Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68Profitability in the brewery industry can come down to fine margins. But what if there was a technology that allowed you to slash your operational costs? Or a way to improve keg retention whilst boosting the output of your production? Such a technology exists. Kegging remains an important method of transporting mass volumes of beer and cider around the country, as well as providing brewers with a principal route to the pub and bar market in the United Kingdom. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) estimate that kegs replace approximately 7.5 billion bottles or cans in the UK every year. The BBPA also estimate that the loss and misuse of kegs cost the industry over £50 million per annum too. Effective retention and re-use of your kegs The best way to retain these kegs is to ensure that they are traceable throughout the supply chain, and are returned to base as quickly and efficiently as possible. Most breweries therefore use labels or RFID tags to ensure that this happens, but manually labelling kegs and casks remains a time-consuming and labour intensive task. These challenges, and the brewery demand for a traceability solution, means automated keg labelling solutions are a significant cost-saver. These labelling systems assist larger breweries in the retention and reusability of existing kegs. Several UK breweries have invested in this technology to drive operational efficiencies on their keg lines and eliminate the need for manual labelling of kegs by hand. Domino UK has developed a print-and- apply labelling system that automates this process. The label includes a barcode for traceability and makes it easy for you to provide pubs and other hospitality venues with mandatory Best Before information and product descriptions. The keg labelling system is simple, reliable and designed for harsh, wet environments. In addition, the cost- effective nature of the solution has ensured that breweries have achieved a rapid return on their investment. The technology is capable of being fully operational 24/7/365, and the speed and ease of labelling means you can dramatically increase your production line efficiency. The labeller is mounted above the keg conveyer in a compact design with a small footprint meaning it can fit into the tightest of operational environments; no need for expensive modifications to your existing setup. Furthermore, by incorporating predictable operating costs and consumables usage and you have the power to take your operational efficiency to a whole new level. Ink coding directly onto kegs There is also a reason to look beyond core machinery technology. Examples of this include the inks used within the brewing industry when using an industrial inkjet printer. Yellow and white inks are designed for amber and green bottles to print best before and batch codes, but they are also suitable for aluminium and coloured plastic kegs. Many of these inks have been designed for caustic wash and therefore cater to those breweries who rent or lease kegs too. Once each keg is returned to the brewery, it can be refilled with fresh beer and then re-coded with a new best before date and batch number. The printed codes remain resilient to water and rubbing during the supply process, but the ability to caustic wash the inks ensures that leased or rented kegs can be returned at the end of contract in an ink-free condition. Domino launched the new 2YL955i yellow ink in early 2016. This has since been tested by many large breweries. Many of these breweries have subsequently decided to replace their existing inkjet printers with new Domino printers and the affiliated yellow ink. The ink has been designed to be applied to wet bottle and keg applications and where chilling/refrigeration may be required. These are only 2 ways in which large or craft breweries can continue to utilise kegs as a major revenue stream, whilst ensuring that the kegs provide an increasing return on investment. Bottling and canning lines have benefitted from coding automation and traceability for many years now – it is time that kegging lines caught up. 40 BREWING & BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Keg coding and marking: Improved keg retention drives profit By Nick Alterskye, UK Beverage Sector Manager (Domino UK) Nick Alterskye is the UK Beverage Sector Manager for Domino UK. Domino Printing Sciences was founded in 1978 and offers one of the most comprehensive portfolios of complete product-to-pallet coding solutions spanning primary, secondary and tertiary applications. Domino’s coding and marking equipment is designed to automate the traceability and seriali- sation requirements of manufacturers. These include innovative ink jet (CIJ), laser, print & apply labelling mand TTO technologies that are deployed for the application of variable and authentication data, bar codes and unique traceability codes onto product and packaging. Profile PACKAGING SYSTEMS 40_Layout 1 30/10/2016 15:09 Page 1