Non-alcoholic beverage report released

Analysis into the production of non-alcoholic beverages has been released by OFS.

The Non-Alcoholic Beverage Benchmark Report analysed the production of kombucha, coconut water, dairy drinks and soft drinks that were made by Australian, New Zealand and US producers in the second quarter of the year, specifically addressing how overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) can impact manufacturing.

The data show that the production of these non-alcoholic drinks decreased by 12.5% between April and June compared to the prior three months. Filling lines were found to be spending 37% of operational time undergoing unplanned maintenance, which is a substantial increase over the prior quarters, leaving the producers with slightly over half the possible achievable yields.

“This might seem like grim reading, but demand for non-alcoholic beverages overall has shot up quite dramatically so it’s not too surprising to see teething issues in production,” said James Magee, CEO of OFS.

“Really, this is an opportunity to double down on that demand and meet it in a smart, sustainable way. With this kind of data in hand, non-alcoholic producers can not only capitalise on the market opportunities, but potentially avoid totally unnecessary investments in new production capacity because they’ll be able to more effectively use what they have.”

Downtime issues notwithstanding, the report found that beverage makers were operating with a small 1.32% of wastage. The time to set up jobs in this time was also improved at 52.8 minutes, leading to increased optimisation.

The non-alcoholic beverages sector was given an average OEE score of 34%, down from its previous 46%.

Magee said data would be important for improving this score and would help manufacturers address unplanned downtime, changeover time and efficiency in production schedules.

“Having access to real-time information such as the metrics outlined in this report is a sign of maturity in any industry and something that should become part and parcel of non-alcoholic beverage producers’ operations as the industry expands.

“The data we’ve captured in these reports and the learnings associated is just the beginning. With simple, affordable technology in place, non-alcoholic beverage producers can gain visibility into packing efficiency, waste, energy usage, and more to help them capitalise on opportunities.”

Image credit: OFS