Mobile canning has never been more popular in beer and with a competitive marketplace, flexible schedules, and the ability to save on equipment there are a lot of reasons breweries choose to hire an outside company.
There are advantages to installing your own canning system and as Roxanne Gorham of Codi Craft Canning Systems explains, space is no longer an issue.
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ProBrewer: Mobile canning is popular and with good reason, but what are some signs or indicators that a brewery is ready to install their own canning system?
Roxanne Gorham: Simple, throughput. As soon as a brewery is producing more beer than a mobile canner’s schedule can handle, it’s time to start considering your own canning line. Codi Manufacturing has customers in both the mobile canning space and brick and mortar brewery spaces because the speeds of their systems (35CPM – 55CPM) are ideal for breweries first getting into packaging cans and can easily grow along with a brewery’s production and distribution rates.
ProBrewer: There are options for all kinds of brewery footprints, but for those in small spaces, what are some considerations they should take into account when looking at equipment?
Roxanne Gorham: When choosing a can packaging manufacturer, the ability to customize every piece of equipment and conveyance plays a significant factor for smaller spaces. Codi Manufacturing not only custom-manufactures everything in-house for their direct customers, but Codi systems also easily integrate with other OEM’s equipment, making them the go-to partner for many packaging manufacturers the beverage industry.
Process spends, overall budget, and lead times on systems and spare parts from your manufacturer also play a big role when shopping for canning equipment that works for your space and your business growth plan.
ProBrewer: After making a determination on canning equipment, what kind of education should a brewer seek out for best practices in running the machine. Should there be dedicated canning line operators?
Roxanne Gorham: Training is crucial to the maintenance and upkeep of your can packaging line – especially the can filler. Unlike most of the other brewery equipment, can fillers are mechanical systems that need regular attention to prevent bigger problems in the long run.
ProBrewer: What do you suggest for brewers that want to use different size cans, even beyond the 12oz and 16oz? What about options like 19.2 or aluminum bottles?
Roxanne Gorham: Adjusting the filler heads and seamer to a range of heights should take very little time and effort. Codi can fillers use a pin adjustment design to easily adjust to a new can size in less than 5-minutes. Codi fillers also offer the option to change out the original fill head carriage with a secondary fill head carriage using longer stems to accommodate aluminum bottles. With this change out comes an adjustable track to route the bottles to an integrated ROPP capper.
ProBrewer: How do you suggest brewers think about growth when selecting equipment? Is it immediate needs or is there benefit to thinking about eventual growth?
Roxanne Gorham: Brewers should always consider their potential growth rate when purchasing equipment, especially can packaging equipment. Fillers built to run 55CPM can easily be slowed down to accommodate a smaller production rate, then adjusted to run at max speed as you grow. Codi canning lines are built to last through that growth, and many customers benefit from the resale value as they transition into larger fillers. When you grow into a faster filler, the rest of the Codi packaging line is designed to integrate with those 100 – 2,000+ CPM fillers.