Customised Equipment

While most people who wanted a distillery now have one, there is still a long way for the industry to go to reach its peak.  Most of you are working hard on many fronts to improve consistency, safety, efficiency, etc, in order to give yourselves more time for sales and marketing.  Some of you are looking for solutions for the first time and it is hard work.  I know this because every time I design a solution and make a sale, I make a loss on the first one.  It is hard work.  But I love it.  So if you are seeking solutions, it may be an idea to call me and discuss it.  It won’t cost a cent, but to make give you sense (pun intended).  I always try to be the cheapest in Australia, not because my products are cheap, but because I know how hard you work.

Here are some examples of what I have done more recently to assist distilleries with their operations:

• since compliance is still a big issue I have studied and gained certification as a hazardous area assessor using AS60079.10.1.  I also have a range of IEC Ex certified products for most equipment in the HA zone, probably all equipment, including the small stuff like glangs and junction boxes.
• I have designed and had manufactured the first AS1692 (storage of flamable liquids) compliant spirit tank less than 1000L.  I have done drawings for 150L, 300L, 400L and 800L, but can produce almost any size under 1000L.  85% of distilleries do not need anything bigger.
• designing a limoncello operation. This included all the thermodynamic calculations, a unique design of the infusion tank, a unique design for heating and cooling the syrup tank  in one shift.
• designed an air knife system for a production line to blow off condensation prior to labelling (but never got the order)
• designing and commisioning a mash tun for none other than Big Don’s Whisky (the same man from Big Don’s Meat).  I increased his alcohol yield by 10% at the same time as decresing his mash bill by 45% (compared to what the brewers were doing for him). I introduced variable area flow meters in the right places to make sure that the process was operated accurately as it makes a difference to yield. My design and process will give yields only 10% lower than Scotland’s yields which is pretty good considering the difference in scale (read my blog HERE).
• It is becoming a more aparent to me now that having a chiller helps a distillery in many ways.  While I have been using a two tanks water recycling system, it works very well in winter, but fails in summer.  A chiller uses 1/3 the power of the rated cooling capacity and I have helped a few distilleries now to save water and get the condensate to the right temperature. Calculating the size of the chiller is important to ensure you don’t pay more than you need to.
• I designed for myself a device to print batch codes on a label prior to it running through a label applicator.  It was design specifically for the AP360 and AP380 and uses an inline inkjet printer.  The real innovation was my own eddie current brake design on the label roll to keep the paper in tension as it passed under the printer head. An off the shelf eddie current brake costs as much as I need to build the device for and my design saved me hundreds of dollars.

It is not so much what I have done, but rather the mindset behind it all; an engineering mindset, problem solving, making production quicker, easier, safer.
One of my other aims is to provide economical solutions.  I have saved distilleries tens of thousands of dollars.  I do this by working hard, digging deep, calculating the parameters, not guessing, and getting to a right designed solution.