Hygienic design of filling machines a signpost for STM GROUP

Hygienic design plays a key role in beverage safety, quality throughout the supply chain. It influences safe production and creates more productive and sustainable production processes by minimising cleaning interruptions and an impeccable reputation for responsible companies. This translates into increased interest and growing awareness of hygiene in the production process. This is why STM GROUP, as an international supplier of complete filling lines and a member of the EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group), applies the strictest global guidelines and rules when designing filling machines.

Established in 1989, EHEDG is an organisation of food manufacturers, food processing companies and manufacturers of equipment and machinery for the food industry. Its aim is to raise awareness of maintaining strict hygiene standards in design, providing studies and solutions. Membership of this elite organisation is all about access to a wealth of knowledge and the opportunity to collaborate with experts in hygienic design from around the world.

STM GROUP places a strong emphasis on hygiene-oriented design and is committed to raising awareness among designers and potential clients in this area. Firstly machines are constituted in such a way that lubricants do not come into contact with the products. All easy-to-clean surfaces are smooth and free of imperfections (e.g. gaps and cracks) to prevent the build-up of micro-organisms and biofilms. We also focus on eliminating exposed screw threads, metal-to-metal joints of fasteners, gaps in hinges. In addition, all machine components in contact with the product are made of AISI 316L grade stainless steel, which meets the highest hygiene standards and is resistant to the highly invasive agents used during the CIP procedure.  Our good manufacturing practice is to clean and check all new equipment before delivery, which allows us to control the final result. The combination of all these components results in a product with the highest hygienic standards.

The professionals at STM GROUP are committed to complete customer satisfaction, which is why they take customers through the entire design, machine creation and installation process from start to finish, right through to the commissioning of their new line. STM GROUP currently employs 240 engineers and technicians and has a production facility with a total area of 6,000 m2. The company has state-of-the-art technical facilities, including a professional design office equipped with advanced technical software, guaranteeing the high quality of manufactured products and allowing for continuous control of the handling of ongoing projects by experienced Project Managers.

In summary – STM GROUP is a stable company with over 40 years of experience in designing and implementing new technologies for the food industry. Join the world of innovation with us to take your business to the next level!

 

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Bottling line for the new premium water brand MILA – MUSZYNA

We started the second half of 2024 with the realization of a bottling line with a capacity of 4,500 bottles per hour dedicated to the new water brand MILA – MUSZYNA created and developed by Beata Pawlowska – President of Polish Springs. MILA – MUSZYNA is an exclusive mineral water extracted from Milusia and Piotr springs, which are located in the middle of Poprad Landscape Park, the best in terms of quality and image of mineral and medicinal water intakes in Poland and Europe.

MILA – MUSZYNA is confectioned on the STM GROUP line, which consists of a set of plate conveyors, STM saturator mod. JS6 for carbonated water production, a labeling system with optical camera orientation and embossing recognition system, STM triblock mod. ArrowPet 16/24/6 ISO for bottling carbonated or non-carbonated beverages, and a mobile CIP station.

It is worth noting that the MILA – MUSZYNA brand applies the ESG (Environmental, Social, Corporate Governance) policy on a daily basis, with great care extracting water from sources, caring for and protecting their resource and quality values. Not without significance is the chosen bottle, which with its unique, elegant grooves-inspired by shapes from the art deco era-relates to the history of the source. The bottle is made of 100% recycled PET plastic. MILA MUSZYNA will soon be available in premium outlets across our country.

STM GROUP’s complete bottling lines go to customers all over the world, nevertheless, we are always happy to implement the latest technological solutions in Polish companies. Download our CASE STUDY and learn about other projects of complete bottling lines at STM GROUP.

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New STM Arrow Can EPV 14/2 machine on offer from STM Group

The beverage market in Poland and worldwide has been changing very dynamically recently. The trend towards sustainability affects all beverage producers, from breweries and spirits production to natural juices and the dairy industry. Consumer awareness has risen significantly and concepts such as carbon footprint and packaging sustainability have entered everyday life, moreover forcing producers to adapt to current trends of extended social responsibility. An effect of eco-development is the ever-growing popularity of aluminium packaging in the beverage industry – we are of course talking about cans. They are lightweight, have excellent barrier properties, are very easily recyclable, are made of a single material and can be transported far more by road, thus reducing air pollution. These advantages have led to an increased demand for filling machines dedicated to beverage packaging in this type of packaging.

