CHICAGO, September 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — JBT Corporation (NYSE: JBT), a global technology solutions provider to high-value segments of the food and beverage industry, announced today it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Bevcorp.

“We are excited to announce that we completed the acquisition of Bevcorp,” said Brian Deck, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The acquisition of Bevcorp expands JBT’s capabilities in the carbonated beverage processing and packaging market, and it brings a highly resilient business model with more than 60 percent recurring revenue along with a best-in-class service culture. The unique combination of Bevcorp and JBT allows for meaningful cross selling and future growth opportunities in both food and beverage.”

Bevcorp Overview

Bevcorp is a leading provider of equipment and aftermarket support for the beverage processing and packaging market in the United States. The business provides core technology solutions in blending, handling, filling, and closing to a range of diverse customers, including blue chip companies. Bevcorp’s product offerings are used in high-value segments of the beverage market, including carbonated soft drinks, seltzers, carbonated water, energy drinks, and ready-to-drink alcoholic blends. Additionally, the business’ unique process know-how and service culture provide a resilient mix of rebuilds, aftermarket parts, and services.

“By integrating Bevcorp into the JBT family of brands and leveraging our global sales and service network, we can expand Bevcorp’s growth opportunities beyond the United States,” added Deck. “Additionally, JBT’s existing strength in non-carbonated beverage and food processing creates cross selling synergies with Bevcorp.”

JBT acquired Bevcorp for an enterprise value of $290 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. The transaction was treated as a purchase of assets, which provides a meaningful tax step-up benefit with a net present value of approximately $35 million.

Bevcorp Guidance

The table below reflects guidance specific to Bevcorp and is relative to the Company’s prior guidance. 2022 Bevcorp adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted earnings per share exclude the estimated impact of transaction costs, inventory step-up, and non-recurring integration costs. These costs are expected to be approximately $9 million. Bevcorp is not expected to have a meaningful impact on the Company’s adjusted earnings per share in 2022.

JBT Net Leverage Ratio

JBT utilized its existing credit facility to fund the purchase price of Bevcorp. The Company’s third quarter 2022 net leverage ratio is expected to temporarily exceed its target of 2.0 – 3.0x, and JBT expects that its net leverage ratio will be below 3.0x by year end 2022.

JBT Corporation (NYSE: JBT) is a leading global technology solutions provider to high-value segments of the food & beverage industry with focus on proteins, liquid foods and automated system solutions. JBT designs, produces and services sophisticated products and systems for multi-national and regional customers through its FoodTech segment. JBT also sells critical equipment and services to domestic and international air transportation customers through its AeroTech segment. JBT Corporation employs approximately 7,000 people worldwide and operates sales, service, manufacturing and sourcing operations in more than 25 countries.

This release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are information of a non-historical nature and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond JBT’s ability to control. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and our results of operations, our plans to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, our strategic plans, our restructuring plans and expected cost savings from those plans, our liquidity and our covenant compliance. The factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to the following factors: the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of the pandemic on our ability to operate our business and facilities, on our customers, on our workforce resulting in higher labor absenteeism, on our supply chains due to extended delivery times and unavailability of required components and freight, on our cost of labor due to higher labor turnover and shortage of skilled labor and on the economy generally; fluctuations in our financial results; unanticipated delays or acceleration in our sales cycles; deterioration of economic conditions; disruptions in the political, regulatory, economic and social conditions of the countries in which we conduct business; changes to trade regulation, quotas, duties or tariffs; risks associated with acquisitions or strategic investments; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; increases in energy or raw material prices, freight costs, and inflationary pressures; changes in food consumption patterns; impacts of pandemic illnesses, food borne illnesses and diseases to various agricultural products; weather conditions and natural disasters; impact of climate change and environmental protection initiatives; our ability to comply with the laws and regulations governing our U.S. government contracts; acts of terrorism or war, including the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine; termination or loss of major customer contracts and risks associated with fixed-price contracts, particularly during periods of high inflation; customer sourcing initiatives; competition and innovation in our industries; difficulty in implementing our business strategies, including the timing of our previously announced review of strategic alternatives for the AeroTech platform, our ability to identify or develop any strategic alternatives, execute on material aspects of such strategic alternatives, and whether we can achieve the potential benefits of such strategic alternatives. our ability to develop and introduce new or enhanced products and services and keep pace with technological developments; difficulty in developing, preserving and protecting our intellectual property or defending claims of infringement; catastrophic loss at any of our facilities and business continuity of our information systems; cyber-security risks such as network intrusion or ransomware schemes; loss of key management and other personnel; potential liability arising out of the installation or use of our systems; our ability to comply with U.S. and international laws governing our operations and industries; increases in tax liabilities; work stoppages; fluctuations in interest rates and returns on pension assets; availability of and access to financial and other resources; and other factors described under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K  filed by JBT with the Securities and Exchange Commission and in any subsequently filed Form 10-Q. In addition, many of our risks and uncertainties are currently amplified by and will continue to be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the highly fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to predict all such risks and uncertainties. JBT cautions shareholders and prospective investors that actual results may differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. JBT undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, subsequent events or changes in circumstances or otherwise.

