How Digital Innovation and Transformation Enhances Kasapreko's Production Efficiency

Authentically African – a local recipe for a global brand. The slogan of Alomo Bitters, the flagship of Kasapreko Company Ltd., says it all. Founded in 1989 in Dr. Kwabena Adjei’s garage, Kasapreko has evolved into the modern beverage producer that it is today, offering a number of brands for various types of drink: bitters, whisky, gin, liqueur, brandy, wine and carbonated soft drinks, all of which are exported to 16 countries.

“Kasapreko Company Limited has grown from a small local enterprise into one of Ghana's leading beverage manufacturers, serving both domestic and international markets. Today, the company operates modern production facilities in Accra and Kumasi, producing a diverse portfolio of alcoholic beverages, bottled water and carbonated soft drinks”, says Sylvester Ogesi, Technical Director at Kasapreko. “Through continued investment in technology, quality assurance and manufacturing excellence, Kasapreko has significantly expanded its production capabilities to meet increasing consumer demand across West Africa and beyond. The company's strong distribution network, export presence and commitment to innovation have positioned Kasapreko as a recognised Ghanaian brand with a reputation for quality, consistency and sustainable business growth.”
Today, the multinational company employs several hundred employees.

Kasapreko and Krones: tradition meets modernity

Traditional local recipes combined with state-of-the-art technology in its production and filling operation, that is the hallmark of Kasapreko. The company began its cooperation with Krones in 2011, when the first lines were ordered and installed at its bottling plant in Accra. Today, Kasapreko runs a total of nine Krones lines in Ghana’s capital city and at a second facility in Kumasi: two glass lines and seven PET lines for carbonated drinks and still water.

One of Kasapreko’s newest lines is rated at 80,000 bottles per hour and was commissioned in Kumasi in 2022. It is a PET line for still water featuring an ErgoBloc L, a fully automatic Variopac Pro FS shrink-wrapper and a Modulpal Pro 2A palletiser robot.

The most important innovation with this order is the digital connectivity of the entire production line, which offers a number of advantages like continuous data availability, central access to production data and enhanced transparency across all machines supported by Analytics, a digital service from Krones. The special feature here is that all the data collected by the machines are now available in the cloud for easy retrieval and analysis – anytime, anywhere, and under high standards of data protection.

“At Kasapreko, we continuously invest in technologies that improve operational visibility, productivity and product quality”, says Technical Director Sylvester Ogesi. “The implementation of Krones Analytics and Connected Line solutions has provided our teams with real-time access to production data, enabling faster decision-making and more effective performance management. Instead of relying solely on historical reports, we can now identify issues as they occur, analyse root causes, and implement corrective actions promptly.” This increase in transparency, Ogesi adds, has strengthened collaboration between production, maintenance, and management teams and improved manufacturing standards. “The digital transformation journey has become a key pillar of our continuous improvement strategy.”

Digital overview enhances efficiency levels

Analytics makes it possible to analyse a line’s performance in real time. One of the most important key performance indicators in this context is the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), which is divided up into availability, efficiency and technical efficiency. It shows at a glance how well a line is running and provides initial indicators of possible reasons for inefficiency. The individual bottles are being counted, differentiating between all bottles fed in, good products and scrap, while also comparing the current speed with the line’s setpoint speed. Detailed descriptions of the reasons for downtimes and a list of the most important time stealers are of particular help here.

Historical analyses of a line’s speed/performance, extended reports identifying the reasons for rejects and comparisons between different product variants are likewise available.Not only does that come in handy in everyday operation, it is also a crucial prerequisite for ensuring continuous process improvement in the long run. That is because only by keeping an eye on every piece of information on the machines and lines can opportunities for efficiency optimisation be identified and purposeful measures be derived. The challenge here is not only to collect the relevant data but also to intelligently interlink and visualise them and draw the correct conclusions from the information they provide.

Hypercare – close cooperation pays off

At the beginning of the start-up phase, the project crew liaised closely with Krones’ team of experts. Regular system checks, coordinated optimisation measures and direct exchange between the two teams made for a stable and efficient transition into regular operation. “Kasapreko was quick to realise the benefits of receiving in real time the reasons for downtimes or other problems in black and white,” says Charbel Karaki, LCS Digitalization & Business Development Manager for the Middle East Africa region at Krones.

For this purpose, the Krones experts also evaluate and analyse the data collected, and use them to derive recommendations for action. “Our technical consultants meet with the people responsible at Kasapreko every two weeks and discuss the relevant data,” says Karaki. “Thanks to this regular cooperation, the causes of the most important downtimes are identified, action plans agreed which are then implemented, and the improvements achieved are documented.” Both managers and members of the production team at Kasapreko attend these meetings. So all of them get an opportunity to expand their knowledge, enabling them to respond straight away if certain problems crop up repeatedly.

Continuous improvement through ongoing insight

In actual practice, the constant digital monitoring and technical support turn operating data into a continuous optimisation process. Instead of focusing on isolated machine faults, the system highlights patterns in line behaviour and identifies recurring sources of interruption. Repeated events are analysed at line level. Grouped into meaningful patterns and translated into targeted measures and practical recommendations for more stable production.