STM has been supplying can filling machines and complete processing lines to small and medium capacity producers for years. Our latest machine is the STM Arrow Can EPV 14/2 with a nominal capacity of 6,000 cans per hour of 500ml. The machine is equipped with 14 mechanical isobaric fillers, whose opening and closing is operated by an electronically controlled pneumatic cylinder system. This gives incredible autonomy to the operation of each filler, which is correlated to a preset position during the rotation of the filling machine. The operator can manage parameters such as the timing of the aeration, the length of the can purge and the timing of opening and closing – a major advantage when bottling highly carbonated or foaming beverages such as beer. The filling machine is also equipped with a dissolved oxygen product meter, a carbon dioxide modulating valve unit, a beverage proportional valve, pressure and temperature sensors or one of the best product pumps available on the market. The whole is topped off with a two-headed ‘seamer’, a special sealer which, during its two operations, permanently stitches the lid together with the can, ensuring total sealing and barrier integrity. The sealing procedure itself is enhanced by the injection of inert gas under the lid and the optional use of liquid nitrogen or a foam breaker when required. All product contact parts are made of AISI 316L stainless steel, which is resistant to the highly invasive agents used in the CIP procedure. We are a member of the EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group), which obliges us to apply the world’s strictest guidelines and rules when designing filling machines. On the other hand, our long-standing passion for beer has taught us what to do to ensure that our machines have a record-low oxygen build-up during the bottling of this product, which affects the TPO (Total Packed Oxygen) and this very parameter determines the preservation of sensory qualities over the long shelf-life axis. Another strength is our block production system for machines, we need no more than four months to deliver a new STM Arrow Can EPV 14/2 or any other machine of our production. It is also worth noting that the design of the latest filling machines has changed, they are designed with separate enclosures, so operators have ideal service access which is also an advantage from a hygiene point of view.

There is no doubt that the STM Arrow Can EPV 14/2 brings with it a whole package of benefits for small and medium-sized bottling companies in the beer and beverage industry. In this day and age, no one needs to be convinced that it is necessary to follow global trends in any industry and that failure to develop is tantamount to going backwards, which is why at STM we are committed to developing in step with the best. Helping the growth in the bottling industry are the professionals at STM, who guide customers through the entire process of designing, creating, installing and commissioning their new line from start to finish. STM currently employs 140 engineers and technicians and has a production facility with a total area of 3,000 m2. The company has state-of-the-art technical facilities, including a professional design office equipped with advanced technical software, which guarantees the high quality of the manufactured products and allows for the continuous control of the handling of ongoing projects by experienced Project Managers.

In summary – STM is a stable company with over 40 years of experience in designing and implementing new technologies for the food industry. Join the world of innovation with us to take your business to the next level!

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Intensive trade show time at STM Group in Q2 2024

Trade fairs are a great opportunity to showcase your latest projects and developments, which is why STM Group attended two major international events in April and May – Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America in Las Vegas and Hispack in Barcelona. In June, we will visit Latin America, where we will participate in the region’s largest industry trade fairs – Expo Pack in Mexico City and Brasil Brau in São Paulo. The main purpose of the trade fairs in the new markets is to attract customers and agents, but we are also using this time to share our latest developments in canning and bottling products and processing, which we have been working on recently.

The first trade show is the largest gathering for craft brewers and alcohol producers in North America – the Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America. The event, which took place from 21-24 April 2024 in Las Vegas, attracted 9,500 attendees from more than 60 countries. Attending the show was an ideal opportunity for us to meet with the leaders of the craft brewing industry in the US market, thus establishing new relationships and contacts in America, which has huge business potential for us. The CBC 2024 conference also provided us with a significant educational value, during the 4-day event we attended numerous lectures looking at new trends in the alcoholic beverage industry.

Another trade fair – Hispack is the most important trade fair event for the packaging and food industry in Spain. The fair, which took place from 7-10 May 2024, brought together more than 800 exhibitors from 28 countries, 1,250 brands and more than 27,000 visitors at the Gran Via facility in Fira de Barcelona. Significant interest was also generated by our stand shared with Spanish partners Difmaq, Ayrtac and Alimatic. There we presented the latest of STM’s can filling machines – the ArrowCan 14/2 ISO EPV with a nominal capacity of 6,000 cans per hour with a 500ml capacity aimed at small and medium-sized filling comanies in the beer and beverage industry. During Hispacek, we also had the opportunity to discover the latest trends, make new business contacts and learn about innovative solutions that are shaping the future of the industry.

