Multifunctional filler for Moon Dog Craft Brewery

The GEA Visitron Filler All-In-One multifunctional processing technology is able to fill glass bottles, cans and PET containers on a single filler. Australian-owned Moon Dog Craft Brewery plans to integrate the filler into its new plant in Melbourne.

Operating for nearly 10 years, the independent Moon Dog Craft Brewery has outgrown its original facility in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford, and has now moved to Preston. The new 12,000 m² facility has a production capacity of over 10 million litres per year, thus necessitating GEA’s filler which has a capacity of 8000 bottles and cans per hour.

“The All-In-One filler allows us to operate a single filling line for both cans and bottles with quick changeover between formats. This gives us benefits in terms of floor space utilisation, and simplicity in maintenance and operation,” said Josh Uljans, co-founder and CEO of Moon Dog Craft Brewery.

The lean monoblock filler was developed by GEA VIPOLL to help breweries meet their sustainable packaging requirements. Designed to save time during filling and format changeovers, the compact machine rinses, fills and caps, and can switch to handle different products and container formats. The product’s rinser is equipped with universal grippers, the filler uses an electro-pneumatic filling valve and a single capping turret can accommodate different closure types.

The multifunctional system can be used to fill glass, cans and PET containers, and is able to handle different formats and seal them with diverse cap types. The product can fill carbonated or still drinks, using a hot or cold fill method.

From brewing to bottling and storage, GEA has developed a range of products suitable for breweries. The Moon Dog Craft Brewery facility will also feature other GEA products, including the DICAR-B carbonation system, an ECO-FLASH pasteuriser and a Plug & Win 100 centrifuge from the technology group.

Top image credit: Moon Dog.