System Integration & Control Systems Design


The brewery of the future

October 2021 System Integration & Control Systems Design

As a long-standing technology partner to Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev), the world’s largest brewer, Siemens South Africa recently migrated Maluti Mountain Brewery (MMB) in Lesotho from an old automation system to a central control and monitoring station which combines the brewhouse and cellars.

Meeting current and future customer requirements quickly and with the highest quality is key to the food and beverage industry. ABInBev is a major beer manufacturer, and its brewers want to produce beers with consistent quality for their customers. The project, in partnership with Process Dynamics, a solution partner to Siemens, features continuous innovation with the Braumat system. The software was required to have virtualisation capability, recipe control and management, trend and alarm management, batch reporting and controlled access.

Kamohelo Semuli, brewery specialist at MMB, explains: “MMB is passionate about brewing and has a long tradition of craftsmanship in making superb beer from high-quality natural ingredients. However, fast changing recipes required us to learn new processes quickly, which proved challenging. While we are creating the ‘brewery of the future’, it is important for us to deliver according to our customers’ demands, with a fully transparent view of our production processes. The Siemens Braumat system enables this flexibility and efficiently manages the recipe and the process, minimises human intervention and reduces extract loss. Graphical recipe management, route control possibility, batch reporting, replay modes, efficiency, mobile working, etc. are essential for our brewery of the future goals. We are confident that the partnership with Siemens will be able to achieve this goal.”

Siemens is one of the leading technology suppliers to ABInBev globally. “With our long history of engagement with the brewing world, we are not only making it easier for the brewers to manage recipes, but also helping them to optimise on water and energy utilisation in the processes,” explains Munish Choudhary, vertical manager for food and beverage at Siemens South Africa.

Process Dynamics understands the requirements

Process Dynamics has previously been involved with MMB and hence understands the requirements for such a system in the brewing area. “We have provided a recipe driven system which supports brewing parameter control and monitoring,” explains Process Dynamics managing director, Kobus Van Niekerk. “All user operations are logged so any deviations from the recipe can be easily traced. By being able to analyse batch data, brewers can optimise recipes. We installed the latest Siemens PLC hardware, the S7-1500, but also utilised the existing Siemens PLC within a centralised control room.”

Flexibility, time-to-market, speed and quality are essential for the brewing industry. Recipe control is important, especially based on the changing taste of the customers, but also based on changing raw materials in the process.

“For more than 40 years, Braumat has been recognised as the standard for brewing and process automation,” says Sabine Dall’Omo, chief executive officer, Siemens Southern and Eastern Africa. “We are proud to have delivered on this project with ABInBEV. With our Digital Enterprise solutions and Braumat, Siemens can help beer manufacturers be more flexible and more efficient. Ultimately, digitalisation is ensuring that we can enable our customers to adapt quickly to market situations and demands to expand portfolios with the highest standards. With our industry-leading technology at Braumat, we can provide substantially higher performance and transparency in the brewing and beverage industry.”


Credit(s)



Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page

Further reading:

Bombardier expands adoption of Siemens Xcelerator for aircraft developmen
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Bombardier has expanded its adoption of the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software for aircraft development.

Read more...
New generative AI-powered maintenance offering
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
The Siemens Industrial Copilot is revolutionising industry by enabling customers to leverage generative AI across the entire value chain – from design and planning to engineering, operations and services.

Read more...
Metal plant automation upgrade
ABB South Africa System Integration & Control Systems Design
A combined compressor house (CCH) control system replacement project, undertaken by NJC, an ABB Authorised Value Provider (AVP), has won high praise from client ArcelorMittal.

Read more...
SIs - the channel’s conductors of light
Schneider Electric South Africa System Integration & Control Systems Design
Today’s original equipment manufacturers are innovators in the truest sense, driving the absolute newest in technological advancement. While they develop advanced and often groundbreaking solutions, it is the system integrators who bring these innovations to life.

Read more...
Optimising the product design process
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
OPmobility is partnering with Siemens to adopt its Teamcenter X Product Lifecycle Management software. OPmobility’s increasingly complex products now include electronics and software, to create energy storage systems, which include battery and hydrogen electrification solutions and fuel tanks.

Read more...
Siemens automation portfolio, your bridge to the industrial metaverse
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Step into the future with Siemens’ automation portfolio, your bridge to the industrial metaverse. Our cutting-edge solutions integrate AI, digital twins and real-time simulation, driving smarter, more efficient production.

Read more...
Siemens elevates automotive and aerospace simulation
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced the latest update to its Simcenter portfolio, delivering advancements in aerostructure analysis, electric motor design, gear optimisation and smart virtual sensing. These enhancements are designed to streamline workflows, accelerate certification and provide deeper insights into system performance.

Read more...
The state of the SI industry remains strong and is expanding
System Integration & Control Systems Design
The system integration (SI) industry is expanding with the adoption of AI, automation and data sharing, allowing companies to improve operational efficiency and competitiveness across diverse sectors.

Read more...
Photorealism-enhanced digital twin with digital reality viewer
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced its Teamcenter Digital Reality Viewer, a new software solution that brings the NVIDIA Omniverse platform and accelerated computing to Teamcenter, enabling high-quality, high-performance photorealistic visualisation of large, complex datasets common in engineering and manufacturing.

Read more...
Immersive engineering for the industrial metaverse
Siemens South Africa IT in Manufacturing
Siemens Digital Industries Software has announced that it is delivering on its next-generation immersive engineering roadmap in collaboration with Sony Corporation. This brings together Siemens’ NX software for product engineering with Sony’s breakthrough head-mounted display (HMD) to enable the industrial metaverse.

Read more...