Jim Beam achieves 'softer', more flexible case packing

Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., headquartered in Deerfield, IL, markets diverse brands such as Jim Beam bourbon, DeKuyper schnapps, Knob Creek bourbon, and Starbucks coffee liqueurs. So the case-packing machinery at Beam plants must handle glass bottles in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.

Jim Beam packaging engineer Robert Land comments, "With our large portfolio of premium products, we need case-packing equipment that can adapt to a wide variety of bottles and do so quickly and easily during frequent changeovers. The case packers need to be gentle on our packaging, and they must operate reliably at high speeds because we have limited accumulation space upstream on the production lines."

During the past decade, Beam Global Spirits & Wine has installed a number of case-packing systems manufactured by Standard-Knapp, Inc. (www.standard-knapp.com). Beam Global currently has three Standard-Knapp Model 939 Versatron case packers at its bottling plant in Cincinnati, OH. The most recent Versatron installation there was in August 2007. At the Cincinnati plant, one Versatron machine runs eight different packages, including rectangular and round bottles in three different sizes.

Starbucks' liqueurs packed

At the company's Frankfort, KY plant, a single 939 Versatron packs Starbucks coffee liqueurs in 375-mL, 750-mL, and 1-L bottles of varied shapes. Standard-Knapp currently is building a new 939 for Jim Beam's Frankfort facility with an estimated December 2008 delivery date.

Running about 25 to 30 cases/min, all the 939 machines feature a servo system with a "soft catch" mechanism that significantly reduces glass bottle breakage. A two-axis servo system allows the Versatron to catch and gently guide the descent of bottles into the case.

"The soft catch capability is especially important for cordials because they are very sticky and sugary, and bottle breakage can cause a huge mess that is difficult to clean," points out Land. "Now we rarely experience bottle breakage. When we do, we can hose down the machine because it is 100 percent stainless steel. And then we are up and running again in minutes. The stainless steel construction also means we don't have to worry about rusting of the equipment or the need to repaint it."

Another advantage, according to Land, is the convenient changeover that can be completed in less than 15 minutes without tools. The Versatron easily adapts to different bottle sizes/shapes and to different case sizes. Quick changeovers are made possible by a touch-screen operator interface, drop-in lane guide spacers, and a patented, lightweight "snap-in" grid.