When looking for a can filler for his 15,000-barrel brewery in Junction City, Wisconsin, Paul Graham’s primary concern was quality.
It was important that the caliber of the filler and seamer matched the quality of beer being put into the package.
After having success with bottling beer for 21 years, Graham — the President for Central Waters Brewing — knew what he wanted in a can filler, and he expected to find a machine to meet his expectations.
His priorities for a can filler were a low dissolved oxygen pickup, a good and consistent seamer and something simple to use so there was no wasted downtime if the machine were to break down.
After speaking with a friend at ProBrew about the ProFill 90S Can Filler, Graham decided to jump in.
“The price was right in what we were seeing as far as quality,” Graham said. “We felt it was a good match.”
At first the Can Filler was only filling about 65-70 cans a minute, and Graham needed production at 90. He immediately called ProBrew and explained he needed 3,000 cases in the next few days and was having trouble getting the filler up to speed.
“Those guys literally dropped what they were doing, hopped in the car and drove right here,” he said. “We’re about two hours from their shop … by the time you’re hanging up the phone, they’re almost walking out the door.”
Twice now, when Graham has needed help, ProBrew has sent service technicians that arrived within a couple of hours.
“They stand behind their equipment, and their service is fantastic,” he added. So good in fact, that Graham is considering buying more ProBrew equipment.
Being the size of Central Waters, Graham regularly deals with suppliers from all over the world — from brewhouse to kegging and bottling lines. Because he tries to find the best equipment possible for the brewery, Central Waters has ended up with a hodgepodge of equipment from different manufacturers over the years.
“The service side is one of the most difficult sides, so their service team being as good as they are and as responsive as they are, in the craft beer industry, I think that’s a must-have,” Graham said.
He’s gotten other fillers from factories abroad, and when they’re shipped, there are subtle nuances that mean things aren’t put together perfectly. Downtime can be a killer, especially with orders to fill. So another benefit Graham saw in ProFill was the simplicity.
“We saw that as an advantage, especially when you’re running 90 cans a minute,” he said. Graham noticed similarities between an old bottle filler he used and the ProFill Can Filler, features that have stood the test of time.
“Some people desire more automation when it comes to filling, but there is a return on investment on all that automation,” Graham said. “It’s hard to justify some of it.”
Because he hadn’t used a canning line before and wanted to test the market out, the price point on the machine allowed Central Waters to jump in without spending an egregious amount on a package.
“If you’re at a 1,000 barrels a year, or even bigger than that, [ProFill] is perfect,” Graham affirmed. “If you can run it five days a week, you can put a lot of production out through this thing.”
The machine Central Waters has is quite simple, and training only took about an hour. Still, the ProBrew team has done a great job of realizing when areas need certain improvements, Graham said, and they make those changes on new fillers as well as those that are existing.
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