In August 2023, Beam Suntory and Frucor Suntory announced Suntory Oceania, a new multi- beverage partnership across the premium spirits and non-alcohol segments in both Australia and New Zealand. The partnership also includes the construction of a new A$400 million (US$260.6 million) carbon-neutral facility in Ipswich, Queensland.
The new site sets the bar high in terms of investment into sustainable technologies to drive efficiency and reduce emissions. The business is taking a multi-pronged strategy through a solar power purchase agreement, over 14km of solar panels on site, biomass boilers and state-of-the-art production equipment at the facility.
“The concentrated expertise of our vendors and the requisite technology like solar panels and biomass boilers are part of the strategy to target carbon neutrality,” said Suntory Oceania’s Tony Fisher, who heads the manufacturing functions of the greenfield project.
The new facility will be the manufacturing and distribution site for 18 different RTD drinks including Suntory -196, Canadian Club & Dry, Jim Beam White Label Bourbon & Cola and the entire range of V Energy drinks.
RTD is the fastest growing liquor category growing at 4.8% annually and holding 20% share of all liquor sales in Australia. To meet this growing demand, the business is investing in 3 new Krones lines for its new facility and this includes 2 canning lines and 1 non-returnable-glass line to reflect market demand for products in these 2 packaging formats.
However, the 3 new Krones lines had to meet multiple requirements, first and foremost the customer’s wish to reduce complexity levels. Since the lines are intended to fill and pack an exceptionally large number of products – more than 60 different stock keeping units (SKUs) – change-overs present a particular challenge for the Krones lines.
This huge multiplicity is attributable to the fact that although Australia and New Zealand have a relatively small population, they however buy a wide range of different beverages. “So, our portfolio caters for any size of can, any flavour, and any type of pack,” said Tony Fisher. “That’s why we were looking for ways to ensure maximally automated product change-overs. A number of different features will enable us to be more efficient on the line.”
Line Management, a digital service offered by Krones, is one of those features supporting the business in their order and material management routines. To give an example: it will automatically pass on recipes and best-before dates to the lines, based on a change-over matrix. “That reduces both operator errors and the time needed for a change-over,” said Tony Fisher.
A roll-on-roll-off system (RORO), outsourced and implemented by Krones, is yet another feature that saves time and reduces the need for storage space on site. With it, all the bulk glass bottles and cans are fed directly from the trucks into the lines. At Suntory Oceania, it comprises a total of 8 truck docking stations (including consumables disposal), thus obviating the need for a high-bay warehouse.
Fully satisfied with Krones, Tony Fisher concluded, “Krones presented us with a sound overall concept right from the start. As the project proceeded, the Krones team repeatedly set themselves new challenges, asking ‘what else can we automate?’ And then they offered us multiple options, some of them entirely new. This proactive approach and their ambition to translate as many of our wishes as possible into shopfloor reality, that’s something we’re very grateful for.”
Suntory Oceania’s new plant overall output will come to more than 200 million litres and this also translates to an additional 400 new employees.
For more information, click on: Krones (Thailand) Co. Ltd
