pick-and-place packers. The line
has been running right from the
start in three shifts, manned by six
operators at a time. “We’re thus
able now to ease the old line’s
workload a bit.”
Skol trained the operators for the
new line in-house for more than a
year on the first line, which is likewise
largely equipped with Krones
machines. In late 2019, the Krones
Center East Africa provided on-site
Complete CO2 Solution
BBII 6/2020 · 27
hectoliters. But because sales
reached 80,000 hectoliters in the
very first year, the brewery continually
upsized its tank capacities.
By 2017, sales had then risen to
400,000 hectoliters a year – and
Skol was coming up against the
limits of its bottling capacities,
since the returnable glass line
installed (which includes some
pre-owned machines from Krones)
handles only 24,000 bottles per
hour. So in order to meet the continuously
rising demand, SBL had
to invest in a second line. For this
purpose, a new hall was built as
a greenfield project, designed to
house a complete new line from
Krones.
Modulfill HRS filler
One of the line’s particular highlights
is the Linapac II unpacker and packer,
because they enable format
change-overs to be performed fully
automatically: each Linapac II can
select between five gripper heads
for different bottle sizes.
This includes a c omprehensive product portfolio, complete
and individual CO2 solutions, professional advice and best
possible aftersales service.
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CO2 Recovery
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CO2 and Dry Ice Equipment
CO2 and Dry Ice Logistics
T +41 71 466 80 80 info@ascoco2.com ascoco2.com
Skol placed the order for the line
with Krones in January 2018; installation
began in September, and
production started up in November
– to Eustache Mpiko’s complete
satisfaction: “Opting for Krones
was the right thing to do. After all,
we already had long years of positive
experience with Krones’ machines
in the first line. So we also
knew that Krones’ service people
provide excellent support,” he
says, and adds: “We produce
top-quality beers, so we wanted to
have top-quality machines as well.”
The beer bottles are packed solely
in crates, though relatively small
quantities for the export markets
are also packed manually in cartons.
The line’s particular highlights
in Eustache Mpiko’s eyes include
the Linapac II unpacker and
packer, because they enable format
change-overs to be performed
fully automatically by entering a
command at the touch screen.
“This enables us to change over
the entire line in 45 to at most 60
minutes,” says Eustache Mpiko.
“Which means we’re achieving a
line efficiency of more than 85 per-
cent.” For that reason, each Linapac
II can select between five gripper
heads for different bottle sizes.
They are stored directly next to the
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link