Beam Inc., the largest spirits company in the USA and the fourth biggest maker of spirits worldwide. The largest production site is the Old Grand Dad plant in Frankfort, Kentucky. This is where 12 million of the 38 million cases of Beam products bottled worldwide are filled and packaged (one case of spirits contains nine liters on average). Since 2010 the plant has consistently invested in KHS technology each time a replacement wrap-around packer was needed. There are now four KHS systems in operation: two Innopack Kisters WP A-H machines for the high-capacity lines and two Innopack Kisters WP 030 for lines with a lower output. Says Byron DuBois, "All four of our packers have proved convincing from day one. We're very pleased with them. As far as the Advanced series goes, we're profiting from countless highlights which we appreciate for our high-capacity range but don't necessarily need for our lines with a lower output." John Ballard, maintenance manager at the Frankfort plant, adds, "These highlights include operator-prompted format changeovers, for example, the use of identical servomotors with integrated servocontrollers and the great degree of flexibility this system gives us. As for the quality of the packaging, these KHS systems are definitely a cut above the rest." Back to DuBois. "It's this given premium quality which we need as a supplier of premium products." The positive experience the Old Grand Dad plant has had with its KHS wrap-around packs has been conveyed to other members of the Beam Group. As DuBois says, "It's always well worth sharing our experiences with others as this benefits the product quality and line efficiency at Beam plants all over the world."
