New Bottle Packer Increases Speed While Reducing Glass Breakage for Distilled Spirits Maker

Need for speed spurs quest for new packer

Saint Louis, Missouri-based distilled spirits manufacturer and bottler Luxco is enjoying the sweet sounds of silence since upgrading their packing line to technology that almost eliminates bottle breakage while increasing packer speed. Luxco is one of the leading beverage alcohol suppliers in the United States. The company receives bulk alcohol and then blends, packages and ships its own lines of bourbon, brandy, vodka, rum, and tequila, as well as a range of flavored cordials and liqueurs.

 

During the installation of a new bottling line being installed to replace a 17-year old system, Luxco sought a packer that would increase speed and offer better and more consistent control of bottles. They opted for a 939 Versatron “Soft Catch” Case Packer, manufactured by Standard-Knapp. In addition to increasing speed, the packer significantly reduces bottle breakage. Other benefits include reduced changeover time and easier and more efficient preventative maintenance.

As Chris Wieczorek, plant manager for distilled spirits bottler Luxco tells it, the need for increased speed was the biggest motivator for replacing their older system. As the firm gradually upgrades its machinery to reflect current market realities that necessitate a faster line, it started shopping around for a packer that would fit in with a complete new line installation, from de-palletizer to case packer. “Our old drop packer just didn’t do the job properly,” said Wieczorek. “The bottles had a tendency to drop through the head too hard, which created too high a level of breakage. This has negative effects on our operations, as we have to stop the line and clean up the breakage.”

According to Wieczorek, the company looked at several packer manufacturers and models, but opted for the 939 Versatron Case Packer after learning that it had gotten rave reviews from several other distilled spirit manufacturers for handling bottles with minimal impact. The results definitely met their expectations. “The new packer offers better control of bottles and operates extremely consistently.”

Versatron’s Soft Catch technology is specifically designed for high-speed packing of fragile containers. Soft Catch reduces the shock energy by 80 percent over a conventional drop packer. Reducing shock energy enables the use of thinner gauge bottles as well as thinner glass.

 

Luxco also found that changeovers of the packer, which used to average 20 to 30 minutes, now take only 8 to 10 minutes. Change parts are numbered and color coded, which makes changeovers easier. The time savings is appreciated for the company, which produces and packages hundreds of different products.

Luxco’s maintenance manager, Rick Hallquist, found that another benefit of the new packer is that all the maintenance procedures are built into the HMI (human machine interface), making preventative maintenance a snap. “Displaying maintenance on the HMI makes this packer more efficient than most of the plant’s other equipment, because it tells us when it needs to be maintained,” says Hallquist.

Luxco’s Wieczorek summed it by saying, “Standard-Knapp offered an extremely user friendly drop packer that is consistent, simple to use, and straightforward. We installed an entire new line, and this was one of the best pieces of equipment we purchased. It performs exactly the way it was sold to us and is one of the best equipment purchases we’ve made in a long time.”

Getting under the hood of the case packer

As the name suggests, the 939 Versatron Case Packer is extremely versatile, which is important for firms like Luxco that pack multiple products. The machine includes a “laner” at the upstream end, which divides incoming product from a single file line into the appropriate number of lanes for the particular carton, for example a case might be 6 bottles, packed in a 2×3 configuration or 12 bottles, packaged in a 3×4 pattern.

According to Dave Lau, case packer engineering manager for Standard-Knapp, “The case packer works well for firms like Luxco, which package such a wide variety of products and sizes, including 750 milliliter bottles, 1 liter and 1.75 liter bottles, as well as 6 packs and 12 packs. Versatility and quick changeover are key.” Should Luxco require it, the drop packer can also handle a mass flow product, in which the 15-inch wide conveyor is filled with product packed and nested like bowling pins in a pyramid.

A two-axis servo system allows the Versatron to actually “catch” the product while it descends into the case. The lift table moves the case to the “up” position and waits for a full grid. When the grid is full, the riding strips shift to the side and initiate the bottle descent. The lift table simultaneously moves the case downward on a velocity curve that ultimately achieves the same speed at the point of contact (the “soft catch”). “It’s like catching an egg,” says Lau.

The technology increases speed while minimizing or preventing breakage altogether. Many manufacturers are moving towards using thinner and thinner glass as part of green initiatives aimed at reducing raw material use.

Versatron change parts are designed for quick, repeatable changeover using an easy to understand by-the-numbers changeover system. Riding strips have a unique slide-in design for automatic alignment. Lane guide spacers are lightweight and have chamfered edges for easy drop-in replacement. Grid basket uses a patented snap-in grid technology to easily change from product to product. The system is product specific, so Standard-Knapp sets up the drop packer and runs it with all the products currently packaged and sells change parts to run products that may be packed in the future. Technology like the 939 Versatron Case Packer, with its high speed, reliable and repeatable changeover, and, above all, its gravity-defying Soft Catch technology, enables firms like Luxco to streamline their operations, speed up their lines, and reduce glass thickness to reduce raw material usage. And all this is accomplished without damaging the bottles containing the products for which Luxco is known.