APS Packaging & Automation: Evolving Technology to Meet Packaging Demands

There is a sense of wonder in the way wine bottles wind their way through the bottling line for rinsing, filling, corking, labeling and packaging. The wine industry has come to rely on the smooth operation of these machines to save them time, labor costs and back pain. Changing consumer demand, TTB regulations and packaging innovation have dramatically expanded bottling options beyond traditional paper-labeled and corked bottles. Wineries now have a multitude of new packaging options ― screw caps, lighter weight glass, single-serve containers, aluminum cans and bottles, full bottle sleeves and bulk glass — and there is more evolution to come. These options combined challenge existing lines, eventually reaching the point where they need to be updated or replaced.

That’s where APS Packaging and Automation comes in. APS has been supplying the wine industry with bottling and packaging solutions from its Sonoma County headquarters for seven years. Its client base includes, among others, Hess Collection, Chandon, Rodney Strong Vineyards, Rack & Riddle Custom Wine Services & Bottling, Infinity Bottling, and Frank Family Vineyards.

CEO Alberto Migliardi recently doubled the facility and hired a Chief Technical Officer (CTO) to meet the increasing consumer demand. APS set aside over 2000 square feet exclusively for the APS Technical Support Department, including implementing a well-stocked warehouse for efficient parts management. CTO Pierluigi Maruccia implemented an inventory management system to track every item in the expanded warehouse and monitor all machine service activities, including remote technical service. His responsibilities also include managing the technical service team, as well as supervising the technical operation of projects all the way up to installation and start-up.

APS’s latest innovation for enhancing service to the wine industry is the Navigator SCADA system, a smart solution for monitoring energy and production performance. Navigator was inspired by APS’s winery clients’ growing need to maximize production efficiency and minimize energy costs. The new system uses sensors to collect data from new and existing lines and sends it to the cloud to compute OEE-approved measures of energy and equipment performance effectiveness. The clients’ production team has continuous access to the status of their plant. This includes energy performance and long-term optimization analysis via PC or mobile app. With mobile access, production teams can quickly and easily check bottling line performances, detect bottlenecks, track production rates, and monitor energy consumption.

APS will be showcasing a demo of their innovative Navigator SCADA system at WIN Expo. Visit the APS booth #325 to learn about this more efficient and always accessible way to monitor your production lines.