Step by step to ever greater success

Nenad Delovski*

With an area of just under 29,000 square kilometers, Albania is almost the size of Belgium. However, with just three million inhabitants the population is about a third that of its Central European counterpart. In the north the Republic borders on Montenegro, in the northeast on Kosovo, in the east on Macedonia, and in the south on Greece. Its western boundary is formed by the coasts of the Adriatic and the Ionian Sea. Something else Albania and Belgium have in common is that the majority of its respective peoples are keen beer drinkers! With a current per capita consumption of 30 liters of beer per annum Albania only notches up a third of Belgium's consumption per head. The growth forecast is good, however, and is expected to be directly coupled with a rise in the average income per person which presently lies at  about € 400 a month. There are five breweries in Albania at the time of writing. One of these is Kaon. The brewery is managed by three brothers, Alket, Artan, and Kastriot Stroka, who together have built up the company from a small craft brewery to its present size. Just recently the trio invested in its first fully automatic kegging line: a compact Innokeg Till CombiKeg from KHS. Kastriot Stroka, joint owner and engineering manager at Kaon, tells us more. "With this investment we're continuing our consistent strategy of producing only quality, guaranteeing consumers the best quality beer from the barrel. We're very pleased with the compactness, flexibility, and ease of operation of our new keg system. But this is what we expected; after all, we didn't opt for plant engineering from the world market leader for keg technology without good reason."

It started with a small café

The history of Kaon undoubtedly reads very differently from that of other successful breweries. It all started in 1993 with the opening of a small café in the center of the Albanian capital of Tirana. Studied as a chemical engineer Kastriot Stroka spent a year abroad, working and saving his earnings. The capital he amassed was used to fund this first project launched by the three brothers. The café business went well, enabling the Strokas to save some of their takings and dream up new ideas.

*Manager of the KHS office in Belgrade, KHS GmbH, Serbia. Phone: +381 11 6302988

One of these became reality: the idea of making their own beer. In 1995 the first 200 liters of their craft brew were sold in their café. Friends then started asking if they could also have some of the tasty tipple for their pubs and restaurants. Minor investments were made, such as in cooling equipment, and higher quality raw ingredients were processed. At that time beer was racked into kegs solely by hand; the café and production of beer were also operated in parallel until 1999 when the brothers decided to focus their attention on the making and selling of beer alone.  

The big turning point: visit to Brau Beviale in 2000

The big turning point for the company came in 2000 when the Strokas paid a visit to the chamber of commerce in Tirana. Kastriot Stroka says, "We actually went to pay our beer tax. While we were there, we were handed a list of national and international trade shows for the food industry. We found out that there was an annual exhibition in Nuremberg for the European brewing and beverage industry, and spontaneously decided to go along as visitors. After Brau Beviale 2000 we were agreed that we'd have to rework our entire strategy. We especially wanted to to continue to increase our level of quality consciousness in the future."

Kaon a lucky charm

The brothers realized that producing top-quality beer and bringing about a planned growth in sales would mean making additional investments. They pooled their savings and those donated by their parents to buy a building where they would have room for future brewing activities. They then began thinking about a name for their brewery and brand, specifically opting for "Kaon". The reasons is as follows: the brothers' generous parents are from the south of Albania, where in the age before the birth of Christ there was a tribe called the Kaon, famous for their prolific drinking habits. During the search for a suitable name the parents remembered this anecdote from their native region and suggested using "Kaon" to designate both the brewery and its beer. Their sons agreed. The brewery logo and beer labels have thus featured the head of a Kaon tribesman since the launch. "We see him as a lucky charm", smiles Kastriot Stroka. 

Annual sales growths in high double figures

Further investments in a small glass, PET, and canning filling line, and in a keg washing station followed. From 2000 to 2005 the brewery increased its sales fivefold to 5,000 hectoliters of beer. In 2005 the brothers decided they needed more expertise on quality and subsequently hired a Danish consultant. In 2009 – and once again Belgium features here – they made decisive improvements to the brewing process with the help of a master brewer from Belgium. All of these activities literally paid off. In 2010 the brewery sold around 20,000 hectoliters of their quality beverage; in 2012 Kaon produced around 70,000 hectoliters of beer. "We worked up to this success step by step," explains Stroka. "Without all the blood, sweat, and tears we wouldn't have made it this far." If we consider that in the mid 1990s Albania had several hundred craft breweries which started out just as Kaon did and which have now largely disappeared, we realize just how much the three brothers have achieved to date. 

