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08/13/2015

Quality is top priority

Australian Coopers Brewery invests in KHS turnkey line and sets course for further growth

Frank Hollmann* Kurt Hofmann** In 1862 former cobbler and stone mason Thomas Cooper produced his first beer. He did so for his wife Ann, who had been advised to drink beer as a tonic for her ailing health. At the time beer was very hard to come by in Australia. Cooper's English father-in-law provided the recipe and Thomas set to work, enjoying himself so immensely that he carried on making home brew until 1881. He then decided to start his own brewery in his home town of Adelaide. If he could see what has become of it, he would undoubtedly burst with pride. Coopers Brewery now ranks third among Australia's brewing companies and is the only large brewery in the country to be under full Australian ownership. It is still run by the Cooper family. Down the centuries the company has remained true to its discerning endeavor to provide quality beer. Dr. Tim Cooper, managing director of Coopers Brewery in the family's fifth generation, says, "We attach the greatest value to top ingredients, our hand-crafted brewing process and outstanding technical equipment." It thus comes as no surprise to learn that Coopers has been using KHS technology for decades and that it only recently invested in a KHS turnkey glass line which, according to Coopers' operations manager Nick Sterenberg, "has exactly the level of quality that Coopers' corporate philosophy demands." KHS technology since the 1960s Coopers first began using KHS filling technology as far back as in the 1960s when the brewery invested in not one but two KHS filling systems which provided loyal service for over 30 years. These 'treasures' were replaced in 1996 by a mechanically controlled, high-capacity KHS filler with 100 filling stations.  At more or less the same time as their then new investment Coopers began to see a steady rise in sales – which are still growing. In 1996 the company sold around 150,000 hectoliters of beer; just five years later this figure had risen to approximately 270,000 hectoliters. Average annual sales plus of just under 10% in the last 20 years In order to meet the permanent increase in demand, in 2001 Coopers moved into a new brewery with plenty of room for future growth. KHS organized the move of all of the filling line, at the same time supplying a pasteurizer and successively replacing the technical setups on the new site which were beginning to show their age. *Head of Market Zone Asia Pacific, KHS GmbH, Bad Kreuznach, Germany. Phone: +49 671 852 2888 **Manager of KHS Pacific PTY LTD, Tullamarine, Australia. Phone: +61 393 351331 Says Sterenberg, "We gradually replaced our machines with newer, faster KHS systems and thus steadily boosted our filling and packaging capacities." In 2005, for instance, Coopers invested in an Innokeg Transomat keg line and in the computer-controlled, pneumatic Innofill DRS-ZMS pressure filling system. In 2007 it procured an Innoket SE labeling machine and in 2010 a mechanically-controlled Innofill DMD can filler and an Innopack Kisters WP A-H wrap-around packer. As the amount of equipment grew, so did Coopers' sales. Dr. Cooper states, "Over the last 20 years we've realized an average growth in sales of 9.8% a year. In  2014 we sold around 750,000 hectoliters of beer. In the next ten years we're reckoning on a further annual plus of about 7%." Five factors for success It is interesting to note that while Coopers keeps on growing, the amount of beer consumed per head in Australia is perpetually sinking.  Still at approximately 140 liters in the 1970s, by the mid 1990s this figure had fallen to about 100 liters and is now at around just 75 liters. Dr. Cooper believes that there are five major aspects which account for the atypical growth of the brewery on the market. The first of these is the company's uncompromising strategy of quality. The second is that Lion Nathan, number one on the Australian beer market, sold its hotel operations at the beginning of the 1990s, giving Coopers the chance to move in here with its beers.  