Case study: Karben4 Brewery tacks depalletizer, can filler, sealer onto existing bottle line (in a small space)

Multi-Conveyor recently teamed up with Karben4 Brewery to assist with equipment upgrades to expand their processing to both bottles and cans. Pretty cool. Here’s how they did it.

The Challenge

How to add a new depalletizer and can filler/sealer into the existing layout without having to buy a bigger building. Major points to consider were:

• Where would the canning line go?
• How do they get the cans into the canner?
• How do they get the cans off for packaging?
• Multiple product sizes – one bottle size but several can sizes
• Redo the labeling and pack-off station

The Solution

Multi-Conveyor designed, built and installed a new stainless-steel, wash down table-top conveyor line that would pick up empties after the rinser and convey them to either the existing bottler or to the new canning machine and then bring them together before the existing hand pack area.

“Bottom line, we added more equipment in the same space and doubled our functionality in the same square footage,” says Karben4’s Brewmaster & Co-Owner Ryan Koga. “We just wouldn’t have gotten there without Multi-Conveyor.”

Bottles now side transfer from the rinser and side transfer again onto the existing filler. The discharge end will rest on an existing filler deck, so Multi-Conveyor engineered the frames with minimal depth.

A new canning section called for empty cans to be single filed and side transfered to feed into a rinser, then onto the existing filler. Full cans then discharge and 90 degree transfer onto a new, portable transport conveyor section (aka mobile bridge) that reintroduces the cans to the main flow upstream of the labeler onto the pack-off station. The mobile bridge is rolled into and out of position only when canning production is in full force.

“A couple of things I really appreciated during the design and fabrication side, and also the installation process was I never got any hesitation,” Koga said. “Even on a small line there was a lot of details when you’re integrating into old equipment. No hesitation, great execution ”

For more info on Multi-Conveyor, hit their website.