Since the Krones Craftmate C premiered at the BrauBeviale 2015, 80 beverage producers have opted for this compact-size can filler from the German packaging and bottling machinery manufacturer – the majority of them craft breweries in North America.
But the Craftmate proves persuasive in the rest of the world, too; Krones has, for instance, delivered six of these machines to Australia in the past three years.
That the Craftmate is ideally suited not only for craft beer but for all other types of craft drinks is clearly demonstrated by Bundaberg Brewed Drinks. The Australian beverage company produces premium soft drinks such as ginger beer and exports these to more than 60 countries.
It fills the drinks into iconic amber glass stubby bottles, and now also cans them in-house. The company invested in a canning line, for which Krones supplied the entire wet end.
Alongside the heart of the line – a Craftmate C – a Canmatic empty-can inspector, a Contiflow mixer, two Checkmat inspection systems, a LinaTherm warmer and a Linadry drier are also included in the scope of delivery.
Following several years of toll packing, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks opted for a canning line of their own.
Bundaberg CEO John McLean said having canning technology in-house is an important step for the business.
“[It allows] us to offer a much more versatile pack format that consumers have been asking us for,” he said.
The Craftmate from Krones won Bundaberg over – not only by its technical features but also in terms of price-performance ratio, production quality and safety standards. The line fills 15,000 cans an hour and handles both 250-millilitre standard cans and a 200-millilitre slim format. Thanks to this combination, Bundaberg Brewed Drinks will be looking to toll pack cans for other craft brewers, too.
The new machines arrived in Australia in December 2019, and by mid-January the company was filling the first sales-quality drinks.
Bundaberg has already produced over 3.5 million containers on its new line. These can currently be bought in Australia, New Zealand and the US.
Even though the coronavirus pandemic is at present changing the entire world, McLean sees an opportunity here for selling premium products in cans.
“As lockdown restrictions are lifted, we’re expecting to see this more convenient product taken on people’s local adventures,” he said.
“Cans are really handy for this because they are easy to transport and cool quicker. The new mini-cans are the perfect serving for both mixology and straight consumption.”
Krones is a member of the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association (APPMA).
