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24.05.2013 Britvic plc announces 2013 Interim results ( Company news )

Britvic plc announces its interim results for the 28 weeks ended 14 April 2013

Financial Highlights:
• Strong profit growth with EBITA of £53.6m up 27.6% on prior year and EBITA margin up 180 basis points
• Underlying EBITA up 17.9% when adjusted for one off and phasing items, demonstrating a materially improved financial performance
• Strong margin and pricing growth in every business unit. Group revenue up 0.4%
• Significant progress in improving free cash flow conversion, resulting in reduction of group adjusted net debt by £30.7m
• Adjusted earnings per share up 47.6% to 12.4p and dividend increase of 1.9% to 5.4p

Strategic Highlights:
• Announcement of a new strategy which will accelerate growth of the core and international business
• Major initiatives, underpinning the strategy, will deliver annual savings of £30m by 2016. These include proposals to close two factories in GB and a warehouse in Northern Ireland as well as the creation of a combined GB and Ireland business unit under a single leadership team
• Increase in investment of £10m per annum by 2015 in the International business unit to accelerate the realisation of the increasing growth potential of our brands internationally
• Agreement reached with Narang Group for the national sales & distribution of Fruit Shoot in India, commencing mid-2014
(Britvic Soft Drinks Ltd)

24.05.2013 EU votes to ban ‘burnt, nutty’ flavour substance ( Company news )

The European Commission and European Union member states have this week declared that the flavouring substance 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene should be banned.

‘The flavouring substance 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene is genotoxic (that is, it can damage DNA, the genetic material of cells) and therefore a safety concern for human health. Genotoxic substances should not be intentionally added to the food chain’, says a scientific opinion and press release recently published by EFSA.

While EFSA did not undertake an exposure assessment, it stated in its press release that ‘the possible risk to consumers who may have been exposed to this substance in food is expected to be very small’.

The substance 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene is used to give food a burnt nutty flavour. It is produced by a small number of manufacturers and its overall use is low (total annual use in the EU is reported to be 2.3kg).

The Food Standards Agency has been informed that the UK food industry uses only a small amount of this substance and is already reformulating foods that contain 3-acetyl-2,5-dimethylthiophene.

The decision to remove this substance from the list of approved flavourings was supported by all member states and will now be subject to scrutiny by the European Parliament and Council. It is expected to be adopted by the European Commission and come into force in early July.
("Food & Drink Technology")

23.05.2013 New EHEDG Yearbook 2013/2014 ( Company news )

EHEDG is pleased to announce the publication of the new EHEDG Yearbook that introduces new developments in hygienic engineering and design of machinery and equipment used in food production and gives a detailed survey of the work of EHEDG. The articles have been written by experts from EHEDG companies and institutes.

This EHEDG Yearbook can be downloaded free of charge from the EHEDG Website (www.ehedg.org/uploads/EHEDG_Yearbook_2013-2014-download-version.pdf).

The print version can be ordered from the EHEDG Webshop (www.world-of-engineering.eu) for € 30.- (plus VAT where applicable) plus postage and handling costs. For further information please contact Juliane Honisch (juliane.honisch@ehedg.org).
(EHEDG The European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group)

22.05.2013 A current Ceramic Polymer project: External coating of 90 km oil pipeline ... ( Company news )

... with „Proguard CN 100 iso”;

Picture: The pipeline has a diameter of 24 inch. 10 km were already coated during this current project

Our “Proguard-Series” provides a tight cross linking of the polymer chains even at high substrate temperatures (Tg > 120°C)!

One of the biggest oil refineries worldwide is located in Abadan at the Persian Gulf. From here, a pipeline with a length of 90 km leads to the port city Bandar Mahshahr. The pipeline was installed about 7 years ago.

In Abadan the oil has an inlet temperature of 90°C. On the long transport distance it cools down to approx. 60°C outlet temperature.

Usually the special PP-wrapping provides long-term corrosion protection for underground pipelines. But in this case the polypropylene tapes shrank substantially due to the high service temperature. Thereby, large metal surfaces are uncovered and unprotected.

The corrosion of the bare metal is rapidly accelerated by the highly standing, saline groundwater. Thus, countless leakages occur in the pipeline; the oil flows out constantly.

During its extensive refurbishment the pipeline is excavated in separate sections. The PP-wrapping is removed and surface damages are repaired. The substrate is grit blasted accurately. Afterwards our premium coating „Proguard CN 100 iso“ is applied easily by airless spraying method.

The repair and new coating of the pipeline is conducted during ongoing operation.

Oil with a temperature of 90°C flows constantly through the pipe.

„Proguard CN 100 iso” is applied directly on the hot steel substrate!

The 2-component epoxy coatings of our solvent-free „Proguard-Series” (VOC = 0 mg) are based on ultra-modern, unplasticized special resins. The Tg-value (glas transition temperature) of these coating systems is > 120 °C. Therefore, a tight cross linking of the polymer chains is achieved even at high substrate temperatures.
(Ceramic Polymer GmbH)

22.05.2013 Africa: Heineken trying to attract female drinkers with lemon-flavoured Radler beer ( E-Malt.com )

A thirst for beer among Africa's middle classes is driving the world's biggest brewers to invest on the continent, but getting women to drink the beverage is another matter, Reuters reported on May, 13.

One brewer, Heineken, is attempting to woo the elusive female African drinker with a sweeter, low-alcohol beer made from malt and lemon that it hopes will persuade them to try its other lagers.

Siep Hiemstra, head of Heineken's African operations, said beer consumption on the continent was still predominantly male, but the new drink, Radler, with a 2-3 percent alcohol content, could change women's perceptions.

"For female drinkers this is the first step towards the beer category," Hiemstra said. "If that is the case, it will probably also allow them to enter the beer category and taste a nice Heineken."

The Dutch brewer, which operates in 20 African countries and competes with SABMiller and Diageo , introduced Radler in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last month and plans to launch it elsewhere in Africa and Western Europe this summer, Hiemstra said.

Heineken is not alone in trying to tap the market for women drinkers. Danish brewer Carlsberg, for example, has the Eve brand of lychee-flavored lower alcohol beer.

However, some beer makers have struggled to make inroads, with Molson Coors axing its lower-alcohol, fruity Animee brand in Britain a little over a year after launch.

The rising spending power of Africa's middle classes has propelled the expansion of its beer market, which is forecast by some to grow 50 percent over the next ten years. By 2020, analysts at Plato Logic expect Africa to represent 7 percent of global beer sales, from around 6 percent now.

Hiemstra said Heineken, which has invested $2.2 billion in Africa since 2005, wants to focus on consumers trading up from home brews, bought by the majority of Africans, rather than competing with locally made beers.

Commercial brewers sell only one in five litres of beer on the continent but branded beers are growing in popularity.

"Our mission is to make sure that we are ready for people when they want to move on from beers made in home breweries," Hiemstra said.

Markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia, where Heineken bought two breweries in 2011 and is constructing a third, have been key drivers of its growth on the continent, he added.

Heineken, which opened its first African brewery in what is now the DRC in 1923, is also looking to develop new sources of raw materials in order to meet its target of getting 60 percent of supplies locally by 2020, from around 50 percent now.

It is in the process of setting up a supply chain to improve barley production in Ethiopia and is exploring how it can source cassava from Nigeria, the world's biggest producer of the tuber, Hiemstra said.

22.05.2013 Hanovia Appoints new Technical Director ( Company news )

UV disinfection specialist Hanovia has appointed Mark Aston (photo) as its new Technical Director.
Mark has over 25 years’ experience in developing profitable products from innovative technology. He has held senior director roles in engineering companies operating in the electro-optical and bespoke engineering market sectors, including traditional and solid-state lighting technologies.
His role in Hanovia will be to implement new technology and product development programmes as well as consolidate planning for continuous improvement of Hanovia’s unique range of UV treatment products.
Mark has a BSc (Hons) in Physics and Astrophysics, a DSc in Optical Physics and is a Chartered Physicist and Honorary Research Fellow of University College, London.
(Hanovia Limited)

22.05.2013 Monster Beverage Reports 2013 First Quarter Financial Results ( Company news )

First Quarter Net Sales Rise 6.5% to $484.2 million

Profitability impacted by $8.3 million of distributor termination obligations; $4.7 million of foreign currency transaction losses and $3.0 million of legal and other costs related to regulatory matters and litigation concerning Monster Energy® brand energy drinks

Monster Beverage Corporation (Nasdaq:MNST) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

Gross sales for the 2013 first quarter increased 7.3 percent to $555.0 million from $517.3 million in the same period last year. Net sales for the three-months ended March 31, 2013 increased 6.5 percent to $484.2 million from $454.6 million a year ago.

Gross profit, as a percentage of net sales, for the 2013 first quarter was 52.1 percent, compared with 53.1 percent for the comparable 2012 quarter. Operating expenses for the 2013 first quarter increased to $144.7 million from $114.9 million in the same quarter last year. Operating expenses as a percentage of net sales were 29.9 percent for the 2013 first quarter, compared with 25.3 percent in the same quarter last year.

Distribution costs as a percentage of net sales were 4.6 percent for the 2013 first quarter, compared with 4.3 percent in the same quarter last year.

Selling expenses as a percentage of net sales for the 2013 first quarter were 13.5 percent, compared with 12.3 percent in the same quarter a year ago.

General and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales for the 2013 first quarter were 11.8 percent, compared with 8.7 percent for the corresponding quarter last year. Stock-based compensation (a non-cash item) was $7.0 million in the first quarter of 2013, compared with $6.6 million for the first quarter of 2012.

Operating income for the 2013 first quarter decreased 15.0 percent to $107.3 million from $126.3 million in the comparable 2012 quarter.

The effective tax rate for the 2013 first quarter was 39.8 percent, compared with 39.9 percent in the same quarter last year.

Net income for the 2013 first quarter decreased 16.6 percent to $63.5 million from $76.1 million in the same quarter last year. Net income per diluted share decreased 10.4 percent to $0.37 from $0.41 per diluted share in the 2012 comparable quarter.

Net sales for the Company's DSD segment for the 2013 first quarter increased 6.7 percent to $460.2 million from $431.2 million for the same period in 2012.

Gross sales to customers outside the United States rose to $130.7 million in the 2013 first quarter, compared with $100.6 million in the corresponding quarter in 2012.

During the 2013 first quarter, the Company purchased 256,820 shares of its common stock at an average purchase price of $51.99, which exhausted the availability under the share repurchase plan authorized by the Board of Directors in November 2012. In April 2013, the Company's Board of Directors authorized a new $200 million share repurchase program. No shares have been repurchased pursuant to the new share repurchase program.

Factors Impacting Profitability

The results for the first quarter were impacted by changes to certain of the Company's distribution partners, foreign currency transaction losses, and legal and other costs related to regulatory matters and litigation concerning the advertising, marketing, promotion, ingredients, usage, safety and sale of the Company's Monster Energy® brand energy drinks.

As a result of the distributor transitions, the Company incurred termination obligations amounting to $8.3 million and $0.1 million during the quarters ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, relating to the termination of certain of its prior distributors. Such termination costs have been expensed in full and are included in operating expenses for the quarters ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Pursuant to new distribution agreements, the Company recorded a net amount of $8.2 million in the 2013 first quarter, consisting of amounts to be received from new distributors relating to the costs of terminating the Company's prior distributors. Such amounts have been accounted for as deferred revenue and will be recognized as revenue ratably over the anticipated life of the respective distribution agreements, generally 20 years.

During the first quarters of 2013 and 2012, the Company incurred foreign currency transaction losses of $4.7 million and $0.5 million, respectively, which are included in other (expense) income. The increase in foreign currency transaction losses during the first quarter of 2013 was primarily related to the Company's operations in Japan and South Africa.

During the first quarter of 2013, the Company incurred increased professional service costs of $4.9 million, net of insurance reimbursements, of which $3.0 million related to regulatory matters and litigation concerning the advertising, marketing, promotion, ingredients, usage, safety and sale of the Company's Monster Energy® brand energy drinks.

Rodney C. Sacks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: "While we are pleased to report another quarter of sales growth, there were a number of exceptional costs that affected profitability in the quarter. Despite the single digit category growth rates we are seeing, the Monster Energy® brand continued to grow in excess of category growth, both in North America and Europe. Monster Energy® Zero Ultra, launched in the third quarter of 2012, has gained considerable traction, and has become our second best-selling product. We are continuing to plan launches in new international markets," Sacks said: "We reiterate that our energy drinks are safe, based on both our and the industry's long track record and the scientific evidence supporting the safety of our ingredients. More than 50 billion cans of energy drinks have been sold and safely consumed worldwide over the past 25 years, including more than 9 billion Monster Energy® brand energy drinks."
(Monster Beverage Corporation)

22.05.2013 Taiwan: Taiwan to be the first country to taste new Heineken Light beer ( E-Malt.com )

Taiwan will be the first country to taste Heineken Light, the newest light beer brewed up by Heineken, scheduled to hit store shelves on May 15, The China Post reported on May, 11.

