Bottling Facility Reduces Off-Line Filler Cleanings to Increase Production and Save on Operational Costs

The Problem

A facility in Mexico bottles carbonated drinks for an international beverage company. Open plant cleaning (OPC) procedures are run before startup, taking approximately three hours, and in the middle of the week (every nine shifts), stopping production for approximately two hours. OPC is run to mitigate biological growth and deposition caused by soda syrup on pistons, valves, capper, guarding, and starwheels.

The Solution

ChemTreat’s Mexico division installed spray nozzles on the most problematic areas of the filler to apply our innovative FillerScrub^™ technology. The cleaning solution is applied approximately every 17 minutes while the filler remains on-line, allowing the customer to maintain system cleanliness and product integrity.

The Results

With FillerScrub^™, the customer can keep surfaces free of deposits while simultaneously eliminating the need for the mid-week OPC procedures. As a result, the facility can increase production by approximately 22,000 boxes of product per month. 

Applying this technology on just one line at this facility can potentially increase customer earnings by approximately $13,500 per month.

Other savings delivered by applying ChemTreat’s technology include:

• 38% reduction in water consumed (15 m³/month)
• 38% reduction in traditional cleaning chemical usage
• 40% reduction in energy consumed by cleaning procedures
• 3,996 kW electricity savings
• 50% reduction in manpower costs