As part of the rapidly expanding Leeds Kirkstall Brewery, ABM were commissioned to automate fully the new Brewery and Cleaning system.
An Allen Bradley compact logix PLC processor is used to automatically control all the brewing process and a low cost Scada implementation was put in place.The system allows the operator to configure recipes easily so new custom brews and recipes can be made at short notice.
As part of the installation ABM designed and built several MCC Panels and installed multiple distribued Festo solenoid blocks around the site to allow easier maintenance and reduced wiring, The system also interfaces with several external devices to allow the system to control everything including grain intake and boiler control.
The brewing plant itself consists of a Mash conversion vessel, Lauter Tun, Kettle, Whirlpool, Hopnick and Paraflow, All fully controlled.
There are also 10 FV's which are controlled by the PLC and Scada which allows the operator to view a complete graph of the fermentation process and how the fermentation is currently progressing, also allowing a controlled coolback when the fermentation has completed. All the information is then archived for future retrieval.
Hot Liquor tank and Cold Liquor tanks are also fully controlled, Allowing the Hot liquor used in the brewing process to be returned and recycled into the Hot Liquor tank for re-use.
The scada system is a low cost design , yet features full High definition graphics and advanced maintenance functions and fault diagnosis.
The operator display has a simple to use colour coded display which immediately allows them to see any prompts or events which may occur or need responding to.
A full cleaning in place system is also available at all times to allow cleaning to follow on immediately after brewing has been completed.
Features within the new system include
Since commissioning brewing has been non stop in the rapidly expanding Kirkstall Brewery, with multiple new products being designed and released onto the market.
As part of the expansion of the Big Bog Brewing Company and the opening of a second larger micro brewery the company commissioned ABM to provide a full automated fermentation control system.
Along with the FV automation ABM also provided a new control panel allowing manual control of the heaters during Mashing and Sparging and all appropriate electrical wiring.
The new brewery is the result of growing demand for their popular award winning ales which will allow them to bring beers to a wider audience.
With the automated fermentation control system helping to provide a consistent and repeatable high quality product.
Since opening the new brewery a few weeks ago the Big Bog Brewing Company has already released a brand new pale ale named Blonde Bach.
Based on our newly developed software we are able to provide a reliable fermentation control system for any number of tanks at a low cost.
The system is fully configurable for an unlimited number of brew qualities and provides the brewer/operator with a real time plot of the actual temperature against the target temperature.
Also a manually entered gravity plot is displayed against the target gravity plot required.
This allows the brewer to easily gain an idea of when the brew is likely to have finished fermenting.
The software allows the brewer to provide a cooling slope which can be enabled at any time including a time in the future when the brewer may not be on site, The system will then automatically cool the tank down based on the required cooling slope ready for racking.
The number of temperature slopes used during fermentation is configurable as is the names of the points of the fermentations, This allows you to fully configure the system to match your known terminology.
All the brew graphs are archived when completed allowing for future referencing easily and quickly along with any remarks or comments made on particular brews.
If you would like further information on the system or how we could customise it for you please contact us directly.
The project involved the following
ABM has successfully completed an expansion of the yeast handling plant at Marston's Bank's Park Brewery in Wolverhampton.
Marston's took over production of most of Thwaites beers after the closure of Thwaites main brewery, and needed to have extra yeast storage capacity for the Thwaites yeast strains.
ABM were approached to help complete the project and suggested some minor mechanical design changes along with a new PLC Control Panel and associated software.
Marston's required the new Thwaites Yeast System to be integrated into the site extensive existing FactoryTalk View Scada system.
The system controls the skimming, storage and pH adjustment prior to pitching the yeast into the flow of cooled wort coming from the brewhouse, interfacing with some legacy PLC equipment to ensure an accurate amount of yeast is pitched into the wort flow.
The project involved the following
ABM were commissioned by the family brewer, Wadworth in Devizes to convert an existing cleaning system from an existing outdated Toshiba PLC to a modern Allen Bradley Processor.
Wadworth required their system to be optimised, but as no source code was available and the PLC had been discontinued by the manufacturer some time ago, we suggested its replacement to the current Compact Logix platform.
From an old printed version of the source code which included roughly 200 pages, ABM produced new Allen Bradley Compact Logix Ladder code and also optimised and fixed prior existing software bugs as part of the improvement process.
New graphics were produced at the same time to allow viewing of the Cleaning system on the existing Wonderware Intouch Scada system already on site.
All in all the upgrade was completed in approximately 3 weeks and the customer is now very satisfied with his new system which can now be modified and upgraded remotely whenever required.
Since this conversion was completed ABM has already embarked upon converting another one of the Brewery's outdated systems.
By Lisa McTigue Pierce in Packaging Design on June 11, 2014
The Diageo Team Cube received a Gold Award for commercializing a low-cost modular production plant for the blending and packaging of spirits in multiple regions within 12 months
Pre-fab production operations and packaging solutions that improve patient safety were among the accomplishments that earned Diageo Team Cube and Joe Mase (respectively) Gold Awards in the 2014 UBM Canon Packaging Group Visionary Awards.
The program pays tribute to individuals and teams who show vision and leadership in advancing their company's goals of innovation, differentiation, savings and growth.