We will be spending the first half of June in Latin America to attend Expo Pack in Mexico City (4-7.06) and Brasil Brau in São Paulo (11-13.06). Mexico is a new destination for us, so we have planned a number of meetings with Mexican customers during the fair, presenting at a stand together with our partner Difmaq. Brasil Brau, on the other hand, is our next trade fair in Brazil, which, like the previous ones, will probably be full of meetings with potential customers, with whom our agent in São Paulo is in regular contact. Please visit stand A27, where we will be available to you from 11-13 June 2024.

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STM at International Trade Fairs in Europe & America in Q2 2024

The upcoming spring quarter will be filled with trade fair trips for STM GROUP, both in Europe and across the ocean – in the Americas. These fairs will allow us to showcase our latest achievements in canning, and bottling products, as well as processing machines, which our R&D department has been working on recently. We share this information for you to plan to visit us at one or all of the shows described below.

The first of the fairs is the largest gathering in America for the alcoholic beverages industry – the Craft Brewers Conference & Brew Expo America. This event, taking place from April 21st to 24th, 2024, in Las Vegas, presents an opportunity for us to meet with current and potential American clients. It’s also a chance to establish new business contacts in this market.

CBC 2024, Las Vegas, NV | April 21-24, 2024 – Booth #115

The next major fair trade where we will be present is Hispack 2024 in Barcelona. From May 7th to 10th 2024, along with our partners – Difmaq, Ayrtac, and Alimatic, we will be in pavilion 3, booth 225. There, we will showcase our latest can-filling machine – ArrowCan 14/2 ISO EPV, with a capacity of 6000 cans per hour.

 

HISPACK 2024, Barcelona, Spain | May 7-10, 2024 – Pavilion 3, booth #225

We will spend nearly all June in Latin America, where we will participate in the biggest trade fairs in this region. We will start with the show we attended last year – Expo Pack in Mexico. This trade fair, which is the largest show in Mexico (the second largest country in Latin America), is a great market for us, and we have many meetings planned during this time with clients from all over Mexico. Let’s meet there on Expo Pack 4-7 June 2024.

 

 

Another major event in Q2 for us will be the Brasil Brau fair in the largest city in South America and the Southern Hemisphere – São Paulo. Following last year’s Expo Abinam&Sindinam and Fispal fairs, this will be our next show in Brazil, which, like the previous ones, will undoubtedly be filled with meetings with potential clients, with whom our agent from São Paulo is in constant contact. We invite you to visit us at stand A27 at Brasil Brau from June 11th to 13th, 2024.

 

Brasil Brau 2024, São Paulo, Brasil | June 11-13, 2024 – Booth #A27

 

Last but not least, our Latin American tour ends back in São Paulo, this time on Fispal Tecnologia 2024. Fispal Tecnologia is known worldwide as the largest event for the beverage and food industry, attracting more than 44,000 visitors and around 450 exhibitors each year to showcase innovations and technologies in the fields of processing, packaging and logistics. We’ll be there 18th-21st June 2024, to meet you and to keep an eye on the latest developments in our industry.

 

 

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STM GROUP Unveils Cutting-Edge Beer Bottling Line at Fabrica Grivița, Romania

STM GROUP, Poland’s premier bottling lines manufacturer, proudly presents an enthralling video showcasing the successful launch of a fully automated beer bottling line at Fabrica Grivița (https://www.fabricagrivita.ro). The video, available for viewing here, provides an in-depth look at STM GROUP’s innovative solutions for beer bottling technology and the key components of the cutting-edge bottling line.

The introduction of this fully automated beer bottling line, with a capacity of 6,500 bottles per hour, is a significant leap forward, underscoring STM GROUP’s unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence machines for the beer industry.

