Johnnie Walker keeps on walking – with Krones filling technology

Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks business commissioned two new lines at its Scottish plant in Shieldhall for bottling the traditional Johnnie Walker whisky.
Line 1, rated at 18,000 1-liter bottles an hour, was supplied by Krones as a turnkey job, and features a rinser/filler/capper/labeller BLOC. The Isofill VV low-vacuum filler has been designed for the liquor and spirits industry. After filling, the low-vacuum conditions in the ring bowl hold the product in the return gas path or push it back into the ring bowl – the valve does not leak before the next bottle is pressed on. Equipped with a CIP system, the filler is cleaned fully automatically. This guarantees maximum hygiene during filling. After capping, the whisky bottles go to the Topmodul labeller where a Taxomat module applies the tax strip.
The same BLOC, with an identical rating, has also been integrated into Line 2, with the Topmodule labeller already in place. Both lines put Johnnie Walker Red Label and the 12-year-old Black Label into the distinctive square 1-litre glass bottles introduced for Johnnie Walker back in 1870.