Lager and recent addition Red Ale

Kaon Brewery chiefly brews lager, which makes up 99% of production. They also recently began marketing Red Ale which is proving especially popular among the target group of young adults. These beers are distributed throughout Albania, with the focus on the capital of Tirana and the coast. Many tourists are among those who like to sup a cool Kaon lager. "This helps to spread our name beyond the national boundaries, and supports our export activities," states Kastriot Stroka. 

Exports for Kosovo, Italy, and Africa 

Exports began four years ago in Sierra Leone in West Africa and two years ago to Kosovo. The brewery is also active in Liberia in West Africa and in the south of Italy since 2010. Further beer exports to the USA are planned. Comments Kastriot Stroka, "We're pleased with our successful exports of course but our clear focus both now and in the future will be on Albania, as we still see plenty of sales potential in our native country."

Local beers are convincing the country more and more

On the one hand this sales potential will be encouraged by the increase in the amount of beer drunk per head; on the other, the brewery is set to profit from the fact that more and more local beers are being consumed in Albania. At the end of the 1990s 90% of all beer imbibed in the country was imported; this percentage has since dropped to 40%. This development is expected to continue in the future, the reason being that beers from Albania are increasingly convincing consumers.  Kastriot Stroka has the following to say on the subject: "In the mid 1990s the quality of our Albanian beers was on the whole not up to that of those imported. That meant that those who could afford it bought international brands of beer. However, the quality situation here has since changed dramatically. With the aim of becoming the leader in quality, we react in accordance with consumer demands in all respects. This is the only way we can continue to stay competitive."

Kaon is where the action is

In order to convince the people of Albania to drink high-quality Kaon beer, the brewery likes to be where the action is – wherever this may be. Rock concerts, beer festivals, summer parties ... Kaon brand beer is served at countless events in Albania. Two brewery-run restaurants are also designed for maximum quality. In 2006 the company opened one of them next door to the production plant, with a second launched in the center of Tirana in 2009. Kastriot Stroka says, "In our restaurants we set great store by a typical brewery pub atmosphere and excellent presentation of our beer. We simply want our guests to feel that they'd like to drink Kaon beer on all kinds of other occasions as well." 

Sophisticated presentation

Kaon beers not only enjoy a very good presence in the hospitality trade; they are also presented in an extremely sophisticated manner. Restaurateurs are given Kaon glasses, Kaon tablecloths, and many more articles typical of the brand. If they require it, there's also plenty of advice on hand. This procedure is a clear win-win situation, as high growth in the hospitality sector demonstrates. Kaon Brewery's sales share in this area of distribution currently lies at 50%, with the other 50% going to the retail trade.  

Keg growing in importance

Thanks to this strong presence in the pub and restaurant sector kegged beer sales have been steadily increasing over the past few years, with the brewery now selling of its beer in this container. Returnable glass bottles also account and the remaining is attributable to cans and PET receptacles. Says Kastriot Stroka, "Considering our strong rise in sales we simply couldn't manage to rack kegs by hand any longer.  Two years ago we thus started looking at the market for a keg line that would suit our requirements. We soon realized that only the best technology from the market leader would come into question. We were therefore delighted that KHS launched the Innokeg Till CombiKeg to market at just the right time for us. This machine immediately convinced us when we were first introduced to it at Brau Beviale 2011. Shortly after this we placed our order."

Innokeg Till CombiKeg: extremely compact design

The Innokeg Till CombiKeg is a compact keg washing and racking machine with the keg exterior and interior washer, racking process, media tanks, controls, and conveyors integrated in a single housing. This extremely beneficial design is based on the rotary cycle principle which has been successful utilized and permanently further developed by KHS for decades. The machine can be shipped fully assembled in a standard container and is commissioned within a very short space of time according to the Plug-&-Produce principle. 

Prepared for all future eventualities

At the moment Kaon Brewery sells its beer in 30 and 50-liter kegs, the majority (91%) being in the 30-liter keg. Kaon is not planning on extending this range of kegs at present – but should they wish to, this would be no problem for their new kegging system. As Kastriot Stroka says, "We don't know exactly what the future will bring. It's thus good to rest assured that we're prepared for all future eventualities with KHS keg technology." The Innokeg Till CombiKeg can process returnable and non-returnable kegs of various different sizes, from the 10-liter container to the 58-liter variety. The line is just as flexible when it comes to the content to be processed; beer, soft drinks, mineral water, fruit juice, and even wine can all be filled on this system. 

