Handling Champagne Bottles

Task

Total Champagne production is 300 million bottles per year and the trend is for an increase year on year.
One large Champagne producer needed to improve his production flow to reduce production costs and to respond to customer demand. The Champagne must be handled with care and attention but with speed. The operation is carried out in a cellar with limited space and height and in humid conditions.

Solution

A compact twin gantry system, each with a short stroking vertical axis was installed one end of the Chiller unit. The bottles were collected at the end of the infeed conveyor and transferred to the Chiller unit and then collected again at the end of the operation and transferred to the outfeed line.

Scope of supply

Two GUDEL ZP-6 modules with a total length of 10 metres were installed back to back on a single rigid structure, each one with a short ‘Z’ axis vertical stroke. Automatic lubrication was provided to prevent rusting of the steel surfaces. The accurate GUDEL guideways combined with the helical drive rack, provide a smooth and fast movement. The 600KG load capacity of the ZP-6 enabled 130 bottles of Champagne to be moved each cycle.

Result

Thanks to the GUDEL gantry system, the end user has doubled his production throughput and greatly reduced damage to the bottles due to the consistency of operation.
The whole operation is carried out within the cellar, ensuring the excellent condition of the champagne and maintaining the high quality assurance.