Investors & Media: Media: Kedric Meredith +1 312 861 6034

To view the original version on PR Newswire, please click here.

Bevcorp’s MicroBlend division introduces their MicrO2 Advantage Series Blending System for carbonated soft drinks (CSD) at Pack Expo Las Vegas booth #LS-6302. This patent-pending technology deaerates blended product to achieve significantly lower dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrogen levels than traditional blending systems that feed can and bottle fillers. With lower DO levels, MicrO2 supports higher filling speeds, improves fill weight control to increase yields, reduces operating costs and helps retain superior flavor over the shelf life of the packaged beverage.

“As the world’s only carbonated soft drink blending system that deaerates blended product, MicrO2 is a game changer. Customers with installed systems are very excited about the technology and the benefits they’re experiencing,” said Jay Exley, Director of Operations at MicroBlend. “The sparging process that MicrO2 uses to deaerate is similar to what the beer industry has done for years, except we’ve accelerated the process and developed other innovations that make it suitable for CSD manufacturers as well as winemakers and other beverage manufacturers.”

Unlike systems that deaerate prior to blending, MicrO2 deaerates fully-blended product. Compared to traditional systems that deliver DO levels of 1.8 parts per million (ppm) to the filler, MicrO2 typically delivers DO levels of 0.1 ppm for sugary soft drinks and 0.3 ppm for diet soft drinks. With MicrO2, MicroBlend guarantees a DO level of 0.8 ppm or less for packaged product, even if the  filler picks up

oxygen during the filling process. Modern fillers with pre-purge systems and older fillers that have been modified with a basic bowl purge will minimize the reintroduction of oxygen after MicrO2 to maintain DO levels of 0.1 to 0.3 ppm in the packaged product.

Reducing DO levels improves the stability of the beverage during packaging. With less foaming, MicrO2 supports higher filling speeds, allows for higher product temperatures to reduce refrigeration costs and improves net weight control to increase yields. Lower product volatility also minimizes opportunities for expelled gases to be reintroduced, which keeps DO levels down during filling, and results in greater CO2 consistency. A further benefit of MicrO2 is that reduced DO levels in the packaged product helps to maintain the flavor of the beverage throughout its expected shelf life and potentially provides increased shelf life.

MicrO2 is perfect for CSD beverage manufacturers filling steel or aluminum cans as well as PET or glass bottles. It is ideal for use with cans that feature new, first-generation BPA-NI (BPA non-intent) liners that are more susceptible to DO than BPA-lined cans. This is particularly important when using cans from canmakers that guarantee “no leakers” only for filled cans with DO levels less than 1.2 ppm.

Traditional blending systems use either CO2, vacuum or membrane technology to deaerate the water prior to blending. This allows the DO that is naturally present in the syrup to be introduced to theblended product and results in higher DO levels. Even if the syrup is deaerated prior to blending, the latent volatility of traditionally blended product picks up oxygen and results in elevated DO levels. The proprietary MicrO2 process uses sparging technology to inject CO2 into blended product to deaerate the entire mix and achieve low DO levels. Most of the CO2 used to deaerate is retained, at which time the system increases pump pressure and injects the additional required CO2 to carbonate the product to the customer’s specifications.

