Nordbräu in Ingolstadt is continuously investing in new technology in order to be able to continue producing and bottling beverages at the highest level. A „KM 790/6K“ combined unscrambler/decapper was recently purchased. The supplier was the specialist Rink GmbH & Co KG from Kreuztal in the Siegerland.
A brewery has stood on the former site of the Jesuit order in Oberhaunstadt, where the family-run traditional company Nordbräu is at home today, since 1693. In 1822, Simon Wittmann leased the brewery site from the Jesuit order. After a short time, the beer was known for its excellent flavour - sales went well, so that Wittmann was soon able to buy up the estate and thus expand the brewery. Foundation stone for one of the most important private breweries in Bavaria laid. Then as now, the beers were brewed according to the original recipes of the company founder and, of course, according to the Bavarian Purity Law - which does not mean that numerous innovations have not been introduced over the years.
Contemporary strategy
Modern production facilities, new brewing techniques and a contemporary sustainability strategy have turned the traditional business into an innovative, forward-looking company. Today it is managed by the sixth generation of Owner and managing director Eva Wittmann-Ott. She is the first woman to head the private brewery.
Experienced master brewers and brewers have relied for centuries on Tried and tested sources and ingredients. The water comes from the company's own artesian mineral spring and the ingredients from regional, controlled contract farming in the surrounding area. This year, around 110,000 hectolitres of beer and more than double that amount of non-alcoholic beverages will be bottled and sold within a radius of almost 100 kilometres around Ingolstadt.
Large variety of bottles
The following are used for the beverages Numerous different returnable glass bottles0.5-litre brown NRW with crown cork, 0.5-litre white NRW with screw cap, 0.5-litre brown Euro with crown cork, 0.33-litre green, white and brown ale with crown cork, as well as 0.7-litre GdB glass and gourmet bottles, both with screw cap.
„At our peak times, we fill 36,000 bottles per hour in two shifts, five days a week. We need very reliable machines,“ reports Günter Meyer.
He has worked at Nordbräu since 1988 and is now responsible for technical maintenance. „We have been relying on Unscrewing and uncorking from Rink and have always been very satisfied with the machines. In my opinion, there is no other manufacturer on the market that offers this quality and speed,“ emphasises Meyer.
Unscrewing, uncorking and removing neck sleeves
Wilhelm Rink founded his company in Kreuztal-Littfeld exactly 50 years ago. He initially built Decorking machines for breweries. In 1973, five years later, the first Box unscrewer was added. Today, the company managed by Dr Michael Bäcker and its 30 employees is the world market leader in machines for removing bottle caps of all kinds. The export share is well over 40 per cent.
„We also seal bottles in small wine and spirits businesses. Our uncorkers and unscrewers, on the other hand, are used by more than 1,000 customers worldwide in companies of all sizes,“ reports Bäcker.
For some years now, Rink has also been offering Customised solutions such as emptying bottles and cans. The machines for removing neck sleeves that remain on the bottle after opening are also increasingly in demand. Rink not only has a patent for this ingenious process, but has also been awarded the „Innovation Award of the German Winegrowers“ Association".
„Head-controlled“ process
With the combined unscrewing/uncorking unit After depalletising, separating and an electronic crate check (which prevents foreign objects or incorrect bottles from being inserted into the crate compartments), six crates always enter the machine in two blocks of three up to a mechanical stop. From 40 up to 120 bottles (depending on the crate and bottle) can then be gently and reliably removed from the lid with one stroke.
Special unscrewing heads developed by Rink are used for the screw caps. Each head is equipped with a feeler pin that recognises whether a cap is on the bottle. Where there is no cap, the heads remain open - no bottle contact means no damage. If, despite the previous check, there is still a foreign object in the crate (such as a horizontal bottle or wood), the head remains on top. So there is No bottle breakage or damage to the machine. If, on the other hand, a fastener is felt correctly, the respective head closes: a slight twist and lift-off follows and the fastener is removed.
All the caps are then spit out onto a wide, blue plastic belt, which always moves forwards briefly to collect the caps. A blower transports them immediately away from the machine through stainless steel tubes. With a bright, metallic clack, they travel over the machine through the pipes into a central collection container and are recycled (for Nordbräu, of course).
Fast changeover
„We always try to spend the whole day one type of bottle without change bottling. With our main variety, the white 0.5-litre NRW screw-top bottle, it's often two or three days at a time. That's why the quick changeover between unscrewing and uncorking heads wasn't so crucial for us. But it does happen that we have to change over quickly - and then it's very fast with this machine,“ reports Meyer.
At the touch of a button on the control panel, the heads move up and are released from all brackets and electrical connections at the touch of another button. „We need a maximum of ten minutes for the conversion - It could hardly be quicker,‘ emphasises Meyer. While six heads are used for unscrewing, two heads are sufficient for faster uncorking.
Highly efficient
Up to 52,000 bottles could be unscrewed per hour and up to 42,000 bottles uncorked before travelling on to the unpacker and washing machine. One of the many specialities of the „KM 790/6K“ is the Electric canopy drive with servomotors.
„The customers no longer wanted hydraulic tanks for reasons of hygiene, and we didn't want pneumatic drives due to the cost of compressed air. So we developed machines with electric motors from SEW,“ reports Rink Managing Director Bäcker. These servo drives are not only particularly precise, but also very resource-efficient and consume significantly less energy than hydraulic drives.
Always available
However, Günter Meyer is not only impressed by the reliable operation of the Rink machine, he was also impressed by the overall handling of the order. „Rink had prepared the machine so well in its own factory that it was basically 98 per cent configured the way we wanted it. That's why the installation went incredibly quickly and without any problems,“ he recalls.
Because there were a few hitches in the first few days, as with every new machine, Meyer had to contact a Rink technician in Siegerland. „A service technician was always immediately available for us and helped us perfectly. They can always connect to the machine themselves via the teleservice and see whether everything is running smoothly. So we are really very satisfied with the machine and the service from Rink.“
[infotext icon]Awards for qualityThere is a lot to celebrate at Nordbräu this year: the brewery in the Oberhaunstadt district has been in existence for exactly 325 years, and for 25 years non-alcoholic specialities from the „Jesuit source“ produced. Once again, there were three beers gold DLG medalsfor Hell, the non-alcoholic 93 and the Privat Pilsener[/infotext].
