Filling Line For Gin and Vodka Distillery, Masons Yorkshire Gin, UK
Masons Yorkshire Gin is one of the most highly decorated, independent gin and vodka distilleries in the UK. The family owned company is dedicated to producing high quality beverages and pay attention to detail at every stage of the process. Following a period of growth, the award-winning spirits brand needed to automate its packaging operation, without compromising the quality and integrity of its product.
The Challenge:
The packaging process at Masons Yorkshire Gin (which had been largely manual up until that point) involved filling glass bottles with slow-distilled gin, before inserting a ‘T’ cork and applying front, back and tamper evident ‘watch-strap’ labels. Accuracy was key in this process, particularly at the label-application stage. Although the aim was to produce a more automated system it was vital that none of the accuracy and expertise were compromised in the process.
“Masons Yorkshire Gin is a premium product, and our branding reflects this. It was important that, in automating our packaging process, we didn’t compromise the accuracy and attention-to-detail.”
Karl Mason, Co-founder of Masons Yorkshire Gin
The Solution:
After an initial site-visit, Masons Yorkshire Gin commissioned Karmelle to supply a turnkey filling, capping and labelling line. The system was to be housed in a custom-built filling room at Masons’ Bedale distillery, where its gin and vodka is produced.
Working closely with the Masons team, Karmelle manufactured a 4 Head Bench Top Filler, which is Mounted on a stainless steel frame, and features a four-way manifold and adjustable gate bar. A ‘T’ Cork Capping Machine (developed especially for the project) sorts the corks, before placing and inserting them into bottles. Operated via an HMI touchscreen, it features line build-back and jam protection. Finally the bottles go through the 3 Point Wrap-Around Labelling Machine. The automatic labeller applies a tamper-evident ‘watch-strap’ label to the filled and capped bottles, followed by front and back ‘Mason’s Yorkshire Gin’ labels. This unique machine is programmed to use a notch on the base of the bespoke bottles as a registration marker, ensuring that labels are placed accurately and consistently.
Trials were conducted at the Karmelle factory, with the Masons team attending to sign-off their new system. Karmelle engineers then installed and commissioned the line in Masons’ filling room, before providing training for their staff.
This turnkey stem has enabled Masons Yorkshire Gin to streamline its packaging operation, improving productivity and reducing wastage.