In the video, viewers will be immersed in the following elements of the beer bottling line:

  1. Full-Height, Fully Automatic Depalletizer: The TES STM DPL-S-GLASS-6 depalletizer by TES STM GROUP ensures a streamlined start to the beer bottling line, reducing the need for extensive manual labor. This depalletizer is seamlessly integrated with a vertical conveyor, transporting bottles efficiently from a high level to the beer bottling machine’s conveyors.
  2. Beer bottling machine for beer in glass bottles – STM ArrowGlass 24/24/6 ISO BEER: Designed for precision and efficiency, this glass bottle filler employs double pre-evacuation using a vacuum pump, high-pressure hot water fobber, a proportional main product valve and carbon dioxide modulation valves. The system fills each bottle with beer, maintaining a smooth and efficient production process while minimizing oxygen pick-up for the highest product quality.
  3. Quality Control Mechanisms: Advanced quality control measures include a fill-level inspector for accurate product quantity verification and a checkweigher for full box inspection. These automated processes ensure that each bottle and box meet stringent quality standards.
  4. Air Knives for Drying: After the beer bottling and fill level checks, containers pass through TES STM GROUP’s air knives, efficiently drying the containers before label application.
  5. Cutting-Edge Labeling Technology: Integrated with the beer bottling line, Newtec’s state-of-the-art labeling technology provides accuracy and reliability. A 3-head self-adhesive labeler applies up to three labels per bottle—front, back, and neck label.
  6. Wrap-Around Cartoning Machine: Atlanta Packaging’s Rafaello wrap-around cartoning machine expertly packs beer bottles into cardboard boxes at a stable speed of up to 15ppm.
  7. Palletizing System – TES STM GROUP’s PAL0: This system, although it is our simplest palletising system, it is based on a gripper of our production and a robot. This system is compact and allows palletising at one of two storage locations, where the second location is operated by an operator at the time (taking a full pallet, bringing an empty pallet).

The video not only celebrates a significant milestone in the development of craft beer bottling industry equipment but also reinforces STM GROUP’s position as a trusted partner, offering innovative solutions that cater to the evolving needs of clients, especially in the realm of bottling machines and complete bottling lines.

For more information about STM GROUP and to watch the video, visit: https://stm-pack.com/.

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Machine for oil production manufacture producent

Oil Filling Line for Polish Rapeseed Manufacturer, Bielmar

Among many projects we kickstarted in 2022, the one for a Polish company, Bielmar is worth learning about. Operating since 1945, the manufacturing plant in Bielsko-Biala has undergone many changes. Today, the company boasts rapeseed warehouse, modern oil mill, refinery, margarine production plant and logistic base. In order to keep up with the growing demand and emerging techologies for rapeseed processing, our client ordered an automatic bottling line for edible oil.

STM engineers designed the PET bottling line to handle capacity up to 9000bph. Oil bottling line in question consists of blowmoulding machine, filling machine, labelling machine, packing system and palletizing system. Among many segments of industrial bottling equipment installed, here are some of the most importnant ones:

TES STM Blueline 6 Standard blow moulding machine, fitted with 6 blowing cavities, is capable of manufacturing 2 volumes of PET bottle: 500 and 1000ml. Additionally, the client requested installing ECO Power Air Recovery System – an innovative solution from TES STM Group to recover compressed air, which is later reused for pre-blowing and operation of the blowmoulder for improved overall air management.

Another stage is handled by an edible oil filling machine from STM: Arrow Pet 24/8 WeightMatic series. This bottling equipment features 24 filling valves controlled electronically and 8 capping heads. After nitrogen dosing and filling level inspection, the bottled product is checked for incorrect closure. In case of a cap missing, the item will be gently removed from the line by a mono-pusher.

Next, STM labelling machine MegaRoll 9 applies OPP labels using Hot Melt method. For packing, we used Robopack Dimac Starwrap model R25. Equipped with sensors detecting overturned or missing items, the machine encloses bundles of PET bottles with wrap-around cardboard boxes. Later, packages are automatically tagged with printed labels.

The high speed bottling line wouldn’t be complete without an automatic palletizing system. Based on Kawasaki robot, the system handles DHP and EURO pallets. For cardboard boxes palletizing, we chose a pneumatically controlled mechanical gripper, which simultaneously picks interlayer sheets using a set of vacuum grippers. During the entire process, light curtains control the entry and exit of pallets from the line. Finally, an automatic pallet wrapper with a rotary arm secures the stacked layers with stretch foil.

Although, STM has been delivering bottling and filling equipment across the world, we are always proud to implement the latest technological solutions for Polish companies. Offering reliable bottling machinery and years of expertise, we hope to further support our country’s growing businesses in food and beverage industry.