Visionary Awards finalists were recognized and the winners were revealed at a gala event on June 10th, at the Javits Convention Centre in New York City in conjunction with the EastPack show, which is owned and organized by UBM Canon.
Held in partnership with the Institute of Packaging Professionals, the event also paid tribute to recipients of the 2014 AmeriStar Package Awards.
GOLD AWARD: PACKAGING PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS CATEGORY The Diageo Team Cube received a Gold Award for commercializing a low-cost modular production plant for the blending and packaging of spirits in multiple regions within 12 months.
The Diageo Team Cube includes Paul Millar, head of packaging technology; Dawn Reilly, brand technical manager; Ray Webb, project manager; Ian Bell, packaging manager; and Donal Comerford, market support manager for Africa regional markets and business integration manager.
During his acceptance speech on behalf of the team, Millar shared that the company has realized an additional $300 million in sales because of the production of these new operations.
ABM LTD Were appointed by Diageo to design, build and commission the complete Blending and Packaging System, which included Full Product Blending, Production of Blow Moulded bottles and Packaging in Widnes prior to the Systems being sent out to Africa.
ABM were also appointed to re-commission the systems once in Africa, with the first system being commissioned in Accra, Ghana and spirit being produced, packaged and sent to trade within just two weeks from the arrival of the Cube on site at Ghana.
A further two 'cubes' have also been successfully built and re-commissioned in Nigeria and Mozambique.
The diageo team which was put together to design and manufacture the cube factories with ABM have now become a finalist in the UBM Canon Packaging Group Visionary Awards.
The UBM Canon Packaging Group Visionary Awards are presented to people who show vision, innovation and leadership in packaging production, operations and development/design.
The Diageo Team Cube developed and constructed the radical concept of a low-cost modular production plant for the blending and packaging of spirits and commercialized it in multiple geographies within 12 months.
The solution met operational requirements and saved 60 percent on capital investment.
ABM have successfully completed the installation of the first two Cubes for Diageo in Ghana and Nigeria.
The innovative containerised spirit blending and packaging plant is expected to be a roaring success and help overcome the logistical hurdle and to tap in to the local spirits market.
Each Cube was manufactured at ABM in Widnes, with the Diageo's African workforce visiting the UK for extensive training on operation and maintenance prior to each Cube being split into its 5 separate containers for transportation to Africa.
Extensive production runs were performed successfully prior to shipping, minimising costly overseas commissioning time for Diageo.
Installation overseas was achieved in 2 weeks for each Cube, with product ready for market.
ABM's installation team are now all ready to commission the 3rd Cube for Diageo Mozambique in May this year.
Initial feedback from Africa indicates that product quality and sales are excellent and they are already looking to increase production beyond the anticipated requirement.
A Diageo Cube can be installed where only the services of electricity and water are available on site.
Features of this Project
ABM were delighted to receive a prestigious award at Diageo's "International Engineering for Excellence" event at The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin last week.
Diageo, the world's largest producer of distilled spirits have highlighted ABM's hard work and have recognised this by giving an 'Engineering for Innovation' award for the excellent work with the three spirit blending Cubes installed in Africa.
The Heroes of Excellence award is given to the supplier that delivered a significant and critical project on time and on budget with exceptional leadership.
Award winners must also demonstrate the kinds of innovation that result in exceptional value to Diageo.
"Our team are honoured to have been recognised by Diageo as a winner of the Engineering for Innovation from a field of world class suppliers" said Allan Rogerson, founder and Managing Director of ABM.
ABM have successfully completed the Attemperation System Upgrade at Robinsons' historic Unicorn Brewery in Stockport.
Robinsons in the past have manually controlled the temperature during beer fermentation and now required this to be more carefully controlled to improve product quality and consistency.
The new system now gives the option to schedule cooling when manpower is not available or during the night.
ABM fully automated the fermentation vessel attemperation control utilising the current borehole well water supply, modifying the existing FV vessels cooling jackets, together with associated supply and return pipework.
A new CIP system was installed as part of the project to clean the attemperation cooling jackets and pipework enabling a more efficient cooling process than the previous labour intensive manual system.
The manual rousing system was rewired and integrated into the new system giving a simple user interface
The turnkey project involved the following
Commissioning of the system was completed on a "vessel by vessel" basis in order to minimise disruption to production requirements.
Robinsons will make considerable savings now the new system is in full operation.
Martin Weeks, Head Brewer at Robinsons said
"I would to thank ABM and their team for the very professional way that they carried out this project.
From our perspective, the team gave an excellent service, on time and on budget"
"As with all projects of this type it is how the team deal with the small issues that inevitably occur during the installation which makes or breaks the customer supplier relationship and for me, ABM have excelled with this.
The minor modifications that ABM have made to the original plan have made the system much more user friendly for which we are very grateful"
ABM have an excellent long term relationship with Halewood International Ltd and they approached us for an innovative solution for their vacuum pump seal water systems.
The seal water systems attached to the bottle fillers in the packaging hall at Huyton, wasted vast amounts of water.
ABM have many years' experience and a proven track record in this field and designed a system solution that could potentially save 4300 litres of water per hour
Once the system was designed, installed and commissioned the figures over the first month alone showed significant cost savings and predicted a further six figure sum cost savings on waste water per annum.
A further two systems have since been installed with similar water reduction.
This Turnkey Project Included: