Increased keg capacity

InTrek Logistics LLC announced that it has increased the keg capacity of its patented InTrek Keg Carousel by 20 percent, going from 10 sixth barrels in each carrier to 12 barrels in each carrier with a maximum height of 25 feet. The carousel also can accommodate as many as 204 sixth barrels and 136 half/quarter barrels at 25 feet, the company says. Other benefits include increased cube utilization that captures as much as 25 feet of existing vertical storage space with multiple floor pick locations; reduced equipment costs and reclaimed aisle space because the InTrek Carousel eliminates the need for forklifts and the wider aisle spaces needed for turning them; and increased floor access to pick faces because the kegs are ergonomically positioned for employees, reducing pick time and risk of injury. Because kegs are vertically stored, long aisle pick faces are eliminated along with dedicated pick lanes for keg SKUs, which increases productivity and decreases utility costs due to a lower footprint of cooler square-footage.

InTrek Logistics LLC, 20311 Cartwell Center Drive, Huntersville, N.C. 28078; 704/877-5777; InTrekLogistics.com.

Capping it right

Adding to its portfolio of polyethylene (PE) resins, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics unveiled new EVERCAP PE resins that are designed for rigid caps and closures used in food and beverage packaging, the company says. The new caps address emerging mega trends, such as an aging global population and the need for more sustainable packaging options. Features of the EVERCAP PE resins include environmental stress crack resistance, stiffness and toughness as well as seal-ability, barrier production, durability, security, sensory characteristics, lightweighting and recyclability. The differentiated materials also offer excellent process-ability, with many drop-in solutions for use in existing compression and injection molding equipment, it adds. The caps also address senior dexterity limitations through easier open and close functionality; deliver sustainability improvements through material reduction, lightweighting and extended shelf-life; ensure health and wellness through both aseptic and hot-fill sterilization processes; and offer enhanced product safety with consistent, reliable tamper evidence. Working with the EVERCAP product portfolio also enables companies the ability to access Dow’s innovation methodology, including Pack Studios, which provides a global network of technical experts, equipment and testing capabilities that enable accelerated application development with collaboration throughout the value chain, it adds.

Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, The Dow Chemical Co., 1254 Enclave Parkway, Houston, Texas 77077; 800/331-6451; dow.com/en-us.

Stylish wine refrigeration

At the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, Vinotemp debuted a Private Reserve Series 300-Bottle Commercial Wine Cooler featuring patent-pending adjustable wine racks that gently cradle bottles to ensure that the label is front-facing along with patent-pending interior light-emitting diode (LED) options in three colors: soft white, amber and Vinotemp BioBlu, which helps reduce the growth of bacteria and mold, the company says. Designed to add a new level of functionality and style to commercial wine storage environments, the large-capacity wine cooler is front vented and designed for built-in or freestanding installation at restaurants, hotels and other commercial locations to add proper storage for as many as 25 cases of wine. The new cooler also features a vibration-damping design to better protect its contents and is engineered for low energy consumption and low noise, it adds. Other features include patent-pending interior lighting that can be selected or turned off at any given time; sturdy, stylish patent-pending stainless steel gliding wine racks; an adjustable, 23-degree temperature range between 41 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing users to select a customized storage and serving temperature for light or dark wines; and an easy-to-read digital LED temperature display to ensure wine is stored and served at the appropriate temperature, the company says.

Vinotemp, 16782 Von Karman Ave., Suite 15, Irvine, Calif. 92606; 800/777-8466; vinotemp.com.

Specialty blending

Charles Ross & Son Co. offers a full range of customizable, practical solutions for specialty blending and demanding applications such as mixing powders, granules and other dry solids, as well as wet applications including suspensions, slurries and pastes, the company says. Driven by a 25-horsepower inverter duty gear motor, the 42N-36S ribbon blender precisely turns as many as 40 revolutions a minute within the U-shaped trough, producing a balanced lateral and radial movement of batch materials. Other features include stainless steel wetted parts polished to 150-grit for ease of cleaning; a cover with safety grating and a custom bag-dump station; a 150-pounds-per-square-inch ASME code-stamped stainless steel jacket around the trough for maximum heating and cooling; and multiple spray bars and nozzles that deliver liquid raw materials with a clean-in-place solution. A NEMA 4X Operator Control Panel also is pre-wired to the blender and factory tested, it adds.

Charles Ross & Son Co., 710 Old Willets Path, Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788; 800/243-7677; mixers.com.

Lubricating conveyor belts

Jürgen Löhrke GmbH announced that it has completed initial testing of its high-performance lubrication (HPL), which produced promising results, it says. A combination of the company’s ultra-dry and dry lubrication systems, HPL is specially designed for high filling rates and difficult bottle shapes, the company says. To ensure the lubricant is precisely applied on the belt, a user-friendly app enables the operator to reduce consumption while protecting the environment and lowering operating costs. The HPL allows the application of a minimum amount of lubricant without aerosol formation, while special nozzles foster a slow, uniform distribution on the entire width of the conveyor belt. Because the film is so thin, the lubricant does not accumulate on the surface of the conveyor belt.  Additionally, because the HPL does not require fresh water, it also prevents wastewater issues, preserves resources and allows the conveyor belts and floors to stay dry, a precondition to avoiding microbial growth and improving workplace safety, it adds.

Jürgen Löhrke GmbH, Siemser 127, Lübock, Germany 23569; +011/49-0-451-29307-77; loehrke.com.

Digital productivity

Rexnord highlighted the release of DiRXN (pronounced “Direction”), a new digital productivity platform based on the integration of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and eCommerce technologies, it says. Designed to help customers maximize production uptime and lower maintenance costs when using Rexnord products and services, DiRXN directly connects customers to data and information that allows them to optimize productivity across all stages of their lifecycles. It also creates digital unification of product and customer processes, resulting in a true ecosystem of enhanced value over time. Additionally, the DiRXN platform delivers operational savings and metric-driven goals and measures, including mean time between failure and mean time to replace, as well as overall equipment effectiveness. DiRXN also simplifies and accelerates the design, selection, order and reorder of components by utilizing mobile technology and eCommerce data to automatically alert customers when a product needs to be reordered or serviced. This is based on usage patterns from remote monitoring and analytics of real-time production processes, it adds.

Rexnord, 4701 W. Greenfield Ave., Milwaukee, Wis. 53214; 414/643-3000; rexnord.com.