Additionally, by eliminating vacuum or membrane deaeration used on traditional systems, MicrO2 offers a more compact footprint and presents fewer moving parts and fewer wear parts to reduce maintenance. With less energy and CO2 consumption, MicrO2 minimizes operating costs. Rebates associated with energy-saving programs may be available from utility providers before and/or after installation to further reduce investment costs and improve ROI.

Equipped with MicroBlend’s standard tanks, MicrO2 blends and carbonates 50 to 180 gallons per minute. Larger, optional tanks enable MicrO2 to produce up to 250 gallons per minute. The systems can typically be changed over to handle a new product in less than 10 minutes, depending on the size of the filler. With the addition of MicroBlend’s independent rinsing option, product changeovers can be accomplished in eight to eight-and-a-half minutes. Compared to traditional blending systems that require a vacuum deaerator or membranes to be cleaned, MicrO2 offers an inherently more sanitary design because deaeration occurs within the filler’s normal CIP (clean-in-place) path.

Customers using other blending systems from MicroBlend may be eligible for a significant cost-savings trade-in when upgrading to MicrO2 since some tanks, meters, sensors and other electronics can be repurposed.

Willoughby, Ohio, March 12, 2018 – Bevcorp LLC, a leading manufacturer of American made high-speed fillers, blenders and container handling equipment for the beverage industry, announces its acquisition of East Coast Seamers, a supplier of rebuilt Angelus, Continental and  Canco can seamers and seamer service provider. This acquisition strengthens Bevcorp’s commitment to the beverage equipment marketplace, providing increased services to domestic and worldwide customers by expanding resources and capabilities in seamer rebuilding and service.

President of Bevcorp LLC, Eileen Bewley, comments, “We are thrilled to add East Coast Seamers to the Bevcorp family. Their strong reputation within the industry compliments our overall goals and objectives of providing our customers with a well-rounded, comprehensive experience. This purchase, along with prior acquisitions of RDM Technologies (MicroBlend), FCI, Inc  (Handling Parts) and the crown filling intellectual property of Adcor packaging,  enables us to increase services, inventory, and product offerings. This also means we can expand into different markets including food, personal and home care products.”

Bevcorp’s reputation for providing an unparalleled customer experience will pave the way for a seamless transition for the organization and its customers. Operations will continue for beverage filling and blending customers out of the Willoughby, Ohio and Kennesaw, Georgia offices, respectively. East Coast Seamers will continue to operate out of the Forest Hill, Maryland site. Contact information is as follows:

East Coast Seamers
Customer Care: (855) 349-2226
Parts and Technical Questions: (855) 349-2226
24-Hour Service: (443) 417-5245
info@eastcoastseamers.com

Filler Division
Main Line: (440) 954-3500
Filler Parts Sales: (440) 954-3505
Filler Service: (440) 954-3506
sales@bevcorp.com

Blending Division
Blending Sales and Service: (770) 427-7757
sales@bevcorp.com

Contact: 
Eileen Bewley, President
440.954.3500
ebewley@bevcorp.com

by PAT REYNOLDS, VP Editor, Packaging World

Aviator Brewing paves the way for future growth with a can line that lets the craft brewer go after contract packaging opportunities. Shrink sleeve labeling plays a key role.

“We’re offering a unique solution where we design the art for your label, we brew your beer to your specs, and we put it in cans and cartons—all for a single price on cases out the door.”

That’s how Mark Doble, founder of Aviator Brewing Co., describes the contract packaging business model at his craft brewing establishment in Fuquay Varina, NC. Not that Aviator is losing interest in its own-brand beers like Hot Rod Red, Hog Wild IPA, and Devils Tramping Ground Tripel. It’s just that Doble believes that the path to future success in craft beer—a category that is still growing but is beginning to show signs of saturation—lies in expansion beyond one’s own brands. It also hinges on packaging.

