Germany-based Arcobräu Gräfliches Brauhaus has equipped its brewery in the lower Bavarian village of Moos with a new filler from packaging and bottling machine manufacturer Krones.
The Modulfill HES filler without a vent tube includes tubular ring bowl with 96 filling valves and an 18-head crowner. It is also prepped for retrofitting of a capper.
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This energy-efficient filler has the capacity to produce 33,000 0.5l NRW bottles every hour and double pre-evacuation, with interpolated CO2 flushing ensuring minimised oxygen usage.
Krones said that bottles are pressurised and vented via two separate gas paths, which prevents liquid passing from the filled bottle into the pressurisation channel, providing considerable advantages in terms of filling stability and hygiene.
Arcobräu Gräfliches Brauhaus brewery director Holger Fichtel said: "With this technology, we can enhance the stability of the beer’s taste."
The filler also has the capability of filling at temperatures greater than 15°C, without reducing the output.
The brewery has also installed Checkmat FM-HF downstream of the filler to inspect the filled bottles for over and underfills.
The Checkmat FM-HF features filling valve and crowner head assignments, and incorporates a closure monitoring feature and logo detection for the crown.
Additionally, the brewery has deployed Siemens S7 control system to regulate all the bottle conveyors between the unpacker and the packer, including integration of the existing machines and conveyor systems.
The empty bottle inspector and the filler are monobloc-synchronised electronically, which enables buffering times between the machines to be optimised.
Image: Arcobräu Gräfliches Brauhaus installs Krones Modulfill at its brewery. Photo: courtesy of Krones AG.
