For brewers a joy to behold
I expect most of you have already heard about our #GermanBlingBling hashtag campaign. The latest product it has been publicising is likewise not entirely unknown. It’s the smallest of our can fillers. We’re talking about the Craftmate.
But in this case small most definitely does not mean inferior! Because the Craftmate is “not simply a slimmed-down version of a standard filler, but an entirely new system,” explains Christian Bockisch, the project manager in charge of developing the can filler.
The Craftmate has (as its name indicates) been conceived specifically for the craft beer movement. The task was to meet the stringent quality expectations of the creative craft brewers, and nevertheless to remain affordable, And since the craft beer boom has its roots in America, the Craftmate was required to be compact enough to fit inside a sea container. So the development people were facing quite a few challenges. These were met and mastered by adopting what was a rather atypical approach for Krones: instead of designing a whole series of machines with lots of variants, they concentrated on conceiving a single model. “This meant we could give free rein to our creativity,” explains Bruno Landler, responsible for developing the mechanical systems.
The result is a compactly dimensioned can filler in Krones’ familiar quality.
The Craftmate has 24 electro-pneumatically controlled valves, and a maximum speed of 12,000 cans per hour (referenced to the 16-ounce size). It can be flexibly adjusted to handle a huge range of different can sizes and formats. And it doesn’t only can beer, it can handle any carbonated beverage as well. What’s more, the can filler features a slim-line tailor-made valve rack thus meeting the requirement for compact dimensions fitting inside a sea container for affordable shipping costs.
So the Craftmate is an affordable solution for the lower output range, which is where the craft brewers operate.
Despite its youth, the Craftmate already has a lot of fans. “The craft brewers are extremely well networked;” says Christian Bockisch, “Word immediately got around in their community that Krones was offering something new for them.” Ten machines had already been sold during the field phase, and the inquiries just keep on coming – after all, every (craft) brewer can always use a best friend.
So the little Craftmate has truly earned the title of #GermanBlingBling – it’s a veritable gem when you see it glittering in front of you. 😉
You will find more information on the Craftmate here.