Perfect ease of operation

The Innokeg Till CombiKeg R5 washes and racks up to 80 kegs per hour. It's also convincing when it comes to ease of operation, with the infeed and discharge conveyors adjacent to one another. One operator can thus place empty kegs onto the infeed conveyor and, without having to walk any distance at all, subsequently remove and palletize racked kegs straight off the discharge conveyor. This intelligent setup not only saves on a second operator but also on conveying segments, investment costs, and space.  

Sustainable issues also taken into account

Before the kegs undergo the first interior wash in the machine, they are subjected to an obligatory leak test. This test takes place before all subsequent interior washes and prior to racking to ensure that the keg is correctly sealed up against the treatment heads. If a keg is found to leak, it's cycled through all stations but doesn't undergo any further treatment. After the leak test the keg is opened for the residual pressure check which ensures that the keg and fitting are OK and have not been manipulated. During the first interior wash beer residue is blown out with sterile air and the keg pre-sprayed with mixed water to remove any coarse soiling from the keg. The mixed water used here is salvaged from the last hot water spray in the machine. "This helps us to save water and energy and avoid creating waste water as far as possible," says Kastriot Stroka. "In doing this we endorse the environmental friendliness of our company and cut our overheads." The ensuing exterior keg wash is just as ecologically sound, with mixed water from the last hot water spray also being used here. 

Perfect exterior washing results even for the dirtiest kegs

The caustic filled into the keg at the end of the first interior washing process can be left to soak during the exterior wash. Exterior washing starts with the keg being doused with mixed water. The keg is then rotated and a fixed nozzle holder sprays the exterior. One option which Kaon Brewery has had installed is a driven brush in the exterior washing station. This is individually adjusted to the diameter of each type of keg by an electrical adjustment motor, making sure that even the dirtiest kegs have a perfect cleaning result. Maximum hygiene is further ensured by separating the exterior washing station from the upstream and downstream interior washers with special safety doors. 

Interior washers utilize proven pulsed spray method 

The second interior wash immediately after the exterior washing process involves blowing out any caustic still inside the keg. The second batch of caustic then enters the keg. As in the first interior wash with the first batch of caustic the pulsed spray method is applied, which sanitizes both the keg inside wall and the riser pipe. This process – as in all interior washing stations – is permanently monitored by pressure and wet/dry signal probes. Further interior washes then take place, also using the principle of pulsed spraying. In the third interior washing station caustic is again used, with acid replacing this in the fourth interior wash. The reason for this is that caustic only dissolves organic materials; acid is used to dispose of any inorganic particles. Following acid cleaning the keg is pulse sprayed with hot water while still in the fourth interior washing station to remove any cleaning agent residue which may still be in the keg. The fifth interior washing station then blows the keg out with steam to remove any remaining hot water and the keg is finally pressurized with CO2 to prepare it for racking.

DFC filling process for fast, gentle, economic, low-oxygen racking 

The DFC (Direct Flow Control) filling system racks beer quickly, gently, economically – and with low oxygen pickup. With the DFC filling process it’s sufficient to pressurize the keg until it is slightly higher than the product saturation pressure. This reduces the consumption of CO2 by up to 40% compared to conventional differential pressure control. The direct control of the racking process by a regulator valve on the product feed makes the DFC filling process extremely precise. There is no loss of product due to keg overfilling, and underfilling is also not an issue. The considerably reduced oxygen pickup during racking of 0–0.05 ppm is of tantamount importance when it comes to maintaining product quality; this is ensured by the precise control of the volumetric flow at the start of the racking process, as are extremely low CO2 losses of 0–0.1 grams per liter. In addition, the system capacity is increased by about 30% compared to classic, pressure-dependent keg racking processes. After racking the kegs are pushed onto the discharge conveyor and palletized. Kegs that were found to leak in the leak test are indicated by a signal, allowing the 'bad' keg to be reliably removed from the process. 

"Everything's perfect" 

Kastriot Stroka sums up. "As far as I'm concerned, everything's perfect on our new keg line. It gives us just the high quality beer in kegs we want, enabling us to sleep soundly at night! It couldn't be any more reliable. Other convincing points are the great flexibility of the system, the ease of operation, and the fact that sustainability is taken into account. With this machine we're doing great justice to our quality strategy. And at the same time it's giving us the extensive further growth we want in the keg sector."

Quality on all counts

Kaon Brewery will be aiming for quality on all counts in the future, too. Kastriot Stroka's closing words are "We put quality first.  Targets such as sales growth, obtaining a higher ranking among Albania's breweries, establishing a second brewery, or expanding our range of beers are all secondary. With innovative KHS technology we've made another decisive step towards even better quality – and with this moved closer towards ensuring a positive future for Kaon Brewery."