A Contract Packager uses Paxton’s CanDryer in a new canning line to remove residual beer and dry cans.

THE CLIENT

Established in 2015, a Contract Packager goes beyond making great products for their clients: they are committed to seeing their clients’ brands grow. They aim to become a one-stop shop for their client’s brands. The Contract Packager provides their clients with consulting, beverage recipes, supplier selection, design, merchandising, and equipment and construction sourcing. In this facility, located in Wisconsin, one of their main focuses is filling cans to be shipped.

THE CHALLENGE

The Contract Packager built a new can line in their Wisconsin facility: the cans are on a single file plastic flat conveyor belt moving at 330 cans per minute. After filling and sealing, the cans go through washdown process, using water to remove residual beer from outside of the can.

One of the Contract Packager's concerns is that during the drying process, the seam area of the can needs to be completely dry. The seam is a very difficult place to dry because it is very easy for liquid to get trapped due to the different surface levels of the can and can lid. If there is any remaining liquid left on the can, it will cause the can and seam to oxidize. Another concern for the Contract Packager is removing all liquid from the sides of the can. Once the cans are rinsed the outside of the cans will be wet with a mixture of water and residual beer. To prevent the cans from being sticky, they need to be completely dry before packaging.

THE SOLUTION

The Paxton Team determined that the contract packager’s wet can problem could be eliminated using the patent pending CanDryer powered by a 10 hp PX-1000 ultra-high efficiency centrifugal blower. Paxton’s CanDryer incorporates two air knife slots and six nozzles into a single manifold. The CanDryer will remove liquid from the sides, top and seams from multiple sizes of cans, as the mounting system includes an integral crank arm to move the CanDryer manifold up and down as needed.

THE BENEFITS

Using the CanDryer, the Contract Packager was able to improve product quality due to removal of residual beer and complete drying of the cans. And consistent quality is ensured as the CanDryer eliminates any drying variability due to positioning of conventional air knives, while facilitating can size line changeovers due to the easy crank arm adjustment. The CanDryer manifold also improves safety by restricting water spray. Additionally, the CanDryer has a much smaller footprint than a conventional air knife drying system, preserving valuable space on the line.