“With more than 4,000 craft breweries in the U.S., the competition for local tap handles in regional markets is increasingly fierce,” says Doble. “If you invest in packaging, you can access a wider market than breweries that don’t have packaging capabilities. But you have to get the packaging right, as in low dissolved oxygen content, bacteria counts that are kept firmly in check, and can seams that are tight. Packaging is our business. So if we invest in the wrong kind of packaging system, it puts our business at risk.”

Aviator hasn’t offered bottled beer since shortly after Doble launched the brewery—in a former airplane hanger, which explains the brewery’s name—in 2008. He’s a big believer in cans as the best format for beer, partly because he does a fair bit of export business overseas. “Zero oxygen gets into a can,” he points out. “Light protection is better than glass. From a shipping perspective, the can won’t break. It’s also lighter than glass, not to mention that aluminum has a good recycling story to tell.

“We installed a new can line that is capable of handling our own brands as well as our contract packaging business,” he adds. “Currently about 80 percent of our business is preprinted cans and the rest is shrink sleeve label. But by the end of this year I see about 40 percent of our business being sleeves. Our contract packaging is growing, a business that by its very nature is skewed toward relatively short runs. And whenever you’re dealing with short runs, preprinted cans don’t make much sense because minimum order requirements force you to buy far more cans than you need in a short-run business.”

Label applicator
A Lanzara labeler from Axon is the shrink-sleeve labeler at the heart of the new can line. “It’s perfect for when you just want to slam out 1,000 cases or so and then move on to the next beer,” says Doble. “And the look on the store shelf is terrific. The printing on the label just really pops. The labels may cost between six and eight cents each, but it’s definitely worth it.”

Supplied by Labels, Tags and Inserts, the labels used originally at Aviator were a 50-micron PETG. In fairly short order the firm had moved down to 40-micron and it’s now evaluating 35-micron. Among the reasons Doble specified Axon’s Lanzara applicator is because he saw evidence that it would comfortably handle these thinner-gauge label materials, even at speeds to 400/min. The other reason? The shrink sleeve labeler replaced by the Lanzara was an Axon EZ 200 purchased about four years ago on eBay. “If we ever had any problems with that machine, the support we got from Axon was unrivaled,” says Doble, “and a big consideration in our approach to buying machinery is the quality of customer support we get. So when it came time for a new sleeve label applicator, it was a pretty easy decision whose machine it would be.” Nor did it hurt, he adds, that Axon is just down the road in Raleigh.

Another feature of the Lanzara that Doble likes is how easily Axon experts can access it remotely. “It’s awesome the way they can just log into the machine and tweak it or adjust a software feature,” says Doble. “The other day we had a motor that was overloading, and they jumped on the machine remotely and quickly recommended the motor needed to be replaced. What a difference compared to waiting for someone to come on site just to determine what it is that needs attention.”

One thing that is conspicuously absent on the Lanzara are the dancer bars that many shrink sleeve label applicators rely on. In theory, these provide tension control for the incoming film labels. But according to Axon’s Bob Williams, “We found that they put a lot of whip into the machine and complicated film tracking. So instead we use a vacuum box mounted on the side of the machine that provides the necessary tension control.”

When Aviator is applying shrink sleeve labels to the cans it fills, line speed is 250 cans/min for 16-oz bottles and 400/min for 12-oz. “When we’re not sleeving,” says Doble, “we can go at 600 cans/min.”

Depal is fit for purpose
It all begins with an overhead depalletizer from Ska Fabricating, a firm that grew out of Durango, CO-based Ska Brewing Co. As a co-owner of Ska Brewing, Matt Vincent spent a lot of time dreaming up ways of improving efficiency. He soon recognized that many other craft breweries were in need of equipment that was properly sized for craft brew volumes. So he and Dan Morris formed Ska Fabricating, whose flagship product is the Can-I-Bus Depalletizer. Designed with space and cost in mind, this is a slim-profile, semi-automatic system that’s especially suitable for craft brewers. Capable of depalletizing multiple sized packages of aluminum, plastic, or composite materials, the Can-I-Bus is fully automated once the pallet is inserted into the machine and the straps and tier frame are removed. Ska Fabricating has now sold more than 280 depalletizers around the world and continues to develop more products with space and cost in mind.