Thirdly, Coopers has extended its distribution area from the south of Australia to cover the entire nation and built up its export business. Number four is that Coopers produces premium beers and it is this beer category which is seeing a particularly strong growth in Australia. Finally – and this is a key point for many Australians – the company scores by being the only large brewery in the country which is completely in Australian hands. This plus point is permanently communicated to the public and mentioned on all of the brewery's packaging which clearly states: "Australian made, Australian owned". Growth throughout Australia and far beyond If we take a look at how sales are distributed across the nation, 27% falls to South Australia, 26% to New South Wales, 17% to Victoria, 14% to Queensland, 11% to Western Australia and 3% to the Northern Territory, with 2% destined for much further afield. Coopers' top export country is New Zealand, followed by Great Britain and the USA. Says Dr. Cooper, "In the medium term we're budgeting with an export share of 5%. We'd also like to further strengthen the presence of our beers in Australia outside our South Australian home market. At the moment Coopers accounts for approximately 5% of Australia's beer sales. We're assuming that by the beginning of the 2020s we'll be able to notch up about 7% of national sales." A total of 14 beers, plus licensed production of international premium beer brands A total of 14 Coopers beers are produced at the brewery, plus a number of international premium beer brands brewed under license, among them Carlsberg, Kronenbourg, Sapporo, Mythos, Holsten and Birell. About 80% of the total beer output reaches the consumer in non-refillable glass bottles, with 16% in kegs and 4% in cans. Only a selection of the full range is available in the keg and the can. Says Sterenberg, "This also means that what was our only glass line had to process a huge variety of products and that we lost a lot of valuable production time during changeovers. We thus made the definite decision to only fill and pack our bestsellers on the new high-performance KHS glass line, thus achieving very good line availability for both this and for the existing line." Original Pale Ale – top seller The top sellers in the Coopers range are Coopers Original Pale Ale, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Mild Ale, Coopers Dark Ale and Best Extra Stout which together make up about 80% of the production volume. The biggest brand beer is Original Pale Ale with a share of 60%, followed by Sparkling Ale (13%), Mild Ale (4%) and Best Extra Stout (3%). These statistics confirm that Australia is definitely ale country! First turnkey line in Coopers' history The new filling and packaging line is the first turnkey line in the history of the brewery. Dr. Cooper claims, "We thought it would be a definite advantage to have everything from one source delivered by our trusted supplier." Sterenberg adds, "What was also important to us here was the fact that we've had very good experience with our KHS machinery and KHS service for decades now.   Here down under it's vital that our equipment is robust and reliable and that we're assured quick service. We're used to having just this from KHS – and we certainly don't want to be without it in the future!" Customized planning in 3D The new KHS turnkey line is designed for a capacity of up to 66,000 bottles per hour and was planned in 3D. As a turnkey supplier KHS not only included filling and packaging technology in its 3D planning but also all the peripheral equipment. A Powerwall was used to display the 3D design; with the help of 3D glasses and what is known as a fly stick Coopers' viewers navigated their way through the line. Sterenberg was impressed. "This allowed us to check the line very carefully in advance and have any changes we wanted worked in even more specifically." Everything on one level The first stop on the line is the Innopal ASN depalletizer which is provided with new glass pallets by a pallet conveyor.  One of the reasons Coopers opted for this particular depalletizer is that it operates fully automatically with level compensation, enabling the entire line to be designed on one level. The Innopal ASN's four-sided, enclosed pushing system also offers maximum reliability during the depalletizing process. All surfaces of the depalletizer that come into contact with the glass bottles are covered with plastic plates to prevent damage to the bottles. As a result, there is no vibration or contact pulse noise. The concept also includes a fully automatic handling robot. This picks up inverted trays from each individual pallet using vacuum grippers and also removes and distributes pallet liners and empty pallets. Says Sterenberg, "Unlike the other KHS machines integrated into our new line we hadn't yet had the chance to experience KHS palletizers and depalletizers. We thus paid a visit to the KHS factory in Worms prior to ordering to see if this technology also met the KHS standard we required. We were very impressed with the production there. The performance of our palletizers has been excellent ever since the line was commissioned." Adds Robin Howe, engineering manager for Coopers, "The gentle palletizing and depalletizing process is also a major contributing factor to the very low glass loss on this line. On our existing line this is a good 0.45%. Here, we're