APATIN BREWERY MODERNISES ITS PRODUCTION SHOP AND OPTS FOR KHS FOR ITS CAN FILLER

Molson Coors is one of the largest brewing groups in the world. The Serbian plant run by its subsidiary Apatinska Pivara Apatin has relied on KHS-designed technology for more than four decades. Now the Brewery is renovating two glass lines and investing in an Innofill Can DVD can filling machine.
The cooperation between Apatin Brewery and the Dortmund-based system supplier dates back to the 1970s and the predecessor companies of KHS, Holstein & Kappert and Seitz Enzinger Noll Maschinenbau AG, which in 1993 merged to form KHS. We have always had a truly reliable partner at our side in KHS. Their staff knows not only our production site and our technology from the inside; they are also familiar with our requirements and all possible challenges, emphasizes Tanja Popović, packaging manager at Apatin Brewery.

As a result of this extensive modernization, Apatin Brewery has been able to greatly optimize its line efficiency and product quality. The traditional brewery also benefits from improved hygiene and savings in energy and media.
When in 2014 the brewery decided to modernize some of its machines, some of which were almost 20 years old, it again opted for sustainable systems from its long-time partner KHS. The mechanical engineering company first refurbished two glass lines and, in 2020, the customer invested in the Innofill Can DVD can filler. Our old machines could no longer meet our current demands in terms of product quality, performance and sustainability, Popović explains.
In addition to improving hygiene and product quality, the Serbian beverage producer also wanted to automate its plant technology. This has been achieved through the use of HMI panels integrated into the glass lines and a new can filler. According to Popović, this makes the machine much easier for operators to use, as all sequences are automated and many of them have been digitized.

The new product changeover, sanitizing and filling programs speed up our processes. With this state-of-the-art technology, we achieve a much higher level of production efficiency and avoid unplanned downtime thanks to improved safety and reliability in filling as the HMI system also detects wear parts in advance, allowing us to order replacements in time, Popović adds.
In 2020, the brewery invested in an Innofill Can DVD filler. We had to increase our capacity in this segment to meet the growing demand for beverages in cans, states Popović. With the new filler they process up to 25,000 0.5-liter cans per hour. Production amounts to more than two million hectoliters per year.
The Innofill Can DVD enables hot filling of beverages at around 20 °C. This method becomes more significant particularly with regard to downstream processing steps, as it virtually eliminates the formation of condensation. This more or less rules out the risk of boxes, trays and six-pack cans becoming soggy, moldy or contaminated with microbes.

At DVD Innofill Can, it fills all its brands in 0.33-liter and 0.5-liter containers, including Jelen, Jelen Chill, Jelen Cool, Apatinsko, Staropramen, Bavaria, Nikšićko and Nikšićko Tamno. The brewery mainly supplies the regional market, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Slovenia, although it does not rule out expanding its market.