The result is a clearer understanding of line health, better prioritisation of maintenance activities and a more informed basis for improving line efficiency over time. This makes it easier to transition from reactive troubleshooting to proactive optimisation with technical support as a continuous partner in safeguarding performance.

• Regular line health checks and structured reporting make performance issues visible before they affect production as data-based monitoring helps reveal patterns that may otherwise remain hidden in day-to-day operation.
• Comprehensive action plans are designed to stabilise production, reduce avoidable interruptions and enable smoother workflows. They combine preventive maintenance, operator guidance and technical support measures to enable short, planned interventions and prevent longer, unplanned stoppages.
• As a result, the available production time is maximised while waste is reduced, and overall line operation improves.

The practical value of this approach goes beyond the resolution of individual errors. In creating a repeatable improvement process, the line can run more reliably over time. Beyond improving operational and maintenance routines, targeted parts replacements and equipment upgrades provide additional opportunities to optimize efficiency, reduce waste, and enhance energy performance. Kasapreko has chosen the digital route to use these options: The Krones.shop has been directly linked up to the production set-up, thus enabling the company to place orders with a single click.

Target-focussed overhaul, thanks to clear-cut data

Occasionally, the errors reported required a call for technical support – and in some cases for even more than that, such as a general overhaul. That is what the entire line installed at Kasapreko underwent in September 2025. To start with, every detail of the line was digitally monitored and the necessary measures identified in collaboration with the customer. Here the focus was on both upgrading OEE and reducing waste.

The most important and most frequent error messages were recorded in detailed reports, which in turn served as the basis for the overhaul proper on site. The line was taken out of operation for a good two weeks in order to perform the necessary repairs and improvements. The result speaks for itself: After the overhaul, the line’s technical efficiency was up by 18 per cent.

“The decision to undertake the comprehensive line overhaul was based on a detailed evaluation of operational data and a shared commitment to further improving production performance. Working closely with the Krones team, we were able to prioritise the areas that would deliver the greatest impact on efficiency, reliability and waste reduction”, says Ogesi. “Throughout the project, communication remained transparent and highly professional, allowing both teams to align on objectives and implementation plans. The structured approach adopted by Krones ensured that all activities were completed within the planned schedule while minimising disruption to production. The results achieved after the overhaul have validated our investment and reinforced the strength of our long-term partnership.”

In order to prevent new inefficiencies emerging after the overhaul, the line now undergoes regular health checks. Together with the meetings of Krones and Kasapreko staff held every two weeks, this ensures that the line will be able to operate at full capacity in future as well.

Digital analysis plus cooperation: a winning formula

“As part of its commitment to modern manufacturing technologies, Kasapreko aims to build a highly efficient, data-driven production environment that supports sustainable growth and operational excellence,” says Technical Director Ogesi. He adds that by integrating advanced digital solutions into daily operations, Kasapreko aims to enhance equipment reliability, improve line efficiency, reduce production losses and optimize resource utilization. “Real-time monitoring and performance analytics enable teams to make informed decisions based on accurate data rather than assumptions. This approach supports proactive maintenance, faster problem resolution and continuous process improvement.”

The project in Kumasi clearly demonstrates the invaluable benefits of a mutually supportive cooperation: The digitally supported line overhaul resulted in substantial improvements in both reliability and performance, as reflected in the relevant figures:

• Thanks to the recommendations and refurbishment jobs implemented, Kasapreko was able to reduce its preform wastage by 40 per cent.
• Technical efficiency was up by an average of 18 per cent.

It is mainly the combination of digital transformation and overhaul that offers some potential – not only for Kasapreko. “During a digitally supported overhaul, the line is scrutinised not only physically, meaning looking for spares that must be replaced. It is also checked in terms of performance and its behaviour when faults and errors occur,” says Charbel Karaki from Krones. “After the overhaul an efficiency increase is guaranteed, for example. That used to be impossible on this scale.” And of course, the human aspect is no less important: “When we understand our customers’ needs and pain points, we can develop solutions that address precisely these areas,” he adds.

To Ogesi too, the results achieved because of Kasapreko’s collaboration with Krones illustrate the value of combining advanced technology with strong technical expertise and close partnership. On the one hand, the improvements in technical efficiency, reductions in preform waste and increased operational stability have positively impacted the company’s overall business performance.

However, says Kasapreko’s Technical Director, there are also aspects that cannot necessarily be measured in figures: “The regular engagement between the Krones specialists and our teams has contributed significantly to knowledge transfer and continuous improvement. We trust not only the quality and reliability of Krones equipment but also the dedication and professionalism of the people supporting our operations. Together, we have established a solid foundation for future growth, and we look forward to expanding the use of digital manufacturing solutions across our facilities.”

For Kasapreko, this much is clear: Data-driven efficiency upgrades and close cooperation with Krones will continue to be the methods of choice. So the team in Ghana are already planning to install solutions from the Analytics package in future lines as well.