KHS and Schubert collaborate on packaging solution for Swiss brewery

Swiss brewery Schützengarten is growing, and increased demand for its products translates to greater demands on its packaging system.

The brewer’s entire packaging and palletising section is being modernised, which includes combined palletising and depalletising with automatic changeovers between returnable and non-returnable packaging, and a fully automatic glass bulk depalletiser.

At the same time, the line is also to receive a fully automated crate magazine to buffer plastic crates. This additional automated process step increases line availability as surplus crates no longer have to be removed by hand during format changeovers.

KHS has collaborated with packaging manufacturer Gerhard Schubert to supply a compact, multifunctional packaging block.

Higher capacity in minimum space

The line capacity for non-returnables has been practically doubled, while taking up a minimum amount of space. In order to achieve this, the companies blocked the KHS Innopack PPZ packer with a Schubert erecting and a Schubert closing module. Both companies thus combined their respective expertise to create one innovative system.

The new system means that in the future the brewery’s wraparound cartons and plastic crates will be processed on one single machine block, with the space-saving system only requiring one operator. The block has also been designed so that no additional pack conveyors are needed. Maintenance has therefore been reduced, as has energy consumption.

Thanks to its modular design, the packaging block is extremely flexible regarding the range of products which can be processed. Retrofit expansions for additional types of packaging, such as cluster packs or baskets, are possible with minimal effort.

It is possible to convert the format on the Schubert modules for cartons, while simultaneously producing plastic crates on the KHS packer. Thanks to the precision engineering and resulting high level of reproducibility, Schützengarten does not need to make manual adjustments to the system during format changeover, thus cutting down on conversion times.

Planning for success

As the new packaging block had to be installed on the first floor with a low ceiling, in the planning phase KHS made a virtual model of the production shop with the exact measurements using 3D scanning. This enabled the commissioning stage to meet the tight deadline required for the brewery to recommence production.