The Challenge
A premium whisky demands a premium filling solution. For this multinational whisky manufacturer, even small inaccuracies could result in thousands of pounds of lost product annually.
In early 2018, their luxury production division needed to fill very low-volume, high-value products with exceptional manual accuracy — while maintaining the highest standards of product integrity.
Due to the alcohol strength, any equipment sourced had to comply with strict industry standards, including:
- ATEX
- DSEAR
- SIL
- PUWER
- Manual handling regulations
The Solution
Adelphi supplied a custom ATEX Zone 1 Category IIB 2G c T5 (100°C) compliant Response Benchtop Filler, engineered specifically for this application.
Exceptional Filling Accuracy
- ± 0.25% accuracy (industry average: ± 1%)
- Reduces waste from 10L to 2.5L per 1,000L filled
- A saving of 7.5L per 1,000L — a 300% improvement
With high-value whisky, this level of precision delivers significant financial savings year after year.
Collaborative Bespoke Design
Adelphi provided a trial unit so the customer could test accuracy and capability before final build.
“We were given the opportunity to work closely with Adelphi through all steps of the build… together we built a bespoke version of the Response Benchtop Filler to fulfil our exact brief.”
Zero waste
Two-speed gentle filling ensures no splash-back, and hygienic drip-trays catch any wayward droplets. Whisky is an even lower viscosity liquid than water, but double PTFE seals on the three-way valve guarantee no leakage when feeding the whisky from the hopper. An additional 6L hopper drains into the main 20L hopper, with a gauze filter between the two to ensure no contaminants – such as oak from the whisky barrel – can get through. This product only ever reaches the customer meeting the required quality standards.
Quick to strip and clean
Less costly production downtime Full strip-down of the Response Benchtop Filler for cleaning can be achieved in 3 minutes! Many customers keep a spare set of wetted parts, so that changeover between products can be as quick as possible.
Unsurpassed hygiene
Critically for ingestible products such as beverages, all parts which come into contact with the whisky on the Response Benchtop Filler are manufactured in 316L pharmaceutical grade stainless steel, PTFE and Viton. Curved and sloping surfaces meet GMP requirements. Clean, lubricant-free pneumatics and sanitary tri-clamp hopper connections prevent unhygienic build-up of residue. The bespoke filling nozzle was also PTFE coated to protect against damage to the glass bottle neck – maintaining the immaculate finish.
Improved employee health and happiness
Feeding product into a filling machine can sometimes mean a tricky angle and height of lift for operating staff, and this presents some ergonomic challenges. However, this solution included a pneumatic trolley that supports the filler, which is lowered to a good working height when the hopper needs filling.
“Based on the performance of the Response filling machine, and the experience of working with Adelphi’s technical team on the bespoke design, we would recommend Adelphi to other suppliers.”