With 140 years history and a market presence in 198 countries, the international brewing company is looking to increase its customer base even more through Heineken Light. The new variety has a lower alcohol content of 3.3 percent and a chic bottle design to attract more urban customers.

The Dutch headquarters choose Taiwan as the launch country for the new product as people here have become more and more open-minded in recent years to embracing new things, according to Heineken Marketing Manager Jeff Wu.

“We hope to provide local customers more options in order to have more fun in their beer consumption,” said Wu.

The Dutch brewer will expand sales channels to unconventional venues, including local cafes serving food and beverages.

22.05.2013 USA: New research confirms consumers shift towards craft beer ( E-Malt.com )

According to Chicago-based research firm Mintel, consumers who were of legal drinking age in 2012 are the most likely to report increased consumption of beer (14 percent), which includes 7 percent of respondents who are drinking more craft beer in 2013 compared to 2012.

In addition, discovery of new beers is popular with 93 percent of imported beer drinkers, 88 percent of domestic fans and 84 percent of craft beer consumers.

Mintel released these new insights as the industry celebrates American Craft Beer Week.

Broken down by demographics, craft beers appeal to 49 percent of Millennials and 40 percent of those in Generation X. However, only 29 percent of Baby Boomers and 22 percent of the Swing Generation/World War II demographic find the segment appealing, the research firm added.

Hispanic consumers also turn to craft beer, with 38 percent indicating that they drink craft beer at any time. However, Mintel also found there is room to capture more of the Hispanic market -- 58 percent of Hispanics over 21 years old report drinking domestic beer and 55 percent of Hispanics drink imported beer.

In addition, 73 percent of craft beer drinkers say they usually know what brand of beer they are going to buy before they go to the store -- with liquor or package stores being the preferred outlets.

Despite the uptick in the craft beer segment, education is needed to win over more consumers. According to Mintel, one-third of craft and imported beer consumers ask sales associates for advice and information when buying beer. In addition, 45 percent of craft beer drinkers indicate they would try more craft beers if they knew more about them.

21.05.2013 A New Name For New Challenges, TricorBraun Design and Innovation ( Company news )

Innovation is the Difference

TricorBraun Design and Engineering has changed its name to TricorBraun Design and Innovation. And for good reason.
“Throughout the organization, innovation is a priority. Whether its administration, operations, sales or design, we are constantly looking for newer, better, more efficient and creative ways to do things. Perhaps the most visible area of innovation is in our design group. With this in mind, we have changed the name to TricorBraun Design and Innovation.” says Keith Strope, CEO of TricorBraun.
The Design and Innovation group provides award winning creative services without charge to businesses that purchase bottles, jars and other rigid packaging components from TricorBraun, its parent company. The expanded staff includes industrial designers, engineers and graphic designers. They are uniquely qualified in every aspect of packaging design, development and production.
Now housed in a new, larger facility in Chicago, Design and Innovation has also expanded its services. With a fully functioning focus group facility on site, consumer research can conveniently be conducted. The contemporary video conferencing system allows customer and manufacturers to become more directly involved in the creative process, increasing the speed to market. There has also been a significant upgrade in software and hardware that includes enhanced modeling capabilities.
“Adding innovation to our name emphasizes our broadened capacity to quickly address the new challenges facing the packaging industry including: sustainability, new materials and technological advancement. It also embraces our commitment to increase speed to market.” Craig Sawicki, TricorBraun’s chief creative officer said.
TricorBraun (www.tricorbraun.com) is one of North America’s largest provider of rigid packaging and components. The company has more than 40 locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Its primary focus is no packaging for: personal care; nutritional supplements; cosmetics; healthcare; food and beverages; as well as industrial and household chemicals.
(TricorBraun Design and Engineering)

17.05.2013 Diageo announces appointment of Ivan Menezes as CEO from 1 July 2013 ( Company news )

Diageo has announced that Ivan Menezes (photo) will be appointed Chief Executive of Diageo with effect from 1 July 2013. Paul Walsh, who will step down from the Board at the September 2013 Annual General Meeting, will retire from the company on 30 June 2014. In the last 12 months he will focus on transitioning critical partner and external relationships to Ivan. These will include those relationships essential to recent acquisitions.

Dr Franz B. Humer, Chairman of Diageo said:
'Paul is an outstanding Chief Executive. He has served our business, its shareholders, employees and partners with enormous imagination and dedication over the past 13 years. I know he is justly proud of Diageo and its people and he leaves a great legacy for his successor. The Board is immensely grateful for his ambitious and thoughtful stewardship of the business and its people. The transition process which has been put in place enables Paul to contribute his knowledge and experience during Ivan’s first year as Chief Executive Officer.
We are delighted to have a leader of Ivan’s talents and global experience to succeed Paul. The handover is being made at a time when the business is strong and Ivan takes on the role of CEO at an exciting stage of the company's global development. The Board is confident that Ivan will inspire our organisation and Diageo will continue to achieve our medium-term performance objectives.’
(Diageo plc)

16.05.2013 BITBURGER MEETS AROL ( Company news )

AROL S.P.A. is pleased to announce the agreement reached with BITBURGER BRAUGRUPPE GMBH for the supply of NEXT PK 24 heads on its innovative filling line. Bitburger is one of the most successful German brands in the brewing sector.
The AROL Spa is focused in designing, producing and globally delivering closure systems providing worldwide leading brands in several business areas: food, beverage, wine & spirit, home care, health care, pharmaceutical and chemical.
NEXT PK is the one the new generation AROLs cappers: completely washable and easy to sanitize, from the upper cam mounting plate to the bottom base. NEXT PK is equipped with Lube-less pistons heads which do not need any through connection between the upper part and the lower part with screwing chucks. The physical separation between the translation motion and rotational movement ensures a perfect tightness against problems during the capper washing and prevent eventual risks of lubricant leakages into the capping zone.
(Arol S.p.A.)

16.05.2013 Brigl & Bergmeister to increase price of paper from July 2013 ( Company news )

Brigl & Bergmeister, the leading producer of one-side coated papers for labels and flexible packaging, will implement a sales price increase between 5 and 7 % depending on the grade for deliveries from July 1st 2013.

This step is necessary, to compensate for the extraordinarily high cost increases in raw materials, energy and freight. Despite very high capacity utilization, the margins of the industry have reached unacceptably low levels.
(Brigl & Bergmeister GmbH)

15.05.2013 Australia: Coopers brewery reaching out to more drinkers across Australia ( E-Malt.com )

After more than 150 years of dominating brewing in its home state of South Australia, the family owned Coopers is now reaching out to more drinkers in other states than ever before with New South Wales poised to become Coopers’ largest domestic market, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on May, 1.

It comes as the brewer consolidates its position in the eastern states and leverages off a string of licensing deals struck with international brewers to distribute popular foreign beers including Carlsberg, Sapporo, Kronenbourg 1664 and Mythos.

Coopers said on May, 1 that in January Coopers’ beer sales in NSW topped those of its home state for the first time.

‘‘While the result was not repeated in February, March or April, there was no doubt that NSW would quickly overtake South Australia on a regular basis,’’ Coopers’ chairman Glenn Cooper said.

“On a year to date basis (July to April), South Australia accounts for 29 per cent of Coopers’ total sales compared with almost 26 per cent for NSW,” he said. “However, the gap is narrowing quickly.’’

It is also believed that some Coopers sales in Queensland are for the NSW market.

He said January was the first month that more Coopers beer was sold in NSW than South Australia (two million litres verses 1.6 million litres), with this soon to become the standard.

“Sales in NSW have been increasing at double digit or close to double digit rates for the past 10 years and are continuing to grow strongly.

“Four of the five biggest Coopers-selling outlets in Australia are in NSW, with the Steyne Hotel and Manly Wharf Hotels at Manly, the Beach Road Hotel at Bondi, and the Great Northern Hotel at Byron Bay nipping at the heels of the Exeter Hotel in Adelaide.

Mr Cooper said the situation underlined the transition Coopers was making from being a South Australian beer maker to a national brand.

In calendar year 2012, South Australia represented 30.5 per cent of total sales, but that proportion is falling as interstate sales increase.

15.05.2013 Myanmar: Beer industry set to grow rapidly with four new brewery licenses offered by the government ( E-Malt.com )

Despite Myanmar’s comparatively low beer sales, the largely untapped industry is set to grow rapidly with four new brewery licenses offered by the government, Mizzima reported on May, 9.

Speaking at the Myanmar Consumer Summit at Yangon’s Park Royal Hotel on May, 9, Myint Zaw, senior CEO of Myanmar Brewery Ltd, said, “There is huge room to grow for hard liquor and beer in Myanmar. Every year the market growth has been quite significant.”

However, expansion in the industry is limited with companies needing to invest massively in marketing, while most expand into the soft drinks market to make real gains, he said.

“Beer is still low compared to other [drinks] categories in Myanmar,” said Ralf Matthaes, regional managing director of TNS Indochina, a consumer consultancy group that opened a Yangon office in March. He also noted that while there was a smaller penetration of beer, there was in fact a higher consumption rate among the individual population.

There are currently three breweries operating in Myanmar: Myanmar Brewery Ltd, a joint venture (JV) between Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings with Fraser & Naeve, a Singaporean company, and which has an 83 percent share of the market; Dagon Beverages Co, a JV between Myanmar Economic Corporation, Bermuda's Brew Invest and Myanmar Golden Star Co, with a 13 percent share of the market; and finally Mandalay Beer, a heritage company operating since 1859, with a four percent share.

In February, Carlsberg signed a strategic partnership agreement with Myanmar Golden Star (MGS) Breweries to brew and market Carlsberg beers in Myanmar.

The two firms have formed a joint-venture—Myanmar Carlsberg Co Ltd, a statement by the Danish company said, with plans to set up a new brewery and distribute Carlsberg beers in the local market.

“We have followed the developments in Myanmar closely and are encouraged by the recent political developments in the country,” said Roy Bagattini, Snr Vice-President of Carlsberg Asia Region. “We believe that the timing is right for us to invest in the country. We expect that the Myanmar beer market will grow strongly in coming years as the economy expands.”

Thailand's Beer Chang International Ltd also formed a joint venture with Myanmar Distillery Ltd earlier this year to operate factories in Yangon and Mandalay.

The breweries competing for the remaining two licenses have yet to be announced.

15.05.2013 Supershorty for Nu Tea - PT ABC President adopts BERICAP's DS SUS 28/16 7085 SFB CSD3 ( Company news )

PT ABC President is a joint venture between two leading food and beverage companies, PT ABC Central Food Indonesia and Uni President Enterprise Corp. of Taiwan.
ABC President started the production of ready-to-drink tea in 2005 using a hot fill PCO 1810 closure system. In 2010 the company changed to PCO 1881 and invested in a new aseptic line from Sidel with Arol cappers to produce and extend their range of “Nu” tea beverage.
The ‘Nu’ bottles are closed by BERICAP’s DS SUS 28/16 7085 SFB CSD3 closures, which are produced under BERICAP licence in Indonesia on a 96-cavity mould with an annual capacity of about 500 million caps. The annual closure requirement of PT ABC President is about 250 million caps.
The DS SUS 28/16 7085 SFB CSD3 is a 1-pc DoubleSeal SuperShorty screw closure with a 120-knurl design and is fitted with an inner and outer sealing lip that provides a superior tight seal for 28mm PET one-way bottles with PCO 1881 neck.
The slit flex band provides reliable tamper evidence, assuring the integrity of the product, and breaks reliably after first opening.
The closure is suitable for aseptic, cold and hot filling technology.
(Bericap GmbH & Co. KG)

15.05.2013 USA & Germany: American craft brewers bring new taste into declining German beer market ( E-Malt.com )

Almost 65 years after Allied planes flew Western supplies into blockaded Berlin, a new American import is arriving by air: craft beer, The Washington Post reported on May, 1.

The beer is being flown in as part of a new surge of German interest in American brewing, upending a centuries-old relationship in which German beer defined the golden standard for brewing and Americans emulated it.

Now, with craft brewers in the United States capturing an ever-greater share of their home market, they are expanding in Germany as well. German consumers, intrigued by unfamiliar flavors, are purchasing more imported beer and are increasingly copying American efforts with their own small-scale brewing operations.

In the last year in Berlin, high-end U.S. beer — including one from California that is flown over in coolers — has become available in some grocery stores, and several U.S.-style craft breweries have opened. The efforts are aimed at challenging the dominance of plain-old pilsner, the mild lager that dominates more than half of beer sales in Germany. Beer consumption is slipping in Germany, and some brewers say their only salvation lies in fostering a drinking culture less constrained by a 1516 purity law that they say crimps innovation.

