Bacardi Group in bottling line upgrade

The bottling line, which had evolved over the years, comprised older machines and conveyors taken from other bottling lines in the company as they were replaced with new equipment. With a more up to date filling machine as well as a higher specification case sealer available for installation, John Dewar & Sons planned a further, significant update to the bottling line.

With an impending maintenance window, Walsall Engineering was contacted regarding plans to modify the line to incorporate the filler and the case sealer, whilst at the same time ensure the equipment was compatible with current safety legislation. The shutdown also provided an opportunity to look at other performance related issues on the line.

Walsall Engineering developed a layout with John Dewar & Sons whereby the infeed of the line was repositioned and simplified mechanically to create space for a larger filling machine. This allowed some existing bottle handling issues to be engineered out by changing the guide rail profile and replacing worn out stainless steel slat chain with plastic chain. Other bottle handling issues throughout the line were also engineered out with guide rail modifications, slat chain conversion and additional drive units.

A new control system was fitted to the empty bottle conveyors, as part of the contract by partner company Controlrite with the benefit of providing easy access for site personnel to make adjustments when glass tolerances change or for future new bottles. Controlrite, in conjunction with subsidiary company Frederick Smith upgraded the control system on the filler making modifications to meet current legislation. All field wiring and electrical work was completed by Frederick Smith to meet the high standards, and consistent with expectations, in the food and beverage industries.

All of the deadlines agreed with John Dewar & Sons were met. Within days of starting production, Dewars achieved record levels of output and efficiency on the line. These results remain consistently achieved and have resulted in an immediate payback for John Dewar’s whilst also enabling a more efficient deployment of labour.

This was a successful project for all concerned parties with the customer and supplier teams working well together. Yet another project of many, drawing on the extensive experience within Walsall Engineering and Controlrite, whereby a multidisciplinary approach was required in order to improve output and efficiency on an existing packaging line.