Tradition meets innovation
Wernesgrüner Brauerei opts for KHS line with pioneering highlights
At over 575 years old Wernesgrüner Brauerei in the Vogtland is one of Germany's oldest breweries. An innovative returnable glass line from KHS now ensures that the traditional company is also one of the most modern in the country. The chief highlight of the new setup is that it's linked up to a combined heat and power plant or CHP. Dr. Marc Kusche, managing director of Wernesgrüner Brauerei, tells us more. "Our decentral combined heat and power plant helps us to make enormous savings in energy. The total efficiency of the primary energy used here is over 85%, whereas the standard combination of a local heating system plus central power plant has a yield of about 45%." The CHP has a higher efficiency as the waste heat generated by electricity is used at source, enabling the CHP in Wernesgrün to supply a heat storage tank which is 22 meters high and five meters wide. This heat reservoir stores water of varying temperatures in different zones which is fed to the line (the bottle washer, crate washer, flash pasteurizer or CIP system, for example) as and when required. Heated water which is no longer needed on the line is also fed back into the storage tank. Surplus thermal energy from the system can be used to heat offices, warehouses and recreation rooms.
On the returnable glass line with an output of up to 50,000 bottles per hour great value has been attached to minimized changeover times. When new products or bottles are scheduled for production, it only takes around 30 minutes to switch the equipment over. If crates are also to be swapped, conversion lasts about an hour. The line can be easily run by four operators who are now able to work in a very ergonomic, low-noise environment. Before the contract was awarded, the design of the brewery's new line was studied in 3D. Says Dr. Kusche, "This gave us the necessary safety of investment." What's interesting here is that Wernesgrüner Brauerei was one of the first breweries in the world to invest in the Innofill Glass DRS-ZMS series of fillers. "We're extremely pleased with the hygienic design and the very low oxygen filling process," smiles Dr. Kusche. "Compared to previous setups maintenance has also been greatly reduced. In addition we're also using less energy, water and detergent." The full contract not only included the Innofill Glass DRS-ZMS but also an Innoclean SEM bottle washer, an Innopack PPZ packer and unpacker and conveyors with automatic interior belt cleaning.
As part of the Bitburger Brewery Group the brewery in Wernesgrün sells approximately 750,000 hectoliters of beer a year. About 92% of this is attributable to Wernesgrüner pilsner, with the alcohol-free variant notching up 5% and Wernesgrüner's shandy 3% of sales. Much of the company's produce (85%) is distributed in the eastern states of Germany, where Wernesgrüner is one of the top five breweries. The west of Germany takes delivery of 10%, with 5% earmarked for export. In total the company supplies to over 20 countries on four continents.