“What we’ve found in the United States is this amazing variety of styles and the openness of customers to new things,” said Marc Rauschmann, who is importing beer from California-based Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in airfreighted coolers. Other beer is shipped by sea. “We were really impressed.”

Rauschmann has started an aggressive effort to sell imported beer and to brew his own German beer in flavorful styles that are popular among craft brewers in the United States but rare in Germany, such as hoppy ales and zesty lagers.

The turnaround is shaking big German brewers, many of whom like to brag that they are the best in the world. Upstarts are using another b-word, boring, to explain why consumption has been sliding from its 1976 heights. Back then, every person in Germany drank, on average, three liters of beer a week. Now that is down by a third and expected to keep dropping as older, ¬beer-loving customers die away.

But unlike the United States, where in recent years many supermarkets have expanded their beer selection to include dozens of styles from the far reaches of the globe, most German stores have remained resolutely unvaried, almost always offering just a handful of manufacturers and only rarely throwing a ¬non-German beer into the mix.

Now Rauschmann and others are proselytizing, traveling Germany to spread the gospel of unusual tastes. His company, Brau¬factum, is owned by German beer giant Radeberger, which Rauschmann said was trying to help spark a new beer culture in the country where it has been a major producer since 1872.

For some beer businesspeople, that change cannot happen fast enough.

“The German beer industry has to reinvent itself in a hurry, or it’s going to be a small fraction of what it is now,” said Eric Ottaway, the general manager of Brooklyn Brewery, which has been expanding in Europe and has been exporting its beer to Germany through Braufactum, which sells a 12-ounce bottle of Brooklyn Lager in upscale grocery stores for the equivalent of $4.20 — almost three times its typical American price.

At a recent tasting in one Berlin bar, guests sipped craft beers out of special vessels shaped like wineglasses that helped concentrate the aromas of the brew. The bar was furnished in a decidedly Berlin style — it was a subterranean lair where beakers of bubbling fluorescent liquids served as decoration, the tables appeared to be made from welded-together car parts, and fake stalactites hung from the ceiling — but the discussion was all West Coast, about the virtues of various hops and of sour and fruity tastes that are foreign to German palates.

“It’s easy to get decent beer in Germany. We call it boredom on a high level,” said Dirk Hoplitschek, one of the attendees at the tasting. He started a beer-rating Web site in Berlin to try to stoke interest in non-German beer, hoping to spark a craft-brewing renaissance like America’s in the late 1970s.

“The United States has a 30-year head start,” he said. “People are traditional here. Maybe it’ll be a bit slower, but it’ll happen.”

For now, non-German beer remains a small part of the country’s market — just 8.1 percent of sales by volume in 2012, according to preliminary estimates by the German Brewers Federation. But that is almost double 2004 levels, and it comes despite attitudes from many Germans, especially older ones, who remain dismissive of U.S. beer.

“I have worked in pubs all my life, but never has anybody asked for an American beer,” said Uwe Helmenstein, 52, a barkeeper in the middle-class neighborhood of Friedenau.

“I don’t think it would work here,” he said, because perceptions run strong that American beers are flavorless and thin.

But with small-scale breweries springing up around Germany’s cities, many of them creating beers that emulate American craft-beer styles, the seeds of a broader shift may have been planted, some advocates say.

“The older people see beer as a daily nutrition. The younger people are more interested in different styles,” said Thorsten Heiser, the head of exports at the Bavarian Weihenstephan brewery, which markets its beermaking origins in 1040 as the oldest in the world.

In the working-class Wedding neighborhood of Berlin, one group of Americans is trying to create an outpost that sells the styles of beer that they miss drinking back home. They are building a small brewery and bar in the ground-floor storefront of a century-old apartment building, piecing it together with salvaged parts from other bars and breweries. Much of the brewing equipment is from the United States, because it was cheaper.

“My friends would come to visit me in Berlin, and we would taste beer, and very quickly, I realized, we reached the end. We tasted all the styles,” said Matt Walthall, 32, a part-time English teacher who is one of the three American expats behind the Vagabund Brauerei, whose storefront they plan to open in June.

“This was simply to fill a void,” he said. “We feel as if we’re teaching a lot of Germans things about their own beer culture that they’ve forgotten.”

14.05.2013 Canada & China: Canada’s Russell Breweries launching a test brewery and brewpub restaurant ... ( E-Malt.com )

... in Hefei, China this summer

Further to the agreement signed with FVI Capital Inc. ("FVI") in October 2012, Russell Breweries Inc. ("RBI") announced on May, 2 that a test brewery and brewpub restaurant is scheduled to open this summer in Hefei, China. Hefei is the largest city of Anhui Province of Eastern China with a population of 5.7 million. It is a booming industrial city that has had very strong economic growth and is open to international investment.

"Our partners in China have broken ground on building its test brewery and adjoining brewpub-style restaurant in the city of Hefei," said Brian Harris, CEO Russell Breweries Inc. "Scheduled to open this summer, the brewery will be the first in the region to offer high-end, small-batch beers to North American craft brewing standards."

On October 9th, 2012, Russell Breweries Inc. signed a definitive agreement with FVI Capital Inc. for a non-exclusive technology and trade mark license agreement to import, produce, package, use, market, sell and distribute Russell brands in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Under the terms of the agreement, a new Company named Russell Breweries China Inc. ("RBCI") has been established and Russell Breweries Inc. has subscribed for a 20% equity position. FVI Capital Inc. is a Vancouver based private equity company and a member of the Anyi Capital Group in Shanghai, China.

"The principal terms of the agreement included an initial up-front licensing fee and ongoing royalties based on volume of beer produced and sold in China," explained Brian Harris. "We look forward to the opening of this test brewery and to continuing to build on the relationship with FVI Capital and Russell Breweries China to optimize opportunities in China and North America."

Russell Breweries Inc. is leading Western Canadian brewer. It brews, markets, sells and distributes a diverse portfolio of award-winning beers that are produced by its wholly-owned regional breweries: Russell Brewing Company in British Columbia and Fort Garry Brewing Company in Manitoba. Russell Breweries Inc. is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange.

14.05.2013 Costa Rica: Craft beer sector ready to welcome new players ( E-Malt.com )

The craft beer industry is growing throughout the world. It makes up about 15% of the volume of beer brewed and around 17% of the volume if based in dollars. In Costa Rica, too, this is a great industry in which to get involved, The Costa Rican Times reported on April, 29.

Right now in Costa Rica there are only 3 current craft breweries. Costa Rica Craft Brewing has been operating since 2012 out of Cartago. Restaurant-breweries Volcano Brewing (Arenal) and Bribri Springs (Caribbean) can only sell at their headquarters.

Treintaycinco, Calle Cimarrona, PerroVida, Pezuña negra y Perra Hermosa are on the verge of getting their paperwork pushed through to start business soon.

Treintaycinco (Escazu), which plans to start with 4000 litres per month and Calle Cimarron (The Yoses) plans to start production with 600-800 litres, it is reported.

14.05.2013 The Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company Elects Robin Moore as Vice President ( Company news )

The Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company elected Robin Moore (photo) a Vice President of the Company, effective immediately.
Moore, 47, was recently named Chief of Internal Audit effective May 1, 2013, replacing Connie McDaniel who is retiring after 24 years with the Company. Moore is currently Global Director, Finance Operations in Global Business Services. She began her career with the Company in 1995 and has assumed roles of increasing responsibility including Senior Audit Manager in Corporate Audit and Director of Financial Reporting in the Controller’s Group.
Before joining The Coca-Cola Company, Moore held positions with Ernst & Young in Atlanta, Equitable Real Estate Investment Management Inc. and the Bank of North Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Emory University.
The Board also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 28 cents per common share. The dividend is payable July 1, 2013, to shareowners of record as of June 14, 2013.
In February, the Board of Directors approved the Company's 51st consecutive annual dividend increase, raising the quarterly dividend 10 percent from 25.5 cents to 28 cents per share. This is equivalent to an annual dividend of $1.12 per share, up from $1.02 per share in 2012. The dividend reflects the Board’s confidence in the Company’s long-term cash flow.
(Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. CCE)

14.05.2013 USA: Constellation Brands not expecting big change in Corona and Modelo Especial ... ( E-Malt.com )

... pricing strategy later this year

Constellation Brands Inc. has not yet decided whether to raise prices on beers like Corona Extra and Modelo Especial later this year, but its chief financial officer said the pricing strategy should be no different than before despite the change in ownership, Reuters reported on May, 3.

"We'll see what happens with market share and commodity costs and all that kind of stuff. But we don't really see a big change in the beer-pricing strategy from history," CFO Robert Ryder said.

Constellation is taking over the U.S. business of Grupo Modelo in a $4.75 billion deal required as part of Anheuser-Busch InBev's $20.1 billion takeover of Mexico's largest brewer. U.S. regulators were very concerned that if AB InBev owned Modelo in the United States, it would raise prices for consumers more aggressively than Modelo's U.S. importer, Crown Imports, had in the past.

Crown is a joint venture between Constellation and Modelo and Constellation is buying out its partner. Ryder noted that the management team that made pricing decisions before will stay the same.

Corona is the top-selling imported beer in the United States. Its sales have been helped by the fact that Crown often has not raised prices as much as its larger rivals, AB InBev and MillerCoors, the combined U.S. operations of SABMiller and Molson Coors.

Following closure of the deal, Ryder said Constellation will be focused on paying down debt. Once its target leverage ratio is reached, which should take about two years, the company will consider a dividend for the first time, and expects to buy back more stock.

Constellation is less focused on buying more assets, Ryder said. Instead, the company is putting more attention on growing its beers organically, and is testing new products, like Modelo Especial Light, and working to expand the availability of Modelo beers on draught at bars.

13.05.2013 CDT Announces Company Name Change to BWIR ( Company news )

CDT, a Platinum Value Added Reseller for PTC, announces a change in name to BWIR, effective immediately. This entails the full integration of people, infrastructure and solutions into BWIR, allowing the company to increase its solutions and services portfolio, strengthen its overall geographic footprint, merge back-end business and processes, and provide better solutions and offerings to customers through one company.
“Operating together as one company provides our customers with new engineering software products and skilled resources to offer total solutions to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve ‘time-to-market’, ultimately improving the performance of their business. The synergy of these companies consolidates the BWIR brand into a single cohesive global presence and offers the US manufacturing community world class engineering products and enterprise solutions,” said Jim Webb, Senior Partner and Vice President.
Prior to this transition, the former PTC VARs known as Enser and Beacon Technologies were also acquired, bringing additional resources and talent to BWIR.
BWIR is the engineering products and consulting business of Barry-Wehmiller Companies. BWIR delivers a global team for products and services and the breadth of experience needed to support even the most extensive and sophisticated enterprise through strong relationships built upon uncompromising service to clients.
About Barry-Wehmiller International Resources
Barry-Wehmiller International Resources (BWIR) is a global provider of business and technology solutions to the mid-market manufacturing domain. With headquarters in St. Louis, Mo., and global delivery operations strategically located to meet customer needs throughout the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia and South America, BWIR offers world-class engineering services and enterprise consulting solutions that enable its clients to achieve a competitive edge in their marketplace.
(BWIR Barry-Wehmiller International Resources)

13.05.2013 Keg technology from the market leader ( Company news )

Picture: Kaon Brewery has an excellent partnership with KHS. Kastriot Stroka, the brewery's engineering manager (right): "This is what we expected; we didn't opt for keg technology from the market leader without good reason." Also pictured: Nenad Delovski, manager of the KHS Branch Office in Belgrade.

