Fort Garry Brewery: Krones delivers line for a beer that’s long on tradition

Fort Garry Brewery has been brewing Fort Garry Dark Ale and Fort Garry Pale Ale exclusively for local distribution since 1994. After filling kegs only for several years, Fort Garry is installing a new, larger plant for filling bottles. After conducting intensive research, Fort Garry chose Krones as its primary supplier and general contractor. “The machines will come from Krones in Germany, the US, and Canada,” says Richard Hoeschen, President of the Fort Garry Brewing Company. Krones was responsible for the engineering and complete installation. We were excited about the prospect of having one experienced company take charge of the entire project.” Apart from simplifying project management considerably by having a single supplier, Fort Garry wanted to ensure the line’s productivity with sure, high-quality service. “We’re working with a great team and we have a partner we know will take care of us. And, of course, bottling is Krones’ core business. We like the idea of working with guys who understand the beer business.”

The line includes:

• Lavatec bottle washer
  The compact single-end system with a capacity of around 7000 bph has a pretreatment zone and a main caustic immersion bath. The path through the washer is designed to ensure the longest possible treatment time for each bottle.
• Linatronic 735 empty bottle inspector
  The compact in-line machine inspects for residual liquid and bottle defects using proven Krones IRIS inspection technology.
• Mecafill filler-crowner bloc
  The mechanical filler designed specifically for bottling beer has 20 filling valves and can handle up to 7200 bph. Dual pre-evacuation of the bottles ensures a very low level of oxygen in the bottles prior to filling.
• Cold glue labeler
  Cold glue technology is ideal for fast, economical label application in the brewery. Krones labelers are known for their sure application of just the right amount of glue and precise label positioning in every performance class.
• Linapac case packer
  The intermittent-motion packer places bottles into 6-pack or 12-pack cases in linear operation. The freely programmable packing curve gives these packers enormous flexibility.
• Variocol case closer
  This continuous-motion machine then securely and precisely closes the case’s flaps and seals them with hot glue.