West Yorkshire brewery invests £850,000 in brand new canning facility

Huddersfield-based Magic Rock Brewing has invested £850,000 in a new Innofill CAN Compact line from KHS, the first line of its type to be installed within the United Kingdom.

The investment into the facility has been facilitated with the help of HSBC UK and HSBC Asset Finance.

The line will deliver rapid speeds and pack quality to the craft beer sector and the flexibility to pack in two different can sizes as well as label smaller runs of special beers in-line.

Richard Burhouse, Magic Rock Brewing’s managing director; Christa Sandquist, head of production and Stuart Ross, head brewer, spoke on an open day at the new facility.

Burhouse said: “We had a number of priorities when choosing our new canning facility, the first was quality closely followed by footprint and then price. KHS delivered on all three fronts, with industry leading quality standards, the smallest footprint of any comparable line and competitive pricing.

“The delivery and installation was completed in a professional and efficient manner and the line has performed impeccably. If you’re looking for an integrated packaging solution I’d have no hesitation recommending KHS for your project.”

Matthew Joy, HSBC UK’s senior commercial manager for West and North Yorkshire, added:

“Magic Rock Brewing has been a pioneer in beer canning over the last three years, receiving international praise for bringing consistent high-quality produce to the UK and across the world.

“Care for craft has been matched with a clear business strategy and this latest investment supports the business to meet growing demand whilst improving its sustainable credentials.”

Magic Rock Brewing has grown its canned beer range over the last three years. Starting with three of its core range beers beginning to be canned in September 2015, to ten core range canned beers in 2018 with the addition of monthly special release beers.

Sales figures have increased steadily over the last three years with 53000 cases sold in 2016, 79000 in 2017 and 2018’s sales already matching 2017 by the middle of October.

The new filling line will enable further sales growth in the can sector by allowing Magic Rock to fill more cans faster with improved stability and shelf life.

Ross said: “Magic Rock began canning in 2015 following our relocation to a new site, after two years of rapid expansion and increases in canned beer sales we found the need review our canning situation.

“Our goals were to increase efficiency, reduce beer loses, reduce TPO, future proof our packaging capacity, and improve stability and the quality of the final product. With careful consideration and planning we chose the KHS Innofill canning line.”

Andy Carter, general sales manager of KHS, added: “Four years ago, at KHS, we launched a completely new filling system with our Innofill Can DVD series. Developed for larger capacities, we’ve now scaled down this technology to meet the stringent quality demands of respected craft brewers like Magic Rock.

“With its efficient CO2 purging system the machine ensures extremely low oxygen pickup. Thanks to its patented purging process it also consumes about 30% less carbon dioxide than conventional systems.”

“One of the innovative features of the Innofill CAN Compact is its extremely hygienic design. This has eliminated the need for water lubrication, simplified cleaning and dramatically improved service life. KHS uses PTFE materials in the filling valve, for example to seal the filling valve piston and in the gas membranes. Flavour carryover when changing the product to be filled is eliminated, a feature of special interest to Magic Rock who brew a large number of different beers.”

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