If you want to read more about our bottle filling machine systems, feel free to download our Case Studies report. Get it here.

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Complete vegetable oil filling lines

We are currently commissioning a complete edible oil filling line in Poland.

In fact, on the video, you may only see one of two vegetable oil filling lines that make up this whole project.
When completed, this turnkey solution will be able to deliver up to 8000 1l bottles per hour of canola oil (rapeseed oil), both in PET and glass bottles plus 1100 bottles per hour into 5l PET bottles.

Altogether, there are also other bottle formats in the range: 500, 1000, 2000, 3000, 5000, and 10000ml.

Being one of our biggest projects lately, it is very complex – it starts with two blow molding machines (Blueline 6 HiTech & Blueline 1 BIG MAX) with Kaeser compressor room and a glass bottle depalletize at the beginning of the lines.

Later the bottles are transferred to one of two filling monoblocks (Arrow PET/GLASS UNIV 20/6 WeightMatic & Arrow PET 9/3 WeightMatic BIG).
These are proceed by three labellers (STM Mega Roll 9, STM UNO ADE, and PE Labellers Modular SL for rectangular bottles).

After the filling level is checked by inspector, the BIG bottles line has a neck handle applicator and go separately to the palletizing system on Kawasaki robot.

The same palletizing system handles also the wrap-around carton boxes filled with smaller glass and PET bottles. After the palletizing is done, full pallet gets transferred to the rotating arm pallet wrapper Technowrapp, and then gets transferred to the warehouse.

 

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Two robot complex palletizing system for cans, PET bottles and glass bottles in crates

Following previous news, last part of our Pivovara Daruvar Project in Croatia is a complex palletizing system based on two Kawasaki robots.

To recall, the client wanted us to project and implement two complete beer filling lines for aluminum cans and PET bottles by putting them in old building with one existing customer’s line – for returnable glass bottles in cases. We went few steps further, inventing a way that this project would give much more to the investor, and we made a layout that tied the beginning and the end of line with two end-of-lines by STM.

This meant that apart from palletizing packages of cans and PET bottles we were able to offer our client an automatic depalletizing of cases with empty bottles returning to the brewery, as well as palletizing full cases with freshly filled glass beer bottles. Due to the importance of canned beer for our client, we decided to design this system so that the canning line could work independently, using one Kawasaki robot and one gripper, while the PET line could work alternatively with returnable glass line – which was also fine for the client because of having one bright beer tank (BBT) for both these lines. In the end we’ve offered two functions more than expected: depalletizing crates with glass bottles returning to the brewery with capacity of 20000 bph and palletizing cases with full bottles while still being able to meet the required capacities of palletizing can line 15000cph and PET bottle line 3000bph.

A very important matter in this project was also to create a logic of automatic EUR pallet movement inside of the system that has one inlet – during empty bottle crates depalletizing, and needs empty pallets for can palletizing and PET bottle or full crates palletizing. We designed a system with two pallet storages (capacity 15 pallets each), and delivering them exactly where they need to get in the right moment.

 

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3000 bottles per hour complete beer filling line into 2L PET

Following the commissioning of aluminum can filling line in Pivovara Daruvar, Croatia, we moved to start-up of second complete filling line – into PET bottles.

Client requested a turnkey solution for 3000 bottles per hour at 2l bottle filled with beer. This project was very peculiar because of the need to put our new filling line inside of client’s existing returnable glass bottle filling line. This also required finding a place for a compressor room, as well as designing a way to get through with the air conveyors from the blow molder to the filler’s position.

This filling line consists of a 3-cavity blow molding machine Blueline 3 Standard with a complete compressor room by Kaeser Compressors and MTA chiller. Then there is a big air conveyor buffer that goes into next hall inside of existing line – to the filler’s inlet. Filling machine used is Arrow PET 20/40/8 ISO BEER – our isobaric PET filler for beer, with pre-evacuation of air from the bottle and a high pressure hot water fobber before capping. After the filler, there is a filling level inspector, air knives and an OPP labeller model Uno Roll with CIJ data printer Hitachi.

At the end-of-line, there is a small shrink-wrapping machine AP12, tailored for the capacity of the line – 3000bph packed into 3×2 packages, which gives 10ppm with 120% overspeed. The line ends with package conveyors leading to a complex palletizing system based on two Kawasaki Robots, that we will describe separately.

 

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