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SHOWCASE Production Equipment
Arlington bottom up fill helps reduce DO pickup With small pack beer products with long shelf lives now being consumed in unprecedented quantities, ever closer control of the brewing process to achieve a consistent and long-lasting product is increasingly important. One factor of particular importance to consistency and longevity is the ever-present question of how much dissolved oxygen is present in the final product.
The post fermentation transfer of ales between processes is demonstrably one of the biggest contributors of DO in the finished product. That is to say that every time product is moved from one vessel to another it will inevitably incur a DO overhead on the way. The causes and magnitude of that overhead will be due to a combination of environmental, process and equipment factors where the smallest of changes can represent amplified improvements in the end result. The need for smaller brewers to catchup with the larger producers is essential if they are to continue to win space on supermarket shelves. With market share up for grabs the need to innovate low cost and effective solutions is clear.
Transit packaging specialist Arlington Packaging is one company that has been working closely with brewing and bottling/canning customers to identify and improve its offering in this area. Because DO depends to a large extent on direct contact with the air, the more air that can be excluded from the different process steps the better, so the latest in its line-up of products, the catchily-named ‘bottom fill bleed valve’, allows Arlington’s bag-in-box transit tanks to be filled completely air-free via the bottom valved port of the liner.
Arlington claims the combination of the bleed valve with the bottom fill process not only helps to reduce oxygen pick-up during transfer by allowing air to be removed from pipework and coupled joints, but also the bottom up fill method provides the ability to keep a closer control over turbulence within the fill process and the DO pickup that can produce. Any gas that is released from solution during this transfer process can be released from the top of the liner. Commented Michal Parczewski from South East Bottling, who now routinely sees customers using the bottom fill process with the bleed valve, “We would now advise our customers to use this system, in particular the bleed valve, as
in our experience we have seen reliable reductions in DO of several hundred ppb. This is proving to be a gamechanger in achieving the levels we require from our customers and consequently the quality of the finished product.” Picture courtesy of Stroud Brewery.
For further information: www.arlingtonpackaging.com
Makro Labelling celebrates its first decade in the UK
Just as the UK was beginning to come out of lockdown, Makro Labelling celebrated its first decade in the UK. There have been a number of reasons to celebrate the milestone, with a healthy order book, new name and a new recruit to the company.
The new name of Makro Labelling Limited better reflects the company going forward, as it continues to sell the full range of Makro Labellers, currently installed in the wine and spirit, brewery, cider, soft drinks, water and contract
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bottling industries. Existing clients have been impressed with the build quality of the Makro labellers, their versatility in that you can change from, for example, wet glue to self-adhesive by attaching a new labelling station without having to buy a new machine.
The after-sales and service department has been operating continuously throughout the UK lockdown helping clients to run at maximum capacity and keep retailers fully stocked during the past six months.
The team has now been strengthened with Nigel Guest (pictured left) joining the company as Technical Sales Manager. Nigel commented on his appointment: “I have joined the company at a very busy time, and over the next few weeks I will be visiting all our customers in the UK. I will ask how we can help them by troubleshooting any components that have become worn and
could potentially at a later date cause a breakdown. Bearing in mind that many of the Makro labellers in the UK are nearly as old as the company, some of them may need a bit of TLC.”
Nigel continued: "I will then liaise with the Service Team to get them onsite, making any changes that are required along with a service kit of any parts that have been identified as needing changing. I have always been impressed with the build quality of Makro’s labellers, and many that have had a busy life will only need an overhaul rather than replacement. I believe the UK team can be very proud of the fact that we have, through our clients, been part of this brilliant team effort of keeping the UK consumers ‘fed and watered’ during the initial COVID-19 pandemic."
For further information: www.makrolabelling.it
BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS • Autumn/Winter 2020/21
