Masitek, the leading smart in-line sensor provider for the food and beverage industry, announced today that the use PressureQC at three bottling plants in Mexico has led to a national roll-out across Heineken.
(Moncton, NB) Pablo Asiron, Executive Vice-President of Global Business Development at Masitek stated, “Data and results at the three initial sensor deployments have proven incredibly valuable to Heineken. This success created demand across the company’s other facilities whose operation teams sought similar efficiency improvements.”
Prior to the use of Masitek solutions, mechanical forces on the filling lines at the Heineken plants were producing multiple bottle explosions per hour. Aside from presenting serious work safety risk, high levels of impact and pressure on the lines were negatively affecting line efficiency and decreasing the life of the company’s returnable glass packaging.
Decisions driven by data from PressureQC led to immediate equipment adjustments, reducing bottle explosions and an increase in the life of returnable bottles by up to 50%.
An Operations Manager at Heineken stated, “Our initial intention was to increase the life of returnable bottles through the reduction of scuffing by measuring, analyzing and reducing the high-pressure areas in the conveyor belts. As a result, we also achieved a considerable reduction in the number of bottle explosions and a corresponding reduction in the risk of personal injuries.”
Citing significant annual savings, Heineken has rapidly expanded the use of smart sensor solutions across all bottling facilities in Mexico.
In 2010, Heineken Mexico acquired Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (CM), a brewery founded in Monterrey in 1890. The company offers products under Indio, Bohemia, Strongbow, Coors Light, Noche Buena, Dos Equis, SOL, Affligem, Kloster Light, Heineken, Tecate, Superior, Carta Blanca, and Amstel brands.
About Masitek Technology
Headquartered in New Brunswick, Canada, Masitek Instruments Inc. offers state-of-the-art, real-time wireless detection and reporting technologies designed to immediately identify and quantify damage to fragile goods in production, packaging and distribution systems for handlers and manufacturers around the world in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Masitek’s innovative sensor technology helps reduce downtime, enhance product integrity and increase global scalability, productivity and profits. Masitek has grown to become the global leader in virtual remote sensing technology with installations in Fortune 1000 companies around the world.
“Data and results at the three initial sensor deployments have proven incredibly valuable to Heineken. This success created demand across the company’s other facilities whose operation teams sought similar efficiency improvements.”