Page 22 - Food&Drink Business Magazine July-August 2020

BEVERAGE PRODUCTION
A sparkling solution
A collaboration between Domaine Chandon Australia and Sidel resulted in a packaging rethink and ultimately improved efficiencies in its bottling operations.
AS the Australian sparkling wine market became more competitive, Domaine Chandon Australia (DCA) looked to improve its bottling production line.
Working with Sidel’s experts in end-of-line solutions, DCA has increased the utilisation rate of its manufacturing assets and produced more consistent case stacking quality on pallets.
The fully automated Cermex WB46 Wrap-Around case packer – including a partition inserter module and coupled with the PalAccess palletiser
– has enabled DCA to accommodate the growing local demand for premium wine.
These outcomes have led to improved downstream logistics operations.
STEEPED IN HISTORY, FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE DCA has a history going back decades to when Moët & Chandon started producing
premium sparkling wines outside of France.
Chandon’s founder, Robert- Jean de Vogüé, first travelled abroad in the late 1950s to collaborate with winemakers in foreign countries, applying his Champagne expertise to new world sparkling wine creation.
In the mid-1980s, a team of Chandon’s experts discovered Green Point, an old dairy farm in the Yarra Valley in the state of Victoria. There, the climate is cool and the soil is rich, making it the perfect spot for DCA to produce méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines.
STAYING ON TOP OF THE SPARKLING WINE WAVE The sparkling wine segment accounts for 6.9 per cent of the wine and cider market in Australia and is expected to grow over the next five years.
This positive trajectory is due to the increasing consumer preference towards premium
and more sophisticated drinks, including French champagnes. Since 2014, more and more
wine lovers have been shifting from low-value wines to higher-value ones, leading to a growth of five per cent and an expected revenue of US$6.9 billion through 2018-2019.
With new companies expected to enter the segment, companies like DCA are looking to greater production line automation to stay competitive.
SIDEL’S HERITAGE WITH WINE AND SPIRITS
Sidel and DCA began working on the project several years ago, starting with conceptual layouts based on the available floor space, the packaging design specifications and DCA’s technical requirements for the equipment.
Wrap-around packing is not widely used in this industry, but the Australian sparkling wine producer quickly
identified the benefits of using this type of case versus the more commonly seen regular slotted case (RSC) designs.
Country manager for Australia at Sidel Julien Claudin says: “DCA is a true pioneer, and despite the challenges they represented to couple this case design with the integration of a partition inserter module within the same piece of equipment, we were very excited to be part of this journey.”
DCA’s objective for the new installation was to partner with one supplier to provide an end-to-end solution that embarked on a high level of automation for each and every step of the process.
The Cermex WB46 Wrap- Around case packer is suited for the packing operation involving premium product handling, according to Sidel.
The machine provides smooth bottle handling, regardless of the bottle’s design
22 | Food&Drink business | July/August 2020 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au