“It truly is an innovation. It’s kind of an
engineering marvel, and I think it will
really revolutionize packaging at small-
and medium-sized operations.”
– David Farran, Eau Claire Distillery
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Thanks to the machine’s user-friendly
interface, container changes can be made
with the push of a button, which Merlo
says can save producers a lot of time
and money.
According to Merlo, existing bottle
or can filling machines are capable of
changing container size, but a full set of
change parts (which can cost upwards
of $20,000) is normally required to make
the switch.
“That changeover is eliminated with
our machine, so you’ve got that capital cost
advantage,” Merlo said.
Farran sees reduced conversion times
as a huge advantage, “especially in a market
where we’re a craft producer and we want
to be as flexible and innovative as we can
with our packaging. This allows us to not
have to take the line down for a day and
change those parts and have an expert
come in to do it for us. Everything is done
right there.”
Merlo estimates it would take a week
to 10 days to install the Multi-Container
Packaging Centre if conveyors and utilities
are in place for the machine. He says that
once the system is set up, only one person
is required to run it.
Merlo says AM Jade Co. will provide
full support on parts for customers as well
as technical support.
“We’re building a machine that is
Industry 4.0 equipped and is supported
24/7 through an ethernet IO-Link platform,
which enables real-time troubleshooting
or technical support from AM Jade Co.,”
he said.
Production testing
Merlo says that a number of notable indus-try
representatives will be monitoring
production testing of the Multi-Container
Packaging Centre once it’s up and running
at Eau Claire Distillery.
Among them is Doug McLean, man-ager
of capital expenditures for Canada for
Anheuser-Busch InBev/Labatt.
McLean has been following the devel-opment
of the Multi-Container Packaging
Centre for the past year and is keen to see it
in operation at Eau Claire.
“It’s a very innovative machine.… I
know Merlo and Bondi have had some
of the best people in the industry work-ing
with them on it,” said McLean. “What I
find unique about it is its ability to reduce
non-productive time on conversions; so
being able to run multiple containers on
the machine with a very limited change-over
time.
“Normally it would take a fair bit of
time to do a filler and seamer conversion,
but with this setup, they’re actually able
to go from a bottle to a can in only 15
or 20 minutes.”
McLean says while at Eau Claire, he
would like to measure conversion times
and quality parameters.
“We need to see if it is capable doing
what we think it can do. We’ll then look at
what our needs are at the time and then
take it from there,” he said. “I really see this
machine as a potential game changer, so it
certainly has our attention.”
Merlo expects AM Jade Co.’s Multi-
Container Packaging Centre will be well
received by the beverage industry.
F E AT U R E
“We know there is a need, and if we can
deliver on all the features and performance
of the machine at our price target, we think
others are going to agree and will want to
buy it.”
For Merlo and Bondi, it has been quite
a journey developing the Multi-Container
Packaging Centre from concept to produc-tion
testing in a distillery, and it’s one that’s
required a significant investment of time –
and money.
“We’re spending our own money
on this. We’ve got it this far without out-side
investment and it’s quite an expen-sive
endeavour,” said Merlo. “We’re com-mitted
to getting it to the finish line.”
Photos courtesy of AM Jade Co.
SUMMER 2020 § POURED CANADA § 23
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