Compressed air, brewing systems and big shake-ups at Brau

The last day at Brau dawns with so many stands still to visit, but it has been an exciting show, which, yesterday, culminated in the excellent celebration of innovation at the World Beverage Innovation Awards.

AF International’s Pascal Heyden.

Before that, I discovered more about the trends in compressed air for PET blow moulding at LMF, AF Compressors and ABC Compressors in hall 7A. Again, energy saving and flexibility coupled with tailoring control of the processes to specific customer requirements were driving innovation as sophistication in control systems and technical know-how join forces to help beverage manufacturers boost efficiency and make savings in their energy consumption.

Restructuring and changes at the top have also punctuated news from the stands. At Krones, Volker Kronseder handed over the reigns of the German engineering giant to Christoph Klenk, who outlined (in a podcast coming soon to FoodBev.com) how the company will continue to focus on sustainability and an increasingly versatile global offering to meet the demands of the industry in the different geographical regions. Alfa Laval was assimilating the news that Lars Renström is retiring after almost 12 years as president and CEO, to be succeeded by Tom Erixon – currently president and CEO of the Ovako Group. GEA, meanwhile, was extolling the benefits of its One GEA programme, which brings together all divisions of the group under one corporate umbrella and allows stakeholders to access one point of contact for projects on a regional level and corporate level. Interesting times are afoot.

LMF’s (l-r) sales manager, Damir Pilipovic; head of marketing, Olga Malina; and LMF Germany’s Klaus Teichmann told Claire that €50,000 a year can be saved on compressed air costs using frequency converters and control of the compressor system.

The moves at the top, reflect the changing global nature of the industry as Asian and Middle Eastern, plus Latin American players demand technologies that fulfil on their specific market demands, and trends such as craft brewery see changes being made in the technologies required for brewing – interestingly Krones worked with teams in China on the collaborative development of its MircoCube modular brewery that features critical elements from Krones, and preassembly in China. The MicroCube brewing system comprises a brewhouse and fermenting cellar, and is ideal for small batches of five or 10 hectolitres of cold-wort volume per brew. The entire brewing process is manual, with only the mashing, boiling and fermentation processes supported by software.

Now I’m off to find out a little more about developments for PET bottling for the next issue of Beverage Innovation. Further news from the stands will appear shortly on FoodBev.com in the form of dedicated interviews, podcasts and videos, and catch more from the FoodBev team on Twitter and LinkedIn!