Hygienic, Flexible and Durable – Continental Hoses Ensure a High Level of Process Safety at Oettinger Brauerei
- Oettinger Brauerei relies on foodstuff hoses from Continental for its state-of-the-art, highly automated plant
- Continental industrial hoses guarantee purity and process safety for fermentation, storage and cleaning
- Flexibility, robustness, ease of handling and durability deliver added value for the brewery
Hanover, 8 November 2019. The hose solutions from technology company Continental used by Oettinger Brauerei at its Mönchengladbach plant ensure that pressure and storage tanks at the modern and almost fully automated brewery are properly filled, emptied and cleaned. Continental supplies the foodstuff hoses for the brewing and cleaning process, thus playing a key role in the area of food safety.
Special rubber compounds ensure maximum hygiene and safety
Continental not only supplies hoses, but complete lines with pressed fittings that can withstand operating pressures of up to 16 bar.
At the core of Continental hoses is a smooth inner layer, which is crucial for absolute purity and safety when transporting the beer. The inner lining is resistant to heat and chemicals, which is particularly important for the cleaning and disinfection processes. The hoses can easily withstand temperatures up to +95°C. The inner lining of Continental hoses also meets the requirements of recommendation XXI of the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the guidelines of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The advanced rubber compounds, which are designed to meet the specific requirements of the market and the physical demands of everyday use, even under difficult conditions, ensure maximum safety for long-term use,” says Georg Bester, Sales and Technical Consultant for foodstuff hoses at Continental. “This is confirmed time and again by the market.“
Meeting the everyday challenges of brewing
The biggest challenge for the hoses used by the Oettinger Brauerei is achieving the perfect balance between extremely high flexibility and maximum durability. “The hoses supplied by Continental deliver on all fronts. Our employees can handle the hoses freely, lay or move lines as needed and even drag them over hard ground without the risk of kinking or damaging them. The hoses have to withstand a lot during everyday brewing operations,” says Sven Willim, Deputy Head of Production at Oettinger Brauerei in Mönchengladbach. “This ability to withstand external effects while at the same time maintaining stability inside the hose gives us the reliability that we need in the brewing process to ensure that the quality of our products is never compromised.“ Every single step in the brewing process is important – whether the hoses are being used to transport beer, water or cleaning media.
The flexible and robust Continental hoses support professional handling in the daily routine of the brewery.
High-quality food and chemical hoses such as the Purple Snake or the Aquapal from Continental play a key role in handling processes in breweries and in many other areas of the food industry. Oettinger Brauerei alone uses up to 135 hoses from Continental – primarily in its storage and pressure tanks. “Continental hoses are extremely resilient and therefore last a long time, and are very easy to clean. Some of our hoses have been in use for up to ten years – without compromising the quality of our products or processes in any way,” says Willim. Regular microbiological samples of the liquids as well as hose inspections conducted by independent organisations and service providers have confirmed this time and again.
Complete solutions with fittings
When it comes to hygiene and process safety, Continental products offer the additional benefit of being available as a complete solution. “We supply not just the hoses, but complete lines with compression-moulded fittings. Brewery employees can easily lengthen, widen or shorten the hose design, thus eliminating the need for time-consuming assembly processes. The secure connection between the rubber hose and fitting can withstand working pressures up to 16 bar and offer three times the level of safety required of them,” says Bester. “We have designed a perfect, completely hygienic transition from the fitting to the inner lining of the hose – which is crucial for continuous hygiene and reliability in operation.“ The range of hoses is vast. Continental supplies hoses with nominal diameters ranging from 13 to 100 DN. The food hoses are produced at the plant in Korbach in the German region of Hesse.
Last but not least, the industrial hose specialist is at the forefront of the development of high-performance rubber/plastic compounds for use in a wide range of applications.
Beer – a huge global market
Whether it's alcoholic, non-alcoholic or a mix – beer remains one of the world's favourite drinks. The art of brewing has a long tradition and is an integral part of the culture of numerous countries. According to statistics portal statista, almost two billion hectolitres of beer are consumed worldwide each year. Germany has by far the biggest beer market in Europe. According to the Federal Statistical Office, taxed beer sales in Germany in 2018 were around 78 million hectolitres. Today's megatopics of health, fitness and sustainability are playing an increasingly important role. Craft beers, functional beers and other trends have transformed the beer market in recent years, making it more diverse and dynamic.
For breweries such as Oettinger, this is an exciting business environment – and for Continental, it provides as many excellent opportunities for products like the Purple Snake, given the huge number of beers and breweries where flexible hose solutions are needed.
Wolfgang Reinert
Head of Media & Public Relations
ContiTech