There are five breweries in Albania at the time of writing. One of these is Kaon Brewery. The company, owned by brothers Alket, Artan, and Kastriot Stroka, started out as a small craft brewery in 1995, of which there were several hundred at the time. Kastriot Stroka, engineering manager at Kaon, tells us more. "Our success is primarily due to the fact that we just love making beer and believed early on that the quality of our beer is extremely important. Our motto is still to put quality at the very top of our list of priorities." It thus comes as no surprise to learn that the brewery recently invested in KHS keg technology in the form of an Innokeg Till CombiKeg. Says Kastriot Stroka, "We consciously invested in plant engineering from the world's market leader for keg technology. Our new keg washing and racking machine perfectly meets our high demands for quality. At the same time we're profiting from its compact design, flexibility, sustainability, and ease of operation."
Kaon's Innokeg Till CombiKeg R5 racks the brewery's two brands of Kaon Lager and Kaon Red Ale into 30 and 50-liter kegs. What the Strokas find particularly advantageous about their new acquisition is that with it they are prepared for all future eventualities. Should the hospitality trade want different types of keg at a later date, the kegging system is perfectly able to cope with a wider assortment of beverages, such as those that don't contain alcohol.
At present Kaon Brewery sells 40% of its beer in kegs. Thanks to their new investment ,sales in kegs may well increase in the future if sales continue to rise. Considering the string of successes so far, the prospects for future growth look good. In 2000 the brewery output just 1,000 hectoliters, for example. By 2005 this figure had risen to 5,000 hectoliters, and to 20,000 hectoliters by 2008. In 2012 the brothers sold the incredible 70,000 hectoliters mentioned above. Kaon Brewery is partly benefiting from a growing consumption of beer in Albania which is increasing annually per head parallel to the average income. The current statistic is 30 liters. Kaon Brewery has also profited from the population getting back to drinking national beers. At the end of the 1990s, for instance, 90% of all beer imbibed in the country was imported; this percentage has since dropped to 40%, the reason being that beers from Albania are increasingly convincing consumers. Back to Kastriot Stroka. "With the aim of becoming the leader in quality, we react according to consumer demands in all respects. This is the only way we can continue to stay competitive. Our new Innokeg Till CombiKeg will greatly help us to implement our uncompromising strategy of providing only quality."
(KHS GmbH)

08.05.2013 Day Or Night, New Caffeine Free Coke Zero™ Helps Fans Enjoy Their Favorite Drink At Any Time ( Company news )

New caffeine-free offering is extension of the fastest-growing sparkling beverage brand on the market

This summer, when Coke Zero fans want to pop the top on their favorite beverage, they no longer need to consult the hands of the clock. Featuring real Coke taste and zero calories, the brand is now being made available in an option without caffeine.
Coke Zero, the only soft drink on the North American market to post double-digit sales growth for five straight years, is adding a new choice – Caffeine Free Coke Zero – giving fans a great-tasting option for later-in-the-day consumption.
“Caffeine-free products are growing in popularity, making up nearly 30 percent of all sparkling beverage sales in the U.S.,” said Stuart Kronauge, Head of Sparkling, Coca-Cola North America Group. “By introducing Caffeine Free Coke Zero, we’re giving fans exactly what they want, making the brand accessible for enjoyment all day long.”
The launch of Caffeine Free Coke Zero is part of a broader strategy designed to make the fast-growing brand even more ubiquitous and available to consumers at any time throughout the day. Coke Zero has become increasingly visible in recent years through a variety of high-profile marketing initiatives, including:
-Sponsorship of the 2013 NCAA® Men’s Final Four®;
-Title co-sponsorship of ESPN's College GameDay, the annual season kick-off to the college football season; and
-Sponsorship of Coca-Cola Racing Family member Danica Patrick and her No. 10 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Now, with the introduction of Caffeine Free Coke Zero, the brand itself has become big enough to span limitless occasions.
Caffeine Free Coke Zero will begin appearing on shelves in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchants nationwide in mid-July, and will be available coast to coast in August. It will be packaged in 12-packs of 12-ounce cans and 2-liter bottles. In addition, the Company will offer opportunities for people to sample the beverage.
Coke Zero is the twelfth brand in The Coca-Cola Company portfolio to reach one billion dollars in global revenue, and it is the most successful newly launched sparkling beverage in decades.
(Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. CCE)

08.05.2013 For Second Consecutive Year, TricorBraun Wins Best of Show In ... ( Company news )

... National Competition

Company wins nine awards in seven of the competition’s nine categories

A first-of-its-kind humming bird feeder--prefilled with nectar--propelled TricorBraun to win its second consecutive Best Of Show Award in the prestigious National Association of Container Distributor’s (NACD) annual packaging competition.
TricorBraun, one of North America’s largest providers of jars, bottles and other rigid packaging components, won nine awards in seven of the competition’s nine categories.
Awards were presented for the most innovative packages released during the previous year, according to the NACD. Winners were announced at the organization’s national convention, on April 19 in Austin, Tex.
Feeding little birds meant big packaging challenges when TricorBraun set out to help Pennington Garden and Pet launch the new humming bird feeder. The manufacturing process became so complex it gave rise to a new utility patent.
TricorBraun also won eight additional awards, recognizing the company’s design leadership in seven of competition’s nine categories, including two Best Use of Stock Components, demonstrating an ability to give customers creative packaging with stock components as well as designing custom solutions.
Gold Awards
• Food Category: Seafood Crab & Lobster Bites Trays, for Quality Foods From The Sea
• Drug & Pharmaceutical Category: Inner Armour Anabolic, for Nutriblend Foods
• Household Chemical & Automotive Category - Best Use of Stock Components: Valspar Color Sample, for Max Pax LLC

Silver Awards
• Cosmetic & Personal Care Products Category: Palmers Cocoa Butter Body Wash, for ET Browne Drug, Inc.
• Household Chemical & Automotive Category: Barkeepers Friend Spray & Foam Cleaner, for SerVass Laboratories

Bronze Awards
• General Industrial Category: Sanotracin RTU, for BioMed Protect LLC
• General Industrial Category - Best Use of Stock Components: MAX Fall Arrest Kit, for Super Anchor Safety
• Beverage Category: Calgary Stampede Whiskey, for Highwood Distillery

TricorBraun’s (www.TricorBraun.com) primary focus is on designing, sourcing and supplying rigid packaging components for personal care; cosmetics; health care; food and beverage; as well as industrial and household chemicals. It has more than 40 offices globally and has one of the largest inventories of rigid packaging components worldwide.
The NACD is a trade organization of businesses focused on the warehousing and distribution of containers and related components.
(TricorBraun Corporate Headquarters)

08.05.2013 Perfect monitoring of separators ( Company news )

Oil, petrol and grease pose a great danger to groundwater and waste water. In order to achieve the maximum possible degree of safety, oil separators, petrol separators and grease separators affected by such poisonous substances can be equipped or retrofitted with an additional alarm unit to monitor for level, overfilling, layer thickness or sludge. Overfilling which often results from clogged outlets can be detected at an early stage. This helps prevent environmentally harmful substances from reaching the sewage system, and that at minimum cost.

Picture: The new AFRISO WGA 01 D alarm unit was designed for monitoring
separators. Typical application areas include: car dealerships, waste management companies, airports, industrial facilities, car wash sites, military facilities, surface drainage systems, recycling companies, scrapyards, tank farms, petrol stations, truck companies, public transportation services and workshops.

The new AFRISO WGA 01 D alarm unit monitors the thickness of the layer of separated liquids in oil, petrol and grease separators and generates an alarm signal when it is time to drain the separator. In addition, it is possible to monitor the maximum permissible level in the separator to avoid overfilling caused, for example, by a clogged outlet. It is also possible to signal impermissible sand or sludge accumulations. WGA 01 D consists of a control unit with LC display and the capacitance probe WGA-ES4 to monitor the layer thickness of oil and grease. The PTC thermistor probe WGA-R6 for monitoring the maximum level (overflow alarm) and/or the ultrasonic probe WGA-ES8 for monitoring for impermissible sand or sludge layers at the bottom of the separator can also be connected. The control unit is equipped with 2 relay outputs, visual and audible alarms as well as Test and Acknowledge buttons. The WGA-ES4 probe is mounted at least 150 mm below the constant level of the separator. As soon as the oil, petrol or grease layer reaches the critical level, the device generates an alarm signal. By installing the optional WGA-R6 probe above the constant level, you can also monitor the maximum level. The control unit permanently monitors the probes for short circuits or line interruptions. The device automatically detects the connected probes during commissioning. WGA 01 D is supplied with AC 230 V and suitable for temperatures of the medium from -20 °C to +40 °C. The control unit WGA 01, the probe WGA-ES4 shipped with the device and the optional probes WGA-R6 and WGA-ES8 are approved for operation in hazardous areas/potentially explosive atmospheres.
(AFRISO-EURO-INDEX GmbH)

07.05.2013 Innovative generation of Innofill Glass Micro fillers now also for the wine & sparkling wine sector ( Company news )

In the Innofill Glass Micro KHS recently launched a new series of fillers to market that have been specially designed for small and medium-sized beverage companies. The brewing and soft drinks sectors were the first to profit from the system which can be used as a platform for various computer-controlled KHS filling machinery. The Innofill Glass Micro is now available to the wine and sparkling wine trade. Here, too, the need for hygienic, top-quality filling systems for the low to medium capacity range is constantly growing worldwide.
Customers who procure an Innofill Glass Micro machine will profit from KHS' vast experience in top-performance filling technology. Many of the established components found in high capacity machines and subject to permanent further development are utilized here, among them filling systems, drive and control systems, capping and corking elements, rinsing stations, and lifting elements. Plant operators will also benefit from the use of a number of highly developed KHS technologies which can give them the added extras of very low oxygen filling with low consumption of CO2 and extremely high filling accuracies, for example.
The Innofill Glass Micro for the wine and sparkling wine sector can be fitted with 24 to 60 filling stations and fill between 3,000 and 20,000 bottles per hour, these holding from 0.1 to 2 liters. Both glass and PET bottles (optional) can be processed. The machine is available in three different sizes.
The DPG Trinox filling system has been implemented here, permitting both balanced pressure and pressurized filling. Operators can switch between the two by simply pressing a button. Prior to filling, on the DPG Trinox single or multiple pre-evacuation is possible with an interim purge of CO2 or nitrogen. If pressure filling is selected, there is a pressurization process before filling begins. In the DPG Trinox the product is deflected down the inside walls of the bottle via a swirler gas lock; the plastic spreader rings previously used as a deflecting system and which protruded into the bottle neck are no longer needed, ensuring maximum hygiene and product safety. The filling phase is completed when the product rising in the bottle closes the return gas tube. Another important aspect is that product, gas, and CIP media are fed in through hygienic seals, membranes, and expansion joints that prevent the formation of any deposits or biofilm.
Utilizing the proven Trinox process in the DPG Trinox filler also enables precision fill levels to be achieved. The process is as follows: from the Trinox channel a pressure is built up on the level of the product in the previously overfilled bottle which is 0.3 to 0.5 bars higher than the set filling pressure, both in the case of balanced pressure and pressurized filling. This positive pressure ensures that excess liquid is forced gently back into the ring bowl through the Trinox tube positioned in the center of the bottle and filling valve. The process ends exactly at the moment that a minimum defined gap is produced between the level of the product and the end of the Trinox tube. The extremely precise fill levels produced by Trinox technology help to save money for product and also allow natural corks to be processed.
Another huge plus of the Innofill Glass Micro is KHS' twin-valve control system. To date the DPG Trinox filling setup required three pneumatic switching functions per filling station, these being one gas cylinder apiece for evacuation, snifting, and the Trinox function. As a result, three solenoid valves, three pneumatic hoses, three electronic outputs, and three sets of wiring were also required per filling valve. The filler with 60 filling stations thus had 180 gas valves, 180 solenoid valves, and 180 electronic outputs with hoses. In the twin-valve control system two filling valves have been combined to make one processing unit, therefore cutting down on gas valves and solenoid valves and halving the number of electropneumatic control units. In turn, this reduces the complexity and maintenance of the machine, the number of spare parts needed, and costs for operation.
Up to three different closure systems can be monoblocked as required with the Innofill Glass Micro DPG Trinox, with natural corks, aluminum screw caps, or PE stoppers all doable. This innovative filler can also be monoblocked with an upstream rinser if necessary.
All told, the Innofill Glass Micro for the wine and sparkling wine industry is a filler for the low to medium capacity range that provides outstanding filling quality and also helps to save both product and costs. In addition, it is also extremely flexible, easy to changeover, and consistent in its hygienic design.
(KHS GmbH)

07.05.2013 Tank monitoring with maximum safety! ( Company news )

Corrosion can cause leaks in single-walled and double-walled tanks. If the storage medium gets into the groundwater, this may result in massive damage to the environment and dire consequences for the person in charge. If the new AFRISO Eurovac HV leak detector is properly installed, operated and maintained, such disastrous accidents can be almost fully excluded.