registering just 0.2%." Satisfaction with existing KHS rinsing and filling technology triggers repeat order Depalletized glass bottles are fed to the rinser/filler block. Upstream of the filling system is the mechanically controlled, two-channel Innoclean FR-ZM rinser, designed to treat the glass bottles with two rinsing media. At Coopers, once the bottles have been rinsed with UV-treated water they are washed out with cold water. This method reliably rinses the bottles clean of any impurities, such as dust or glass particles. Special rinsing programs are defined for all Coopers products and stored in the system. Changing over to a different rinsing process for another product or bottle merely involves pressing a button on the display screen. Coopers specifically opted for the Innofill DRS-ZMS as its filling system of choice. Dr. Cooper explains why. "KHS recommended the innovative Innofill Glass DRS-ZMS filler variant to us. However, we decided to go for the previous model – quite simply because we were so pleased with this filling system on our existing line that we wanted to have exactly the same setup again. Whether the filling quality or robust design: this filler is simply convincing on all counts." The Innofill DRS-ZMS operates with a fill level probe. The pressurizing process is preceded by triple pre-evacuation and double CO₂ purging. After pressurization, the liquid valve opens and conducts the product over a swirler to the inner walls of the bottle. High valve filling outputs are achieved during the fast filling phase in the uncritical, cylindrical part of the bottle. A slow filling phase takes place in the narrow bottle neck for exact fill level measurement. A pulse from the probe closes the liquid valve. This is followed by pre-snifting and final snifting. Pressure-controlled snifting takes place with little foam. The filling process is carried out independently of speed. The electronically-controlled, pneumatic pressure filling system fills beer into glass bottles with very low oxygen pickup while using very little CO₂. The bottles are closed by a crowner blocked with the filler, after which the bottles travel on to the labeling machine along buffer tables. The same goes for the labeling technology ... The labeling technology used is the Innoket SE 2090, a modular KHS labeler which with a pitch circle of just under 2.40 meters can dress up to 72,000 bottles per hour. Says Sterenberg, "We've had nothing but good experience with the same high-capacity labeling machine on our existing line. The high level of machine efficiency and design are both just right. This type of labeler is also very flexible and thus especially well equipped for the future." The basic version of the Innoket SE generation of labelers has been kept deliberately simple and merely consists of a table construction and central labeling carousel. This labeling carousel can be flexibly equipped with a wide variety of labeling stations. Any combination of wet glue, adhesive pressure, hot melt and roll-fed units and even a camera module can be docked onto the Innoket SE. At present the Coopers labeling machines are being used as cold glue labelers only on both lines, kitted out with three cold glue stations apiece which dress the body, shoulder and back of the bottles. Howe tells us more. "Should self-adhesive labeling suddenly take off on the Australian market, for instance, we can cater for this by simply replacing the labeling stations on the central labeling carousel. We could also combine a number of labeling processes. All this allows us to react very fast to changing consumer demands." Like Coopers' existing labeler, the new Innoket SE 2090 is fitted with the electronic VarioDrive bottle plate control system, where bottle plate, motor and electronics form a single unit. This makes it possible to rotate containers individually to suit the particular bottle format and style of dressing. Should Coopers go for new container shapes and dressings in the future, any adaptations can be quickly programmed in. If, for example, the brewery should decide to include relief or contour bottles in their range of bottles in the future, combining VarioDrive with a camera module would enable labels to be applied in the specified position with millimeter accuracy. This can be as quickly and easily docked onto the machine as the aforementioned labeling stations. The brewery also wanted the same labeling magazines as it has on its existing labeling machinery. Each cold glue labeling station is therefore supplied by an Innoket ALM or automatic label magazine which stores up to 50,000 labels. This means that operating personnel only have to restock the machine with new materials after 40 minutes' operating time at the earliest. Says Howe, "Both of our KHS labelers