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How New Belgium Brewery manages waste with WEIMA

WEIMA

Even with modern manufacturing equipment, production waste in the food and beverage industries are inevitable. Despite all best endeavours to avoid wastage, often filled product must be destroyed to avoid product and bin scavenging for CDS refunding. This results in high disposal costs and poor environmental outcomes. A solution is to depackage, dewater and compress waste on-site to reduce volumes and increase recovered recyclables and get paid for the recycled packaging. The WEIMA PUEHLER series presents technology developed for the food and beverage industry. The E.200 and G.200 recycling presses are built for hygienic, in-house waste processing.

Brewing for efficiency

Founded in 1991 in Fort Collins, Colorado, New Belgium Brewing emerged as a craft beer brewer, with a commitment to inspire social and environmental change embedded in its core values from the beginning. New Belgium consistently seeks out partners that prioritise good stewardship of the planet and found WEIMA, a manufacturer of shredding and compressing machinery, as one of those partners.

Recognising the need for a solution that could efficiently manage its increasing production waste, New Belgium invested in the WEIMA G.200 drainage press. This machine, equipped with stainless-steel components, offered a improvement over its previous equipment.

The WEIMA G.200 Drainage Press

The WEIMA G.200 drainage press is a modern, high-performance machine engineered to compress a variety of materials including beverages, food, packaging, and containers. With its ability to produce 200 mm diameter discs, this machine excels in size reduction, facilitating transportation efficiency and streamlining waste management processes.

It is equipped to handle liquids and messes with ease, ensuring hassle-free cleanup and maintenance. Additionally, the WEIMA drainage presses can be customised with a liquid discharge drain pan, providing an extra layer of convenience and cleanliness to production operations.

The Beginning of New Belgium Brewing

New Belgium was founded by Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan. A bike trip through Belgium originally gave Lebesch the inspiration to bring Belgian brewing traditions to his hometown of Fort Collins. And Jordan, a social worker, influenced the company the only way a social worker would – people first.

Since then, New Belgium has carried a human-powered philosophy into all that it does, which has contributed to its success in becoming the largest craft brewer in the nation and expanded across the country from its original site in Fort Collins, Colorado, to Asheville, North Carolina and most recently, Daleville, Virginia.

Prioritising sustainability

As the company grew, so did its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. In 2003, it became a B-certified corporation, harnessing the power of business to address pressing global challenges. This milestone marked a new chapter in its journey, solidifying its position as a company with sustainable brewing practices.

“Since our earliest days, New Belgium has been committed to minimising the environmental impact of our operations. Effective recycling systems are the foundation of this commitment and the WEIMA drainage press has become a valuable and efficient addition to our recycling program” says Caitlyn Wouters, Sustainability Specialist

The WEIMA Way: efficiency

New Belgium experienced a surge in productivity after adding a second canning line to its packaging facility. This necessitated a more effective waste management solution to keep up with its increased production. In response to that demand, the brewery installed the WEIMA G.200 drainage press in June 2023. The unit, equipped with a 5.5 kW motor and a 200 mm disc size, has proven to be a gamechanger. Capable of processing 12,000 to 20,000 cans in a 12-hour shift, the WEIMA G.200 has seamlessly integrated into the company’s operations, offering enhanced efficiency and waste diversion. New Belgium recycles approximately two tonnes of alumnus per month from its Fort Collins location.

“Our previous press was not made for liquid and beer spills. With the G.200, we have a stainless-steel system that we can hit with caustic foam and water, without worrying about rust or paint issues,” said Soren Daugaard, manufacturing excellence site lead.

Danny Banister, packaging manager, highlighted the ergonomic and efficiency gains facilitated by the WEIMA machine.

“Operators can now use equipment instead of hand-loading into our crusher, resulting in significant time savings and improved efficiency,” he said. “Additionally, the increased capacity of the WEIMA G.200 allowed the brewery to crush anywhere from 5 to 15 hoppers of cans per day, driving operational efficiency.”

“So really the key takeaways for WEIMA are – it’s faster, it’s safer, and it’s cleaner,” said Daugaard.

With the support of WEIMA, New Belgium continues to lead the charge towards a more sustainable and efficient future, embodying its commitment to inspire social and environmental change, one can at a time.

CEMAC technologies distributes WEIMA depackaging technology in Australia and provides ongoing servicing and spare parts. Offering machinery ex stock from the Melbourne warehouse, customers are welcome to visit and view available solutions.

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