Pallet conveying technology in a brewery

One of the most traditional companies in Dortmund is the Dortmunder Actien Brauerei AG,
which belongs to the Oetker Group. With an annual output of around 4 million hectoliters of beer, it is one of the largest breweries in Germany.

Max Dörr GmbH Conveying Systems was commissioned to plan, develop and deliver a complete pallet conveying system to merge the relevant number of pallets on the new transfer stations and provide them to the forklift trucks, with the aim of optimizing company-internal pallet transportation of the goods which are ready for delivery and decreasing forklift traffic considerably. Roller conveyors, accumulation roller conveyors, chain conveyors, transfer stations, turntables and shuttle cars constitute the main components of this complex conveying system. Thanks to the system’s design configuration, it is ensured that there are no gaps between the individual chain conveyors and also at the interfaces to the turntables, transfer or shuttle stations, thus assuring that each pallet is optimally transported. This is particularly important for transverse pallet conveying and for half pallets.

The signal transmitters, together with the programmable logic controller, ensure secure and reliable operation of the automatic system. The transportation units for the forklifts, e.g. three EUR pallets, two brewery pallets or eight half pallets, will be automatically built up at the transfer stations. For example, if three EUR pallets are queued up behind each other at the transfer point, ready to be taken up by the forklift, this conveying line will only be released again once the entire transportation unit has been picked up by a forklift. The same principle also applies for other pallet sizes.

Creating a transportation unit of eight half pallets is carried out in two stages on the transport system. First, four half pallets are positioned, one behind the other, and are aligned. Then these half units are fed transversely until they meet a limit stop. Then, the next four half pallets are conveyed. The complete conveying unit of eight half pallets is then picked up by a forklift, which now only has to make one trip.

The system has been in operation for some time, and all employees involved are very happy with it. It is a shining example, demonstrating how conveying technology can be perfectly adapted to a pre-existing system. Despite the very high demands placed on it, it only requires minimal maintenance.

Our serving conveyor at the Oktoberfest

The Oktoberfest in Munich is one of the biggest festivals in the world. It has been held on the Theresienwiese fairgrounds in Munich every year since 1810 and is visited by around six million people each year.

Our serving conveyor takes the stress out of plating up food as the plates are fed past the servers. The speed of this conveyor can be continuously adjusted using push buttons. The chefs stand to the side of the serving conveyor and set the food on the plates which are driven past on the conveyor belt, which is suitable for food. If food or sauces splash onto the belt, they are automatically scraped off at the end of the belt and caught in a tray. 230 V power outlets are present on either side of the serving belt so that hand-held blenders, for example, can be used.

Here are a few pictures of the serving conveyor at the Oktoberfest:

Our glass bottle crusher in use at Wüteria Minerallquellen, a water company, and Edelweissbrauerei Farny, a brewery

We have developed a machine specifically for the beverage industry that crushes all types of glass bottles. Available in three different models, this glass bottle crusher can be implemented anywhere in the process, e.g. via manual feeding with individual bottles, with containers or on automated production lines.

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