are running extremely reliably at high capacity, are robust and designed for ease of operation. We're totally pleased with them. What we also greatly value about tried-and-tested KHS cold glue labeling stations is that maintenance is only required after a minimum run time of 20,000 hours." Back to Sterenberg. "To sum up, flexibility, quality, operator friendliness and the machine's long service life thanks to its robustness form a successful symbiosis." Dr. Cooper adds, "It's of course of tantamount importance that the quality of our premium beer is successfully echoed by its premium packaging." ... and the wrap-around packer The next stage in the packaging process is to form the labeled bottles into cluster packs. The standard unit consists of 6 bottles. They are collated by an Innopack Kisters WP A-H wrap-around packaging machine to form wrap-around packs of four six-packs. The blanks for the wrap-around packs are horizontally arranged in the magazine on the Innopack Kisters WP A-H and removed automatically by a belt system. The blanks are always precisely indexed to a drag chain so that they coincide with the arrival of the product groups formed in the grouping station. As soon as a product group enters the blank, a folding pickup folds up the front of the wrap-around blank. At the same time, the products at the back of the formation are held securely by a rod. Once the product formation has been perfectly positioned on the blank, a second folding pickup closes up the rear section of the cardboard blank. The flexible action of the cam-controlled folding pickups reopens the front and rear of each blank slightly as soon as the product formation has been fed into the blank so that the gluing tab can be folded in correctly. Glue is then applied by special hot melt application heads and the front and rear sections of the pack are finally closed at a 90° angle. The next step in the procedure is to fold and glue the lid flap. The pack is now formed and glued and runs through the application pressure segment. Coopers also has the option of packing individual bottles into wrap-around packs in the future; all that has to be done to make this possible is to add a conveyor to the line which transports bottles from the labeling machine straight to the Innopack WP A-H. Gentle palletizing process with upstream inline robot grouping The wrap-around packs are palletized by an Innopal RS 3 column robot. Upstream of this is an inline robot grouping where a four-axis Innopack RK 4 robot prepares the layers with the utmost precision. The packs are precisely positioned by a pushing motion which is perfectly adjusted to match the speed of the plastic chain mats. The packs then run up against a limit stop and the formation is centered. The Innopal RS 3 picks up each formed layer and places it onto a pallet using a roller cage head.  Centering the last layer positioned on all four sides ensures safe and gentle palletizing when the roller carpet is removed. A pallet liner inserter has also been integrated into the concept. To secure the load further, finished pallets pass through a wrapper and are then transported to the full container storage area by forklift truck. Fully convinced by KHS turnkey technology and perfectly equipped for the future Dr. Cooper is satisfied. "With our new KHS turnkey line we're perfectly prepared for the future. It allows for further sales increases of our premium beers and is giving us great line efficiency after such a short time. But then we don't expect anything else from KHS engineering! We're very pleased." Even before the next decade dawns Coopers is now planning on topping the one-million-hectoliter sales mark. At the same time the company is hoping to increase its activities in two more traditional areas of business: home brew kits and malt extract. As Dr. Cooper explains, "These areas are the perfect complement to our brewing activities. At the moment they make up around 20% of our total turnover of A$240 million. That's approximately €165 million." Coopers has been active on the market with its home brew kits and malt extract for several decades. The company is now one of the biggest suppliers of home brew kits worldwide and the largest Australian exporter of malt extract.  Top priority for the future: to provide nothing but quality Dr. Cooper concludes, "We're proud of our growth on all levels which we believe we've only achieved because our prime focus at Coopers is to provide nothing but quality." This strict quality policy is also to be fully adhered to in the future and is already expressed in the Coopers vision which is that on the occasion of its 200^th anniversary Coopers aims to celebrate that here only the best beers and brewery products are made and sold. And that just about sums it up nicely.