SECTOR
CANNING THE CRAFT OF CANNING
BEING ABLE TO SELL AND DISTRIBUTE YOUR BEER IN SMALL PACK FORMAT HAS BEEN THE SAVIOUR OF COUNTLESS BUSINESS DURING THE LAST 18 MONTHS. AND CANNING HAS PLAYED A HUGE PART IN THAT. HERE, WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE LATEST INNOVATIONS, OPINIONS AND INSTALLATIONS TAKING PLACE IN THIS EVER-POPULAR SPACE.
T
he canning sector, like the wider brewing industry around it, has been something of a rollercoaster during the last 18 months.
In the early spring months of 2020, countless breweries were forced to pivot (everyone’s favourite word) their packaging away from kegs and casks exclusively to small pack. And for many outfits, that meant canning.
Those that had a canning line in-house were the lucky ones, while mobile canning businesses would end up working overtime and then some. But even if you had your own line, the sheer pressure on empty cans, labelling and ancillary packaging meant many breweries were unable to distribute beer even if they wanted to. Thankfully, though, the supply chain is starting to right itself. However, the business models many breweries adopted as a result of the pandemic means these businesses will continue to place an increased emphasis on their small pack output, regardless of their ability to supply beer in cask and keg once more.
and packaging space as well as some recent installations where breweries are taking their packaging offering to the next level. LOW-COST DEPALLETIZER FROM SKA FABRICATING Ska Fabricating has launched The Nimbus, a new machine designed to support breweries of all sizes and distribution models with the most portable, most customizable options the manufacturer offers. The Nimbus half height depalletizer combines the best features from Ska Fabricating’s best-selling machines to create a new, low-cost depalletizer that’s optimized for small spaces and lower speed applications. It expands the cutting- edge features of Ska Fab’s patented turntable design, providing additional accumulation and the ability to fold down and stow the rotary table—further reducing the machine’s footprint when not in use.
This innovation, combined with the Cani-Bus’ pallet lift and layer sweep design, creates a compact, efficient can depalletizer with a discharge height that allows for excellent can drop and many discharge angle options. This machine is essentially silent with no vibrator, and requires minimal real estate on a production floor. CASK RELEASES “ULTIMATE MOBILE CANNING SYSTEM” Cask Global Canning Solutions has released a new system designed especially for mobile canners. The ACS Mobile (Automatic Canning System) is said to be a highly agile version of Cask’s ACS V5. It delivers the speed and state-of-the-art automation of the ACS V5 on a frame that is just under 88 inches long. It’s an especially timely new system, as large numbers of non-packaging breweries have had to shift to packaged beer to survive the pandemic. Cask co-owner Neil Love, said: “Our goal with the ACS Mobile was to create the ultimate canning system for mobile canners and their customers. “It gives mobile canners facing increased demand the best array of tools for efficiently canning distribution-ready craft beverages. For brewers turning to mobile canning for help during the pandemic, they get beers with extremely low dissolved oxygen and minimal product waste or low fills.”
And according to research from Modor Intelligence, the beer cans market witnessed a shipment of approximately 90.2 million units of beer cans globally in 2020 and is estimated to reach to 110.9 million units by 2026, registering a CAGR of 3.6% for the forecast period (2021-2026). In this piece, we take a look at some of the latest innovation within the canning
26
|
SUMMER 2021
BREWERS JOURNAL CANADA
