At over 150 lbs, a half-keg of beer is strenuous to handle. That’s why more than 20 years ago, the D.G. Yuengling and Son, Inc. brewery – known as America’s oldest – made its first foray into automation when it incorporated industrial robots on its keg-filling lines.
Automation Revolutionizes Keg Movement at America’s Oldest Brewery
Fast forward to the present, and Yuengling recently replaced those original robots with new state-of-the-art models. The replacements are faster and even more robust, save time, consume less energy, provide easier maintenance and, like their predecessors, are extremely reliable, while they also reduce the risk of human injuries.
“We basically wore out our original robots. Just their ages and the number of hours on them justified the need for updated automation,” said Bill Friedman, Electrical Services Manager at Yuengling’s Tampa, Florida, facility. “Plus, people don’t want to handle kegs all day, and there’s always a risk of injury.”
In 2003, Yuengling installed two industrial robots from KUKA Robotics into the keg line at its Millcreek facility, located in Pottsville, Pa., not far from the company’s original brewery, founded in 1829 and still in operation. Then, in 2006, the company added a KUKA robot to the keg line in its Tampa, Florida, plant.
“Through the years after our initial automation investment in both our Millcreek and Tampa facilities, we’ve had an amazing relationship with KUKA,” said Jennifer Yuengling, Vice President of Operations and a great-great-great-granddaughter of brewery founder D. G. Yuengling. “KUKA’s robot technology, along with exceptional service and support, has definitely made the incorporation of automation into our keg line a smooth undertaking, so when it came time to upgrade the robots, we again opted for KUKA.”
In her current capacity, Jennifer collaborates with the operations teams of all three breweries. She works alongside her father, Richard Yuengling Jr., to plan the growth and evolution of the company for future generations.
Each of Yuengling’s keg lines uses two KUKA robots that are identical in size, reach and payload. Within the lines, they perform depalletization and palletization.
Empty kegs enter the line stacked on pallets – four half kegs (15.5-gallon capacity) and eight quarter kegs (7.25-gallon capacity) per pallet. The first KUKA robot removes empty kegs from pallets and places them on a conveyor, where they travel to a cleaning process and are refilled. Once kegs are removed, the robot stacks the empty pallets in a holding station/table for the second robot to use. Both robots share the pallet station.
Filled half kegs weigh in at 165 lbs apiece, and one KUKA robot handles two at a time during palletization. In operation, this robot first removes a pallet from the holding station, places it on a conveyor and loads it with refilled kegs. From there, the pallets are loaded into delivery trucks for shipping.
Speed and repeatability are the keys to the success of this cell, and all of its elements must be located precisely for each cycle. “The amount of work that the two KUKA robots do and the speed at which they operate is phenomenal,” said Friedman. “They can run 24/7/365, handling about 400 full kegs per hour.”
The updated robots at Yuengling’s Millcreek and Tampa facilities are KUKA KR 360 R2830
six-axis heavy-duty robots that provide the breweries with pose repeatability of 0.08 mm and arm extension of up to 500 mm. KUKA also offers the robots in a version designed for applications that require resistance to heat, dust and water, and with a range of mounting position options that allows for even more adaptability.
Although the number one criterion for the keg line is safety, number two, according to Friedman, is reliable, continuous robot operation with minimal required maintenance. And if there is a needed repair, the fix is fast and easy to make.
“We’ve stayed with KUKA because we’ve always had extremely good support, both technical and training,” Friedman said. “The other main reason we choose KUKA robots is that they are very dependable, with a simple, practically maintenance-free design. Plus, we’ve improved our cycle times from about 250 kegs per hour to around 430.”
Friedman also noted that for six years prior to its replacement, one KUKA robot in the Tampa facility keg line handled both empty and full kegs. He calculates that it depalletized/palletized about 3 million kegs during its six-year working life – and over that time period, it needed only four repairs, which involved typical wear components.
“If we had been using a traditional palletizer, the number of breakdowns in that same amount of time would have been a hundredfold,” Friedman pointed out. “Our original palletizer was limited to 200 kegs per hour and no faster. It was a basic over/under palletizing setup and was an extremely hazardous system that required massive safety caging.”
Yuengling’s new KUKA robots all feature the latest, most-advanced KRC 5 controller that is compact, capable and consumes less energy compared to its predecessor. The controller slots seamlessly into existing IT and cloud environments while it offers considerably more possibilities and even better results.
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Thanks to its modular cabinet system, the KR C5’s hardware is durable and futureproof, and can be expanded entirely as required. The highly integrated, compact control modules are easy to operate, and Yuengling can link them to various software products and digital services as needed.
The need for increased capacity was the main reason Yuengling added its Millcreek and Tampa facilities and incorporated KUKA automation. Currently owned and operated by Jennifer Yuengling, her sisters and their father, Richard Yuengling Jr., the company has increased production from 137,000 barrels to more than 2 million barrels, encompassing nine different beer types. Over the past two decades, KUKA has been Yuengling’s trusted automation technology partner, and the brewery highlights that partnership as a significant contributor to its continuing growth.