The new AFRISO Eurovac HV vacuum type leak detector is a class 1 leak detector as per EN 13160. The device is suitable for indicating leaks in unpressurised tanks for aboveground or underground storage of water-polluting liquids with a flash point of > 55 °C (formerly danger class AIII) which do not become viscous and which do not form solid matter deposits. Eurovac HV is approved for the following tanks: double-walled steel tanks as per EN 12285-1/-2, DIN 6618-2/-4, DIN 6619-2, DIN 6623-2, DIN 6624-2, DIN 6608, DIN 6616 and DIN 6625 and for single-walled steel tanks or plastic tanks with an inner lining (as a leak protection lining); all of these tanks must have an approval of the German Institute for Building Technology for connection of a vacuum type leak detector such as the new Eurovac HV. The new Eurovac HV leak detector contains the following elements in a compact plastic housing: all display elements and controls, a vacuum pump, a pressure sensor, a filter and hose connections for the connection to the interstitial space of the tank in which an operating pressure of approx. -400 mbar is maintained. Eurovac HV has proven itself over decades - the new version comes with a number of improvements: the vacuum pump is now driven by an economical DC motor with a high starting torque (energy efficiency class A++). A pump operating time indicator is contained in the inside of the housing. The noise level has been reduced. The device features visual and audible alarms with an Acknowledge button, a test button for function tests, a service indicator for annual maintenance and a switching output for building control systems. The new hose connection technology ensures permanently improved tightness; coloured connection pieces allow for easy connection of the 4 mm or 6 mm hoses without confusion. The sintered plastic filter in the condensate trap indicates the degree of pollution and can be replaced from the outside. Electrical connection is possible from the top or the bottom. An optional 9 V battery triggers an alarm in the case of a power failure. The address of the installing company can be printed on the unit. The design corresponds to that of the AFRISO product family; the appearance not only ensures customer confidence, but also underpins the professionalism of the specialised company. The leak detector is suitable for ambient temperatures from -5/+50 °C and supplied with AC 100-240 V. For outdoor applications, Eurovac HV is available in a protective housing or in a protective housing with heating (IP 55). Eurovac HV has the Technical Approval Z-65.22-4 of the German Institute for Building Technology (DIBt).
(AFRISO-EURO-INDEX GmbH)

07.05.2013 Xylem's Bellingham + Stanley and SI Analytics team up with juice manufacturers to improve.... ( Company news )

... plant efficiency

For many years, beverage manufacturers have utilized digital refractometers as their primary instrument for measuring the final dilution ratio (°Brix) of re-constituted fruit juice. This is to not only assure product quality but also to reduce losses by tightly controlling concentrate yields. Alongside these refractometers, automated titrators are also used to ensure that the citric acid is maintained to the required specification.
For most fruit types the measurement of °Brix has been a successful analysis for dilution ratio. But for one of the most commonly produced juices, the high accuracy measurement achieved by the latest digital refractometer technology has unmasked an erratic behavior in orange juice that prevents tighter dilution control. This in turn negates any opportunity of cost reduction by way of lowering target values without the risk of compromising minimum specifications defined by regulation.
Over the past two years leading refractometer manufacturer – Xylem’s Bellingham + Stanley brand – has partnered with a major fruit juice producer to develop the Pro-Juice® Refractometer, which can achieve the same high accuracy results for orange juice as it can for other fruit based juices. By focusing on the practical handling of the sample prior to high accuracy measurement, Bellingham + Stanley has designed the Pro-Juice® Refractometer based on the world leading technology used in the RFM340+ Refractometer. As a result, a measurement accuracy of 0.01 °Brix for sucrose solutions and more importantly a reproducibility of 0.02 °Brix between orange juice samples is achieved, regardless of temperature deviation or operator skill level.
By adopting the use of the Pro-Juice® Refractometer, manufacturers of orange juice can operate closer to the lower threshold of their specification without running the risk of compromising the final product. In so doing, there is an opportunity for cost savings and higher profits from increased concentrate yield.
Transparent audit trails within the food and beverage industry is of paramount importance, not just for food safety concerns but also as evidence of product authenticity. Fruit juice manufacturers the world over are faced with an ever increasing need to minimize costs, so manufacturers look towards automation of repetitive everyday tasks in order to keep production overhead to a minimum.
One task that can be automated is the measurement of citric acid within the re-constitution phase of orange juice production. This is a task that Xylem’s SI Analytics brand has successfully accomplished, and they’ve done so by applying automation to their successful Titroline® instrument at an Austrian fruit juice producer. The key requirement to measure citric acid content in orange juice by titration is dispensing precision, and the burette is central to this process.
SI Analytics’ titrators, the TitroLine® 6000/7000 feature the piston burette TITRONIC® 500 that not only achieves precision but it can also measure other acids in fruit juices as well.
The final step for automation is to load an autosampler with pre-weighted samples, program the Titroline® titrator via simple PC software to perform the citric acid analysis, and key personnel are then freed up from time-consuming manual titrations.
Xylem has successfully showcased its analytics solutions and applications this year in March at Pittcon in Pennsylvania, USA and will be showcasing them again in July at the institute of Food Expo, Chicago.
(Bellingham + Stanley Ltd)

06.05.2013 Carlsberg Malaysia: Change of Managing Director ( Company news )

Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad (Carlsberg Malaysia) announces that its Managing Director, Soren Ravn, aged 39, who oversees the Malaysia and Singapore operations has been appointed as CEO, Carlsberg Greater China, effective 1 July 2013. He will hand over the reins of the dynamic brewery to Henrik Juel Andersen, the current Regional CEO, Carlsberg Indochina.
“Carlsberg Greater China covers the four countries of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan and is a key component of Carlsberg Group’s growth platform in Asia.
Comprising of 41 breweries, with more than 15,000 employees and around 3 billion litres of annual beer sales, Carlsberg Greater China is significant and one of the largest volume contributors to the Carlsberg Group. I am happy to bring in Ravn to take up the new role as CEO, Carlsberg Greater China to expand our business in the world’s biggest beer market and strengthening our capacity and capability to take on the challenges ahead,” Roy Enzo Bagattini, Senior Vice President, Asia, Carlsberg Group commented.
Chairman of Carlsberg Malaysia, Dato’ Lim Say Chong said: “Ravn has been instrumental in leading Carlsberg Malaysia Group to three years of continuous strong revenue and profit growth, driven by portfolio brands and premiumisation strategy with a strong focus on profitable growth ”, “Our record financial performance, portfolio strategy and a diverse team of top and senior management are testaments of the effective implementation of our strategies with the cooperation of our business partners and customers under the leadership of Ravn. The historical high performance of the company’s share price also reflects our shareholders’ and investors’ confidence towards the company. With the strong management team and organization in place, Carlsberg Malaysia is in a solid position to drive sustainable and profitable growth”, “I am pleased to announce that Henrik Juel Andersen, a Dane aged 46, has been appointed as Managing Director, Carlsberg Malaysia, succeeding Soren Ravn. Andersen is currently the Regional CEO of Carlsberg Indochina, a position he has held for the past five years. He has delivered excellent growth in our Indochina region with revenues and EBIT increasing significantly over a 5-year period, driven by a strong mix of organic growth and well executed acquisitions”, Lim added.
“I am very confident that Andersen can continue the strong growth and good momentum that we have established in Malaysia and Singapore over the last few years. He is one of our most experienced leaders in Asia and will help drive the strategic agenda as well as strong execution going forward, in strong cooperation with our supportive business patners and customers in Malaysia and Singapore”, Lim commented.
Prior to his current role, Henrik has held General Management positions for Carlsberg in Vietnam, China and Taiwan.
Ravn and Andersen will be working closely to ensure a smooth transition and handover in Malaysia and Singapore over the next few months.
(CBMB Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd)

06.05.2013 Ultrasonic level indicator SonarFox UST 10 ( Company news )

Picture: The new AFRISO SonarFox UST 10 ultrasonic transmitter is a compact non-contact level indicator which works reliably even under adverse conditions (for example, vapours or stirrers).

The new AFRISO SonarFox UST 10 ultrasonic transmitter was designed for continuous, non-contact level measurement of liquids and bulk solids with various consistencies and surfaces. The level indicator uses the physical properties of ultrasonic waves to determine the level. An ultrasonic wave is emitted and reflected by objects in the sound cone. The time up to the reception of the reflected echo is a measure of the level. Type, density and temperature of the medium as well as installations or stirrers below a suitable level surface of the medium do not affect the measurement. Diffuse surfaces, for example with cones or foam, are not suitable. If foam cannot be avoided, the ultrasonic level indicator must be installed above the point least susceptible to foam formation and subjected to a test run. SonarFox UST 10 also allows for flow measurement in open channels, rain catchment basins, partially filled pipes, tanks, basins and weirs. The device is suitable for temperatures of the medium from -30 to 90 °C and process pressures from 0.5 to 3 bar; it uses 2-wire technology (4-20 mA, DC 12-36 V). A switching relay is optionally available (for example, for controlling rakes and gates in sewage treatment plants and power plants). All display elements and function keys are arranged below the housing cover for easy access; this way, the unit is fast and easy to commission. Even the basic version provides full functionality. The optional PD10 UST local display can be integrated. The programming display PD10 UST allows the user to set up all functions such as measuring configurations, optimisation, 32-point linearisation, time delays or access to different tank or channel types and various units on the 6-digit LC display. The level indicator is available for the three measuring ranges 0.2 to 4 m, 0.25 to 6 m and 0.35 to 8 m with a measuring accuracy 0.25 %. The robust ultrasonic level indicator has no moving parts, is completely maintenance-free and not subject to wear; it is the perfect solution for level measurement in open and closed tanks and areas.
(AFRISO-EURO-INDEX GmbH)

03.05.2013 When every second counts ( Company news )

Picture: The new AFRISO ZAG 01 additional alarm unit is used for visual and audible alarms and for transferring alarm signals to other equipment.

The new AFRISO ZAG 01 additional alarm unit can be used to display and transmit alarm signals from AFRISO alarm units or leak detectors as well as other switching equipment. ZAG 01 can be connected to a voltage-free output contact or to a 230 V alarm output of an alarm unit via a signal cable. The alarm unit generates visual and audible alarm signals; the audible alarm can be muted by means of an Acknowledge button. The visual alarm remains active until the cause of the alarm has been remedied. The ZAG 01 alarm signal can also be transferred to external equipment (alarm devices, communication devices, building control units, etc.) via two output relays
(2 voltage-free changeover contacts, 1 can be acknowledged). A test button allows for function checks (it is recommended to perform a function check at regular intervals). The control unit in an impact-resistant plastic housing contains all display elements and controls as well as all electronic components for evaluating the alarm signal. ZAG 01 is suitable for ambient temperatures from
-10 to +60 °C and supplied with AC 230 V. The alarm unit is designed for wall-mounting; however, an optional mounting frame also allows for easy integration into panels. A sealing kit (IP 54) is available for rough application conditions. The additional alarm unit is fast and easy to install and commission.
(AFRISO-EURO-INDEX GmbH)

03.05.2013 World's Most Unique Beer Can: Budweiser Introducing Bowtie-Shaped Can on May 6 ( Company news )

This spring Budweiser will introduce a striking and original new beer can – a bowtie-shaped aluminum can that mirrors Budweiser’s iconic bowtie logo.
Beer lovers can see for themselves the new bowtie-shaped can when it becomes available in a special 8-pack on store shelves nationwide beginning May 6.
“This can is incomparable, like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” said Pat McGauley, vice president of innovation for Anheuser-Busch. “The world’s most iconic beer brand deserves the world’s most unique and innovative can. I think we have it here.”
The proprietary can, in development since 2010, will be available only in the United States and in an 8-pack and will not replace the traditional Budweiser can.
To make the new can possible, Anheuser-Busch engineers needed to solve a number of technical challenges, and major equipment investments were required at Budweiser’s can-making facility in Newburgh, N.Y. Significant capital investments also were required to upgrade packaging lines at the Budweiser breweries in Los Angeles and Williamsburg, Va., the first breweries with capability to package this unique can innovation.
Newburgh,about 60 miles north of New York City and 90 miles south of Albany,is where proprietary equipment is located that shapes the can. Creating the can requires a 16-step process – 10 steps to form the bottom half of the can, with an additional six steps to form the top portion.
The Anheuser-Busch Global Innovation Group has been investigating potential can innovations for several years.
“We explored various shapes that would be distinguishable in the marketplace, but also viable from an engineering standpoint,” McGauley said. “Aluminum can be stretched only about 10 percent without fracturing, which requires that the angles of the bowtie be very precise.”
An initial run of more than 10 million bowtie cans were produced in Newburgh through March 31 for the spring introduction. An additional 8 million cans are scheduled to be produced this month.
Due to the can’s slimmer middle and sleek design, it holds 11.3 ounces of beer and has about 137 calories, approximately 8.5 fewer calories than a traditional 12-ounce can of Budweiser.
“This can is certainly a conversation starter: eye-catching, easy-to-grip, trendy and – according to our research – very appealing to young adults,” McGauley said. “It’s a beer can like no other.”
Though there is no written documentation on the origins of the Budweiser bowtie, it is a brand icon found the world over. According to company lore, the bowtie was introduced when too many people were using the “Bud” bar call too frequently, so the double triangles were added to emphasize the full Budweiser name.
The Budweiser bowtie can is a natural progression from the new packaging introduced in 2011 that emphasized the iconic bowtie, a symbol that first appeared in a national advertising campaign for Budweiser in 1956.
The bowtie can is another example of how Budweiser continues to innovate, evolve and attract a new generation of beer drinkers. “It builds on the success of Budweiser Black Crown, the crowd-sourced fan favorite introduced earlier this year,” McGauley said.
The launch of the can is being supported with a marketing campaign that includes digital, print and television. It will be offered for sale in grocery stores and super markets, convenience stores and packaged liquor stores.
Consumers interested in locating where they can purchase the special 8-pack can call 1-800-dial-Bud.
In other packaging innovations on the horizon in the U.S. for Anheuser-Busch, the company is announcing it is test-marketing in 10 states a new 25-ounce can that replaces a 24-ounce serving – giving consumers an additional ounce of beer. Sales of this new can will begin this summer.
(Anheuser Busch InBev)

