Helping Beverage and Bottling Manufacturers Keep Pace with Rapid Growth

September 02, 2021

In 2021, beverage demand is projected to rise slightly as the economy recovers following the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for alcoholic beverages will lead the way much as they had during the pandemic, projecting a 4.4% annual increase through 2025. But whether the bottles are filled with wine, beer, soda, water or juice, one thing is certain: beverage manufacturers will continue to have a need to keep up with producing a variety of cartons, cans and bottles to quench America’s thirst for innovative and tasty drinks—and will need a conveyor solution to help them do just that.

For beverage manufacturers, conveyors are a critical element for maintaining smooth factory floor operations. Conveyors are the connectors between an empty can, bottle or carton at the beginning of a production line and a filled bottle or beverage ready for packaging and palletizing at the end and can provide increased production efficiencies when done right. But when conveyor systems are not done well, bottlers and beverage manufacturers face multiple pain points like:

Changing and Reconfiguring a Production Line: As the pandemic taught us, consumer demands can shift in an instant, and savvy brands and manufacturers need to be poised to respond to gain their fair share of emerging markets. To respond to changes in market demand, flexible conveyor solutions are a must.

Decreasing Transfer Points: Since cans and bottles can tip over at transfer points, eliminating and reducing these key locations between conveyors is a high priority. Streamlining the merge from mass flow to single file conveyors is also important to prevent containers from jamming.

Integrating: Integrating conveyors into existing equipment such as rinsers, fillers, weigh scales and date coders isn't always straightforward. If conveyor lines aren't properly aligned, trip points may occur.

Modular Conveyor Express: High Quality Conveyor Solutions with Short Implementation Times

 

The pain points mentioned above are typically only issues when there’s a custom-designed conveyor solution involved. However, many bottlers and beverage manufacturers are discovering that modular conveyor systems are an ideal solution for their business needs and production challenges. MCE distributors provide customers with fast, flexible solutions by using pre-engineered conveyors manufactured with in-stock components. This eliminates the need for custom engineering and saves manufacturers time and money.

Take, for instance, this case in point: One of the world's largest independent bottlers approached an MCE distributor with a production challenge. A division of this bottler, known for its expertise in manufacturing complex niche products for branded beverage companies, wanted to increase production of a best-selling energy drink. They required a conveyor system capable of handling more than 300 cans per minute. The distributor team met with plant engineers to review the existing production process, the company's target objectives, and the available footprint on the production floor. Based on this information, MCE designed a cost-effective conveyor solution that seamlessly integrated with the manufacturer's existing equipment and provided the increased capacity needed to meet market demand.

Key factors that influenced the bottler's decision to work with an MCE distributor included:

• Flexibility. MCE's conveyor system provided quick guide-rail changeover capability for product handling flexibility. As market conditions change, the bottler can efficiently accommodate several different container sizes on the same conveyor line with MCE’s Rapid-Rail®.
• Responsiveness. It took just four weeks from the time the manufacturer placed the order to the time MCE shipped the conveyors. (Some equipment, such as MCE’s rotary accumulation table, can ship in as few as 10 business days!).
• Implementation speed. From start to finish, the project took less than 10 weeks. This included the design, manufacturing, delivery, and installation of the conveyor system. When the distributor left the customer site, the bottler was ready to increase production levels for the energy drink product.

Choosing the Right Beverage and Bottling Conveyor Partner

With the beverage and bottling industry moving at the speed of light and an even more rapid growth projected ahead, choosing the right partner to keep pace with your manufacturing requirements is essential. MCE sets the bar for delivering on speed and quality and provides these criteria to keep in mind as you evaluate who can help your customers keep up with demand, now and long into the future:

Responsiveness. Your customers can’t wait days for a solution or callback. MCE typically provides quotes within 24 hours. Proposals include AutoCAD conveyor layouts so your customers can easily visualize how solutions will work in their facilities.

Comprehensive pricing. MCE's quotes are for conveyor solutions that are ready for operation, and MCE's prices are 20% less than a custom conveyor solution.

Implementation speed. MCE modular conveyor projects are completed 40% faster than competitor solutions, minimizing manufacturer downtime and lost production throughput.

Integration and project management support. MCE's experienced local distributors can provide project management on site from the design stage of projects through implementation. As a value-added service, MCE analyzes the cross-section of beverage manufacturing conveyor frames to ensure compatibility with existing equipment. This reduces transfer points and increases uptime once production lines are running.

Installation. MCE distributors handle all assembly, completing the fit and finish work needed to eliminate misalignment between conveyors and to reduce dust that can be generated during conveyor operation. This frees employees to focus on revenue-generating work, such as addressing problems that may be halting existing production lines.

Expert training and ongoing support. MCE distributors offer beverage manufacturing customers comprehensive conveyor education and training, as well as ongoing maintenance services. MCE distributors rapidly respond to application and technical questions. 

Providing your customers with fast, flexible conveyor solutions is key to adding value in this ever-changing, fast-paced industry. If you’re ready to provide instant value to your customers in the beverage and bottling industry, contact us today to get started!