Posted to News on 24th Apr 2007, 19:47
Brewery installs six safer, quieter, can-drying systems
Secomak has worked with Scottish and Newcastle to develop a patented can-drying system that is quieter than airknives and avoids aerosols being discharged into the atmosphere.
Scottish and Newcastle has installed six of Secomak's can-drying systems at its Royal Brewery in Manchester, with five more planned for its brewery Berkshire in the spring of 2007.
The installation, which is part of a significant investment in the site brought about by management concerns for the environment and the safety of employees, also ensures the company is fully in line with the BCME Code of Practice, as well as the recently introduced Noise at Work Regulations, and guidance concerning Legionnaires disease.
Strict guidelines for can processing, laid down in the BCME code, ensure that cans do not suffer stress corrosion of the tabs or, worse, ruptures.
Three-stage process
Secomak tackled the problem with a patented three-stage system. First the cans are washed, ensuring nothing other than fresh water is present on the can top, then the bulk water is removed before the cans are fine dried using a can-top dryer.
Traditional methods of can drying included the use of airknives, which could often exceed legal noise limits. However, Secomak's system uses a combination of strong suction and can-top drying technology to ensure the resulting equipment is as quiet as possible.
Air knife kits are also known to atomise water, discharging an aerosol into the atmosphere. With recent L8 Government guidance identifying atomised air as a potential risk for spreading bacterial infections such as Legionella, Secomak and Scottish and Newcastle worked together to create a patented high-suction system in combination with can-top drying, proving that suction can play a major part in reducing the risk of discharging aerosols into the atmosphere.
Paul Galvin, Project Manager at Scottish & Newcastle UK's Royal Brewery site, remarks: "The installations are successfully attaining packaging targets for can hygiene and dryness. Secomak's can-drying systems are well manufactured and engineered and extremely easy to set-up and operate on all can sizes. The machines are living up to our expectations."