02.05.2013 Barry-Wehmiller Group Accelerates Acquisition Efforts with Addition of Business ... ( Company news )

... Development Executive

Barry-Wehmiller Group announced its intent to broaden its platforms by appointing Jeffrey D. Giles to the firm’s newly-created Director of Corporate Development position. Giles brings 10+ years of private equity and corporate business development experience to the role designed to increase Barry-Wehmiller Group’s engagement in platform acquisition activities.
Barry-Wehmiller Group is the holding company for Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc., a group of capital equipment and engineering consulting companies represented by nine operating divisions, and Forsyth Capital Investors, LLC, a hybrid equity firm focused on investing and partnering with middle-market companies. Barry-Wehmiller has a significant history of growing through acquisitions, having completed 70 since the 1980s. In fiscal year 2012, the firm surpassed $1.6 billion in revenue and grew to nearly 7,000 team members worldwide.
“Barry-Wehmiller has the value drivers, capital strength, and corporate disciplines to continue to grow through acquisitions,” said Bob Chapman, Chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller Companies. “Jeff’s appointment to the team offers us greater capability to identify enterprises poised to flourish within Barry-Wehmiller’s successful business and people-centric culture model. We’re excited to have him help us achieve our vision of a global organization that creates value for all stakeholders.”
Tim Sullivan, Barry-Wehmiller Group President, called Giles appointment “an exciting next chapter for our growing organization. Jeff’s acumen and leadership will be instrumental in taking our acquisition success to another level. We’re excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.”
“With Forsyth Capital’s rapid increase in growth, the need for a dedicated resource for both add-on acquisition efforts and new platform searches has become clear, and Jeff’s deep and successful experience in these acquisition-related activities will undoubtedly drive positive results,” commented Kyle Chapman, Managing Director of Forsyth Capital Investors. “We are pleased to welcome Jeff to the team and look forward to the growth this dedicated focus will yield.”
“I’m excited to work with the senior leadership at Barry-Wehmiller and Forsyth Capital to enhance their respective acquisition efforts and increase awareness of their unique programs to prospective acquisition targets,” Giles said. “The distinctive culture and operational value drivers they possess are what sold me on the opportunity and will go a long way in furthering the firms’ growth through acquisitions.”
Prior to joining Barry-Wehmiller Group, Giles enjoyed successful tenures with Bertram Capital Management, a San Mateo, California-based private equity firm with $850 million in capital under management, and two different divisions of Emerson Electric in St. Louis. Giles earned a BS in Business from Wake Forest University and an MBA from Washington University.

02.05.2013 BSDA response to study published in Diabetologia ( Company news )

Gavin Partington (photo), BSDA Director General, said:
"It is well-known that diabetes is the result of many different factors, including obesity and family history. This study does not look at causation and so cannot tell us if consuming soft drinks, or any other food or drink, is a further cause of diabetes. In addition, the survey is based on information about people’s food choices that is up to 16 years old, which is not going to be a very good guide as to what people are eating and drinking today.
Soft drinks are safe to consume but, like all other food and drink, should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet."
(BSDA British Soft Drinks Association Ltd)

30.04.2013 Major Scotch Whisky exhibition comes to Glasgow ( Company news )

Scotch Whisky: From Grain to Glass to open at Mitchell Library -
Friday 31 May-Wednesday 31 July 2013

An exhibition exploring the rich heritage of Scotland's national drink will be on display in the main hall of Glasgow's Mitchell Library from the end of May.
The Scotch Whisky: From Grain to Glass exhibition was created to mark the Centenary of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the industry trade body, in 2012.
The exhibition's only previous outing was its display at The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh for two months at the end of last year. When it comes to Glasgow, new exhibits will be added to be seen by the public for the first time.
The exhibition brings together an array of images and artefacts from several Scotch Whisky producers and enthusiasts. Many items on display have been stored in archives and personal collections until their inclusion in this exhibition. The display also tracks landmark events in the last 100 years which have shaped the SWA and the industry.
Scotch Whisky's rich past is showcased, highlighting its position as an iconic Scottish product and demonstrating how vital Scotch Whisky is to the country's economy and society. Scotch Whisky exports are worth around £4.3 billion a year and the industry directly employs more than 10,000 across Scotland, many in and around Glasgow.
Visitors will learn everything from how Scotch Whisky is made to how it is marketed and exported. The exhibition explains, through images and words, how the "What is Whisky?" debate of the early 20th century led to a Royal Commission report which helped establish the modern day Scotch Whisky industry.
Visitors will also find out why a full size model of a white horse and a papier mâché giraffe are on display at a Scotch Whisky exhibition.

Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association, said:
"We are delighted to bring the exhibition of images and artefacts from across the Scotch Whisky industry to Glasgow for the first time. The spectacular main hall of the Mitchell Library, an historic building which has been part of life for Glaswegians for over a century, is a perfect setting for this display.
"For more than 100 years we have been committed to promoting and protecting Scotch Whisky. We hope as many people as possible will visit the Scotch Whisky: From Grain to Glass exhibition to find out more about the heritage of Scotland's national drink.
"Visitors will find out exactly how Scotch Whisky is made and how marketing has changed through the decades. Everyone, from Scotch Whisky aficionados to novices will learn something new from the exhibition."

Councillor Archie Graham, Chair of Glasgow Life, said:
"Whisky is an essential part of our shared heritage so we are very much looking forward to welcoming the definitive story of our national drink and one of our most recognised international exports to the Mitchell Library.
"The exhibition will also feature items from Glasgow's own collection alongside images and objects brought together by the Scotch Whisky Association for what is a unique insight into this global industry."
(SWA The Scotch Whisky Association)

29.04.2013 Diageo announces appointment to Executive Committee ( Company news )

Picture: Randy Millian, retiring President, Diageo Latin America and Caribbean

Diageo has announced that:
- Randy Millian, President, Diageo Latin America and Caribbean, will be retiring from the company by 30 June 2014
- Alberto Gavazzi, Managing Director, Diageo West Latin America and Caribbean (WestLAC), is appointed President, Diageo Latin America and Caribbean with effect from 1 July 2013. Alberto will report to Ivan Menezes, Chief Operating Officer and will replace Randy on the Diageo Executive Committee.

From 1 July 2013, Randy will take on a new non-executive role as Chairman, Diageo LAC reporting to Ivan. In this capacity he will ensure a seamless transition across the region by supporting the successful completion of certain key projects. Randy will continue to represent Diageo on the Zacapa Board and the OAS (Organization of American States) Trust Board until his retirement.
Paul S Walsh, Chief Executive of Diageo, said: “Alberto brings a wealth of global and regional experience to his new role. Over the past 19 years he has succeeded in a variety of marketing and general management positions, including General Manager, Brazil; Global Category Director Whisky, Gin and Reserve Brands, and VP Consumer Marketing North America. I believe he will be equally successful in his new role and I congratulate him on his appointment.”
“Randy leaves a strong business for Alberto to build upon. He has led the Diageo LAC business from a time when our brands were almost exclusively represented by distributors across the region, to the present where we have both 14 well-run Diageo business units and some exceptional distributor relationships. Randy and his team have created an enviable position forDiageo in the region and we are now nearly twice the size of our nearest international competitor.”
“It has been a pleasure to work with Randy and I am very grateful to him for his commitment to our brands, values and our people over his long and successful career with Diageo.”
(Diageo plc)

26.04.2013 Coconut water: New trend beverage – fresh from the nut, gently packaged in carton packs ( Company news )

Healthy, isotonic thirst-quencher not just for athletes

Coconut water is the new trend beverage everyone is talking about. The clear,
nutty and slightly sweet-tasting liquid obtained from young, green coconuts, is isotonic and has a very high potassium content. This makes coconut water the perfect refresher for restoring the body’s nutrient balance after sports, for instance. In addition, coconut water stimulates collagen formation, and it is also a traditional remedy used in Ayurvedic medicine. Coconut water is a healthy treat even when it is not drunk fresh, straight from the coconut: food manufacturers rely on the aseptic carton pack to provide high-quality, convenient packaging that treats this premium beverage with care. This means consumers can drink wholesome coconut water even outside the tropics.
Coconut water is sterile as long as the nut remains unopened. As the nut ripens, the clear liquid becomes less and less. In the tropics, the main growing area for coconut palms, nuts selected for producing coconut water are harvested at a stage of ripeness in which the nuts are still green, and the flesh is soft and jelly-like. In this stage, the fruit contains the greatest quantity of coconut water – up to 800 ml per nut – and it is at its most nutrient-rich. If the nuts were left on the tree to ripen further, just a couple of weeks later the flesh would have hardened completely and the nut would be brown on the outside.
Coconut water has nothing to do with coconut milk, which is made from the flesh of the ripe nuts; the flesh is mixed with water and puréed to a creamy white liquid, and then filtered. In contrast, coconut water is isotonic, because it has the same electrolyte balance of nutrients and fluids as human blood, and the body therefore assimilates it very easily and rapidly. It is said to help lower stress, to be a dieting aid, to support heart health and to strengthen skin, hair and nails.

Typical beverage in the tropics
UHT processing followed by filling in aseptic carton packs is the perfect combination to ensure the nutritious coconut water, which is easily impaired by processing, is treated and packaged gently. Tipco, South-East Asia’s leading food and beverage manufacturer, has opted to offer coconut water in aseptic carton packs. Coconut water is highly valued in Thailand as one of the healthiest beverages around. It is fat-free, and has been widely enjoyed for more than 4,000 years as a natural source of valuable nutrients that are good for health and well-being, and an aid to beauty. “Filling the sterile products in protective carton packs will enable us to export them to countries such as the United States, Canada and Brazil”, according to Tipco. The company is confident that the healthy, traditional tropical drink will catch on as a trend beverage in other parts of the world as well.
Things are already moving in that direction: in Europe, for instance, Switzerland’s
Bischofszell Food Ltd. (BINA) counts on the trend potential of coconut water. Since 2012, under the ‘Coco Water’ label, the company has been offering Pure and Pineapple varieties in small-format carton packs with drinking straw. Arnold Graf, Key Account and Product Group Manager at BINA: “Coconut water combines a number of qualities that are beneficial for health. What’s more, it tastes terrific. With ‘Coco Water’, we’ve brought to Europe what, up to now, Europeans have experienced only on holiday. We think coconut water is set to become a real lifestyle beverage in this country too”.
In America too, coconut water has huge potential. “In 2011, the US market for coconut
water saw growth of 100 per cent compared to the previous year. Today – depending on
the source – estimated retail sales stand at up to 140 million Euros. This means coconut water is one of the most high-potential and significant new developments in the healthy beverages market”, says Tim Kirchen, Head of Marketing and Business Development at SIG Combibloc North America. So, according to Kirchen, it is not just a sub-segment where small start-up companies are getting a foot in the door. Kirchen: “Even the bigger players in the beverage industry are investing heavily in the development of innovative product concepts and processing methods for coconut water. It looks likely that in the near future a whole host of coconut water beverages will be appearing on the market – and not just as the pure product, but also in the form of mix drinks where the addition of coconut water adds a special character and natural extras”.
Apple & Eve, one of the USA’s biggest privately owned manufacturers of juice beverages, is opting on the special qualities of coconut water. With ‘Water Fruits’ the company has brought out a range of beverages that represent an innovation in the soft drinks sector. The combination of water, fruit juice and coconut water offers great-tasting hydration and a healthy refreshing hit at the same time. The new products come in Tropical Fruit Twister, Fruit Punch Frenzy and Very Berry Blast flavours. Positioned as a healthy, delicious refresher and presented in bold, colourful packaging, the new beverages satisfy the tastes of children and adults alike.
SIG Combibloc is one of the world’s leading system suppliers of carton packaging and filling machines for beverages and food. In 2012 the company achieved a turnover of 1,620 million Euro with around 4,950 employees in 40 countries. SIG Combibloc is part of the New Zealand based Rank Group.
(SIG Combibloc GmbH)

26.04.2013 TricorBraun WinePak - Zero Waste Program Costs Zero ( Company news )

In First Year, Company Recycles More Than 1000 Tons Of Waste

TricorBraun WinePak has launched a successful zero-waste program which has incurred no expense and has redirected 1020.91 tons of waste to recyclers, according to Jad Darsey, TricorBraun’s director of sustainability and plastics.

TricorBraun WinePak (www.tricorbraunwinepak.com) is a $120 million division of TricorBraun that specifically services the wine industry. It is the largest supplier of wine packaging in North America.

In March 2012, the company launched a four point program to systematically eliminate waste. The four points were based on its four streams: corrugated, plastic, pallets and waste glass. The strategy is to match the right recycler with the company’s needs. The program was headed by Ernesto Olivares, TricorBraun WinePak’s distribution manager.

A solid market for waste-corrugated exists, and Mr. Olivares identified a recycler with that area of specialization. The recycler provided a bailer and hauling at no cost in trade for the company’s waste-corrugated. Mr. Darsey reports during the first year of the program 429.94 tons of waste-corrugated were recycled.

Waste plastics— including pallet wrap, plastic strapping and PET— are placed in totes that are provided without charge by a recycler and are strategically placed around the distribution center. This alliance between the company and its recycler kept 17.51 tons of waste out of landfills, according to Mr. Darsey.

Waste glass is a valuable commodity. Between 95 and 98 percent of the company’s broken glass is recycled. TricorBraun WinePak has provided glass manufacturers with 573.46 tons of broken glass destined to become new bottles and jars.

The biggest challenge was recycling low impact shipping pallets utilized by some suppliers. Unlike traditional pallets, which are made from hardwoods and are readily recyclable, these pallets are made from pressboard and plywood. They are not typically recyclable. However, Mr. Olivares struck a deal with a local company that collects these types of products and resells them as a fuel source to the operator of a California incinerator. “Since the program’s inception, 2119 pallets that would have been destined for the landfill provide energy back to the California market place,” Mr. Darsey said

Mr. Olivares emphasizes, “Your staff has to believe in the program. A busy or tired employee may need to take a couple of extra steps to recycle an item and it needs to be done properly every time.”

TricorBaun WinePak has offices in Northern and Southern California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. It has been serving the wine industry since 1982.

The company’s facilities include a $2 million repacking system that automatically transfers wine bottles from eight-foot high stacks of pallets to individual wineries’ custom, 12-bottle cartons.
It also offers an online store, WinePak Direct (www.WinePakDirect.com) that serves small wineries and large wineries with exclusive, limited case bottlings.
(TricorBraun Corporate Headquarters)

25.04.2013 The Coca-Cola Company Reports First Quarter 2013 Results ( Company news )

- Solid 4% global volume growth
- Global Trademark Coca-Cola volume growth of 3%
- Worldwide share gains advance in both sparkling and still beverages

First Quarter 2013 Highlights
-Solid 4% first quarter global volume growth. Volume growth of 3% for Coca-Cola Americas and 5% for Coca-Cola International.
-Global sparkling beverage volume grew 3%, led by brand Coca-Cola, up 3%, and global still beverage volume grew 6% in the first quarter.
-First quarter reported net revenues declined 1%. Excluding the impact of currency and structural changes, net revenues grew 2% despite two fewer selling days in the quarter.
-First quarter reported operating income declined 4% and comparable currency neutral operating income grew 5%, in line with our expectations and reflecting the impact of -First quarter reported EPS was $0.39, down 13%, and comparable EPS was $0.46, up 5%, including a currency headwind of approximately 4%.
-The Company announces implementation of a new partnership model in the United States.

The Coca-Cola Company reported first quarter 2013 results. Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company said, "I am pleased with our first quarter performance results, having once again delivered solid growth against the backdrop of a still uncertain global economy. Guided by our 2020 Vision, our roadmap for winning together with our global system bottling partners, we enter 2013 and the fourth year of our journey to 2020 focused and on track to reach our goals.
"Together, we are working to unlock value, to execute with excellence and to keep winning volume and value share. We proudly serve more than 500 brands through 23 million retail customer outlets each week, providing consumers a wide array of choices in package sizes, sweeteners and beverages – including more than 800 low- and no-calorie options. Our focus each and every day is to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create value and make a meaningful difference. I am proud of all we are achieving alongside our customers, bottlers and other partners. Even so, we remain constructively discontent as we seek to make the most of the vast growth opportunities we continue to see around the world."

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
The Coca-Cola Company reported worldwide volume growth of 4% for the first quarter, with 3% growth in Coca-Cola Americas and 5% growth in Coca-Cola International. The Company reported solid volume growth in key developed markets, including Germany (+3%), North America (+1%) and Japan (+1%). Europe volume was even for the first quarter and a sequential improvement from fourth quarter 2012, despite ongoing uncertain macroeconomic conditions and unseasonably cold weather. The Company also delivered strong volume growth during the quarter in key emerging markets, including Thailand (+18%), India (+8%), Russia (+8%), Mexico (+3%) and Brazil (+3%). Our China business delivered 1% volume growth in the quarter, a sequential improvement from fourth quarter 2012, despite the economic slowdown and poor weather in the quarter. Strong volume growth continued in countries with per capita consumption of Company brands less than 150 eight-ounce servings per year, with volume up 7% in the quarter overall, reflecting the strength of our geographic portfolio, with our products sold in more than 200 countries worldwide.
We grew value share in nonalcoholic ready-to-drink (NARTD) beverages for the 23rd consecutive quarter and we maintained global volume share in the quarter. Importantly, value share growth once again outperformed volume share. Further, our immediate consumption (IC) volume grew 3% globally in the first quarter, with sparkling IC volume up 2% and still IC volume up 3%, driven by focused in-store activation efforts and continued cold-drink equipment expansion, building on the 1.3 million units placed in 2012.
Worldwide sparkling beverage volume grew 3% for the quarter. We grew volume and value share in global core sparkling beverages in the quarter, led once again by brand Coca-Cola, as we activated our "Crazy for Good" marketing campaign in many markets around the world and continued to offer consumers relevant price and package size choices as well as promotions centered on "Coke with Meals". Worldwide brand Coca-Cola volume grew 3% for the quarter, with growth across diverse markets, including Thailand (+38%), India (+30%), Russia (+15%), China (+6%), Germany (+4%), Japan (+2%) and Brazil (+2%). In addition, Fanta volume grew 6% and Sprite volume grew 5% for the quarter, reflecting a balanced portfolio approach to growth across the core sparkling beverage category. Growth was driven by innovation in sweeteners and packaging and activation of global marketing campaigns in locally relevant ways such as the Fanta "Play" campaign and the Sprite "Uncontainable Game" NBA partnership.
Worldwide still beverage volume grew 6% in the quarter, with volume growth across most beverage categories, including ready-to-drink tea, juices and juice drinks, packaged water, energy drinks and sports drinks. Excluding the impact of acquired volume, primarily from the Aujan partnership in the Eurasia and Africa Group, still beverage volume grew 4% in the quarter. We grew global volume and value share in still beverages and realized volume and value share gains in juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink tea, and packaged water.
Ready-to-drink tea volume grew double digits in the quarter, with continued strong performance of key brands such as Gold Peak and Honest Tea in North America, Ayataka green tea in Japan and Fuze Tea, which we expanded across multiple markets worldwide during the quarter. Juices and juice drinks volume grew 9% in the quarter, with growth across all of our geographic operating groups as we continue to introduce a common visual identity across our portfolio of juice brands around the world. Energy drinks volume also grew 9% in the quarter. Packaged water volume grew 1% in the quarter, as we strengthened our focus on innovative and sustainable immediate consumption packaging to grow value in the category.
Our two newest billion-dollar brands, I LOHAS single-serve water and Ayataka premium green tea, both in Japan, grew 22% and 13%, respectively, in the quarter, as we build on our strong history of brand innovation to capture growth opportunities across beverage categories and occasions in this important market. The Company now has 16 billion-dollar brands.

NOTES
-All references to growth rate percentages, share and cycling of growth rates compare the results of the period to those of the prior year comparable period.
-"Concentrate sales" represents the amount of concentrates, syrups, beverage bases and powders sold by, or used in finished beverages sold by, the Company to its bottling partners or other customers.
-"Sparkling beverages" means NARTD beverages with carbonation, including energy drinks and carbonated waters and flavored waters.
-"Still beverages" means nonalcoholic beverages without carbonation, including noncarbonated waters, flavored waters and enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, sports drinks and noncarbonated energy drinks.
-All references to volume and volume percentage changes indicate unit case volume, except for the reference to volume included in the explanation of net revenue growth for North America. All volume percentage changes, unless otherwise noted, are computed based on average daily sales. "Unit case" means a unit of measurement equal to 24 eight-ounce servings of finished beverage. "Unit case volume" means the number of unit cases (or unit case equivalents) of Company beverages directly or indirectly sold by the Company and its bottling partners to customers.
-For both North America and Bottling Investments Group, net revenue growth attributable to volume reflects the increase in "as reported" volume, which is based on as reported sales rather than average daily sales and may include the impact of structural changes. For North America, this volume represents Coca-Cola Refreshments' unit case sales (which are equivalent to concentrate sales) plus concentrate sales to non-Company-owned bottling operations.
-First quarter 2013 financial results were impacted by two fewer selling days, and fourth quarter 2013 financial results will be impacted by one additional selling day. Unit case volume results for the quarters are not impacted by the variance in selling days due to the average daily sales computation referenced above.
-In January 2012, the Company announced that Beverage Partners Worldwide (BPW), our joint venture with Nestlé in the ready-to-drink tea category, will focus its geographic scope primarily in Europe and Canada. The joint venture was phased out in all other territories by the end of 2012, and the Company's agreement to distribute products in the United States terminated at the end of 2012. We have eliminated the BPW and Nestlé licensed volume and associated concentrate sales for the year ended December 31, 2012 in those countries impacted by these structural changes.
-As previously announced, effective January 1, 2013, the Company transferred our India and South West Asia business unit from the Eurasia and Africa operating segment to the Pacific operating segment. The countries included in our India and South West Asia business unit include Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This change in organizational structure did not impact the other geographic operating segments, Bottling Investments or Corporate. The reclassified historical operating segment data reflecting the change in organizational structure was disclosed in a Form 8-K filed on March 21, 2013.
-The Company reports its financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). However, management believes that certain non-GAAP financial measures provide users with additional meaningful financial information that should be considered when assessing our ongoing performance. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures in making financial, operating and planning decisions and in evaluating the Company's performance. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, the Company's reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial information does not represent a comprehensive basis of accounting.
(Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. CCE)

24.04.2013 North Korea: Beer demand outstrips supply but brewing approval from authorities may just never come ( E-Malt.com )

Setting up a brewery in North Korea seemed like a good idea to Harry Kim and his Chinese friends two years ago. Everyone likes beer, even in one of the world's most closed and least understood countries, they reckoned.

Kim and his partners even got the beer flowing after workers strapped equipment onto a truck in the Chinese border town of Tumen and drove it to the North Korean coastal city of Chongjin. Chinese engineers taught the locals how to brew. City officials loved the taste, Harry Kim was quoted as saying by Reuters on April, 12.

But the small Chinese-North Korean venture ran aground within months after failing to get final approval from authorities in Pyongyang.

Kim's experience is an illustration of both the challenge and the potential of doing business in North Korea, which has grabbed global attention in recent weeks with its threats to wage nuclear war on South Korea and the United States.

"It wasn't rejected. We just waited. The central government didn't come and say 'no', but the documents were just never issued and so we eventually gave up," said Kim, a Chinese national of Korean descent living in Tumen in China's northeastern Jilin province.

Building a brewery in Chongjin, North Korea's third biggest city, made good business sense.

Domestic beer has to be trucked up from Pyongyang, 460 km (285 miles) to the southwest. Terrible mountain roads and the journey takes its toll on the cargo, said Kim, speaking at a restaurant he owns, a few blocks from the icy Tumen River which divides the two nations. One tour operator said North Korean beer in Chongjin was twice as expensive as in Pyongyang.

Chongjin and provincial officials supported the project. Factory space was available in the rustbelt city, 130 km (80 miles) to the south of Tumen. The local water was crystal clear, too, promising a clean and tasty product.

And to hedge the obvious risks, the local business partner arranged for the Chinese to buy North Korean seafood to sell in China at each stage they invested in the beer venture.

"The problem isn't that the people are hard to deal with," said Kim. "These are all firsts. It's not that the nation does not want to do it, but rather that it's the first time."

Indeed, North Korea lies at the very edge of the global investment frontier. Subject to years of U.N. sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes, few have tried to make money in the country apart from Chinese companies as well as South Korean firms in an industrial park near the North-South border. Pyongyang effectively closed that factory zone this week amid its threats of war.

Between 2003 and 2009, Chinese investment in North Korea was a paltry $98.3 million, according to Chinese data cited in a 2011 report by Drew Thompson, a Korea specialist now at the U.S. Department of Defense. Analysts say Chinese investment has risen more recently following a push by Beijing, North Korea's only major diplomatic ally, to boost economic links.

Examples of failed Chinese investments abound. Last year, the Xiyang Group said it had been "cheated" in a failed deal to refine North Korean iron ore. In public comments, the miner and steelmaker said doing business in North Korea was a "nightmare".

There is little public information on North Korea's beer market but one thing seems clear - demand outstrips supply.

Troy Collings, a director at Young Pioneer Tours, a travel operator based in China which takes groups into North Korea and has organised brewery visits, said there were probably less than a dozen locally made beers available in the country.

In Pyongyang, two hotels concoct their own microbrews. The Rakwon department store creates its own eponymous beer, too, he said.

"They can't produce enough for the domestic market," said Collings.

The opportunity was clear - and reinforced for Kim when he saw the elite in Chongjin drinking a lot of Heineken and Corona.

So, in mid-2011, Kim and two friends joined up with a North Korean businessman to put the brewery plan in motion.

Approval from Chongjin city came easily, he said. The province, North Hamgyong, gave the green light too. And the first of three investments in equipment and supplies - the initial one worth about 200,000 yuan ($32,200) - was made.

Since North Korea has no system of credit and the risks of investing were high, Kim and his partners tied the beer project to seafood exports.

Before each investment was made, they were allowed to buy a cargo of North Korean seafood to sell in China. The first was about 50 tonnes of squid, he said.

North Korean seafood, hauled from the frigid, pollution-free waters off the coast in the Sea of Japan, is a delicacy in China. In Hunchun, a Chinese city near the northeastern tip of North Korea, wholesalers of North Korean crabs line one street.

It took about nine hours to drive from Tumen to Chongjin with the brewery equipment, including stops at customs.

The equipment was installed quickly and Chinese engineers showed the North Koreans how to brew. Soon, suds were flowing. The product was dubbed Wongang, or 'river source', beer.

On the first day of business the investors invited senior city and provincial leaders to the brewery for a sample. All approved, Kim said.

But the new brewery could not ramp up production without authorisation from Pyongyang, which never came despite months of waiting. There was never a response and the investors never got an explanation.

"If you push too hard it could raise suspicions," Kim said.

It was a pity, because the North Koreans were good workers, he said, citing how the investors overcame the frequent power cuts which made it hard to use a computer to monitor the brewing process.

Instead, the investors stationed North Korean workers at each of the pressure gauges on the brewing equipment in 12-hour shifts. The workers were told if the dial reached a certain level they should turn a knob to let off pressure.

"They got chairs and sat there looking at the gauges, not sleeping all night, one person at each position," said Kim.

Thanks to the squid hedge, the Chinese investors basically broke even. Kim now runs his restaurant in the space where the brewing equipment was stored before it was hauled to Chongjin.

Some day Pyongyang may give the green light, Kim says, but he is not holding his breath.

"As I was leaving they said 'It's not that we don't want to do it, and it's not that our senior leaders or the central government don't want to do it, but we just don't have practical experience with this kind of thing'."

24.04.2013 Russia: January – March beer output down 10.2% ( E-Malt.com )

Russia’s beer output in January – March 2013 dropped by 10.2% as compared to the same period in 2012, the nation’s bureau of statistics Rosstat reported on April, 18.

March production declined by 8.5% as compared to March 2012 but grew by 43.4% versus February 2013, Rosstat said.

24.04.2013 South Korea: Imported beer keeps enjoying high demand ( E-Malt.com )

Sales of imported beer rose 25.8 percent in the first quarter this year compared to the same period last year, big supermarket chain E-Mart said on April, 18, while domestic beer sales grew only 1.4 percent.

At another South Korean retailers Homeplus and Lotte Mart, sales of imported beer rose 11 percent and 24.5 percent, respectively, during the same period, while those for domestic beer brands fell 8 to 10 percent.

The popularity of imported beer brands keeps rising, showing fast growth for the last couple of years.

"Domestic beers accounted for about 80 percent of total beer sales last year, but the figure dropped to 70 percent this year," E-Mart said.

24.04.2013 Ukraine: Beer output shrinks by 3% in the first three months of this year ( E-Malt.com )

Ukraine’s beer output fell by 3% to 5.05 mln hl in January – March this year, URA-Inform reported citing Gosstat data on April, 18.

In March alone, beer output amounted to 2.14 mln hl, which represents a 8.8% decline on March 2012. In February, production declined by 4.2% versus the same month last year. Only in January 2013 the nation’s brewers managed to increase output – by 9.2% versus January 2012.

Last year, Ukraine’s total beer production dropped by 1.5% to 30 mln hl.

23.04.2013 Constantia Flexibles on the way towards a global player ( Company news )

- Acquisitions 2013 in Mexico, USA and India with together EUR 350 million sales and 2,600 employees
- Profitable growth with plus 8% p.a. in sales and earnings and 14% EBITDA margin since 2004
- Business model: an attractive combination of stability and growth

In the first quarter of 2013 Constantia Flexibles, headquartered in Vienna, has continued its growth strategy with three acquisitions. In January Globalpack, the market leader for flexible packaging and folding carton in Mexico was bought. The company supplies mainly the consumer goods industry for daily needs in food and beverages. 1,500 employees at two production sites in San Luis Potosí and Monterrey achieve sales of EUR 180 million. The acquisition constitutes an excellent complement in the product portfolio, access to new customers in North America as well as a strong presence in the growth market Central America.
In February a contract for the purchase of the Spear Group in the US, one of the globally leading labels producers, was signed. The company has been technology leader for 30 years in the growth market of pressure-sensitive labels for the beverage industry. Spear achieved sales of EUR 150 million with 650 employees at four sites in North America and one each in Wales/UK and South Africa. The acquisition creates a strong basis in the attractive US market as well as for further expansion in the global labels market. The acquisition is subject to approval of certain anti-trust regulators.
At the end of March the agreement on the purchase of 60% of Parikh Packaging in India could be signed. The company has sales of EUR 22 million and 500 employees at the location Ahmedabad north of Mumbai in the state of Gujarat. Parikh Packaging is among the top ten suppliers of flexible packaging in India and like Globalpack delivers to the consumer goods industry for products of daily need. With its steadily increasing middle class India is the world´s fastest growing market for flexible packaging with approximately 15% per year. The closing is subject to regulatory approval.
(Constantia Flexibles GmbH)

23.04.2013 KATZ AT FESPA LONDON 25 – 29/06/2013 ( Company news )

KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS … PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY AT THE POINT OF SALE

Manufactured from environmentally friendly KATZ wood pulp board, these two-side laminated display boards are the perfect print product for top-quality signage, tent cards and other POS display solutions.

KATZ DISPLAY BOARDS are the ideal eco-friendly choice for people who care about sustainability and who consider the following criteria to be important:
-finding a good alternative to plastic;
-choosing eco-friendly materials;
-reducing disposal costs;
-achieving optimum image quality and a clear, sharp edge;
-finding a lightweight and stable solution;
-and prioritising German-made products from an environmentally friendly value chain.

Keen to find out more?
We would love to chat, so why not visit our stand at FESPA 2013 in London (EXCEL): 25 – 29/06/2013 | hall N | stand P8
(Katz GmbH & Co. KG)

22.04.2013 Crown and Blue Dog Mead Partner To Launch New Packaging For A 'Classic' Drink ( Company news )

Eugene, Oregon-based Blue Dog Mead recently partnered with CROWN Beverage Packaging North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown) (www.crowncork.com), to launch the first ever mead packaged in beverage cans in North America. Blue Dog’s Green Collar Mead is now sold in 12 oz. beverage cans, expanding the company’s distribution and providing additional choices for consumers to enjoy this increasingly popular drink.
Mead, also referred to as ‘honey wine,’ is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of honey and water. Evidence of mead production stretches back over 4,000 years and the beverage is referenced in the beliefs and mythologies of Asian, African, and perhaps most famously, Norse cultures. Depending on the specific recipes used, the resulting drink flavor can range from sweet to spiced or even bitter and beer-like with the addition of hops.
A meadery specializing in all honey-based spirits, Blue Dog Mead identified an opportunity for growth based on the success it had seen the premium beer, wine and craft beer markets experience with metal packaging. The company partnered with Crown and Craft Canning, a mobile canning service, to ensure a smooth transition to beverage cans. Consumer demand for the new packaging format, combined with shipping and logistical advantages, resulted in Blue Dog Mead being able to expand its distribution network from Washington and Oregon to include Tennessee and other states as well as several international markets.
A key factor in Blue Dog Mead’s decision to use cans was metal’s inherent ability to block light and oxygen and, in turn, protect the unique flavor of the beverage, as well as its quality. To determine how the mead would perform in its new packaging format, Crown conducted preliminary testing at its Alsip, Illinois research and development facility.
“It was critical for us to work with a partner that could provide support in all aspects of the packaging process, and we recognized Crown’s expertise in this field,” stated Simon Blatz, owner of Blue Dog Mead. “We really value the insight that Crown provided throughout the process and they helped us to get the most out of this packaging format to achieve our objectives.”
Since beverage cans allow for full surface printing, rather than only on a label, the brewery had more space to showcase its unique brand identity, differentiating the ‘new’ drink on store shelves. Since the company had no prior experience designing graphics for metal, Crown provided strategic counsel both in terms of color and imagery. Blue Dog Mead also took advantage of the opportunity to visit Crown’s Olympia, Washington, plant to collaborate on artwork and oversee the metal printing process.
“The launch of Green Collar Mead in aluminum cans embodies Crown’s ability to help customers build their brands through packaging,” said Neill Mitchell, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Development, CROWN Beverage Packaging North America. “In this case, Blue Dog Mead was able to expand its distribution network and reach a whole new customer base in an efficient, eye catching format.”
(Crown Holdings Inc.)

19.04.2013 Sly Fox Beer Opens Up Flavor And Aroma With Crown's 360 End™ ( Company news )

With the April launch of Helles Golden Lager, its ninth canned beer, Sly Fox Brewing Co. of Pottstown, Pennsylvania becomes the first brewery in North America to utilize the innovative 360 Endbeverage can technology developed by Crown Holdings, Inc. (www.crowncork.com). The entire lid of the can is removable, turning it into a drinking vessel and eliminating the need for separate glassware.
“This technology allows the full flavor and aroma of the beer to hit the drinker’s senses and makes the can an even more appealing package for outdoor activities and situations where you want to be able to move around and sip your beer easily,” says head brewer Brian O’Reilly.
Sly Fox beer with the 360 End™ will debut at the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, DC at the end of March where a special one-off brew, 360 IPA, will be available for attendees at the Crown Holdings booth (Booth #1129).
While Helles is the only style scheduled to use the 360 End™ as a standard, the brewery’s flagship Pikeland Pils will be offered in the same format exclusively at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, this spring and summer.
“We’re very excited to partner with Sly Fox on the first commercial application of Crown’s full aperture end in North America,” says Tim Lorge, Vice President, Sales at CROWN Beverage Packaging North America, a business unit of Crown Holdings, Inc. “Craft brew enthusiasts want to enjoy their beer as it was meant to be experienced – whether at home or at an event – and the 360 End™ makes the beverage can the perfect vessel to do just that.”
Beverage cans offer another key benefit: sustainability. Metal is 100% recyclable and infinitely recyclable, meaning it can be reused again and again with no degradation in quality. The full aperture end created for the Helles and Pikeland Pils cans takes sustainability one step further by using Crown's patented SuperEnd® beverage ends. The ends use 10% less metal than traditional beverage ends and make cans even more environmentally friendly.
Helles Golden Lager will be available in cans and on draft year round, along with Sly Fox beers Pikeland Pils, Phoenix Pale Ale and Rt. 113 IPA. Sly Fox seasonal canned and draft beers include Christmas Ale, Dunkel Lager, Odyssey Imperial IPA, Oktoberfest Lager and Royal Weisse. The brewery also offers four Belgian style beers in 750ml bottles: Black Raspberry Reserve, Ichor (quadruple), Incubus (tripel) and Saison Vos.
(Crown Holdings Inc.)

18.04.2013 Highland Spring: UK's no.1 bottled water brand ( Company news )

At Highland Spring, we’re proud to announce that we are now the UK’s no.1 bottled water brand!*

We’d like to thank you for helping us hit the top spot – we’re the first British water brand to achieve this for 30 years.
Thanks for all your support.
(*Zenith International, UK Bottled Water Report 2013.)

(Highland Spring Ltd)

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