Cans descend from the overhead level down an AV-C500 waterless twist rinser from A&E Conveyor Systems that uses high-pressure ionized air as the cleaning agent combined with a continuous vacuuming process at the opening of the container to help remove and collect debris that might be inside. “A&E was also very helpful in getting all the machines in the line integrated, though in fact we ourselves took responsibility for line integration,” says Doble. “Among the biggest challenges was getting it all to fit in a really tight footprint.”

At the discharge from the twist rinser is an ink-jet date coder from Domino that puts lot and date code on the bottom of each can. Then comes label application by the Lanzara. In addition to its features described above, it also takes an unconventional approach to the lighting system it relies on to communicate its operating state to plant floor operators. Most comparable machines use a light stack—typically consisting of red, yellow, green—so that operators can see if a machine is running smoothly (green), in need of attention (yellow), or stopped (red). The Lanzara, however, has shed its light stack in favor of lighting inside the machine cabinet itself. The theory is that operators have almost become desensitized to the messaging that comes from a light stack simply because they’ve been around them for so long. But when the entire interior of the Lanzara cabinet turns yellow or red, it’s pretty difficult to not get the message loud and clear.

Also notable on the Lanzara is the sophisticated way its Schneider Electric controls package handles motion control where can conveying speed is concerned. Axon refers to it as “virtual encoder” technology. Here’s how it works. A Schneider variable frequency drive (VFD) regulates speed of the conveyor feeding cans into the Lanzara. This VFD constantly sends real-time can position information to the Lanzara’s main controller, a Schneider PacDrive 3. It amounts to an update every millisecond. Armed with this information, the PacDrive 3 then signals the VFD to modulate its speed if necessary so that each can is optimally positioned at the moment its label is to be applied.

The PacDrive 3 also brings film-feed position adjustment in real time on the fly. A Schneider Lexium 52 servo motor actuates the knife that cuts each label free from the roll. The instant it’s cut it’s pushed down onto a mandrel that has servo-driven nip rollers on opposite sides. These rollers not only propel the cut label down onto a can without ever losing control, they also advance the film so that the next label can be cut and applied. A clear strip between each label serves as an eye mark for maintaining registration. A contrast sensor from Tri-Tronics with a 30-microsecond response time looks for that eye mark and signals to the PacDrive 3 just where it is. If it has not been advanced to the proper position, the PacDrive will signal the Lexium 52 servo motor that governs the nip rollers to speed up or slow down accordingly.

Two steps to labeling
Label application is actually a two-stage process. Cans exit the first stage with labels that are pushed only about half way down. Stage two consists of rapidly spinning plastic “fingers” on opposite sides of the conveyor that quickly and efficiently push the label down to the bottom of the can.

Immediately after labels are on cans, a steam tunnel shrinks each label tightly to the contour of its can. Then cans enter a 72-head rotary filler from Bevcorp integrated with a Pneumatic Scale Angelus 120L seamer. A Filtec inspection device detects any short fills so that those cans can be automatically rejected.

At this point in the line cans go down one of two paths depending on which format is called for. If plastic ring carriers are in the picture, the cans are collated in groups of four or six by a Mumm 450 () that applies a ring carrier. These four and six packs go into corrugated trays before palletizing. The other scenario has cans diverted instead to a Switchback cartoner that collates cans and encloses them in a paperboard carton. This versatile machine lets Aviator do 4-, 6-, 12-, 15-, or 18-count cartons. “That’s definitely one of the things we like about it,” says Doble.

Palletizing, for now, is done manually. “What we installed is all we could afford,” says Doble with a laugh. On a more serious note, he adds this. “The level of automation we have now is something we have to grow into. There was a time, as we came to grips with the fact that we needed more capacity and we were evaluating our options, when we thought maybe something in the intermediate range was the way to go, maybe something like 200 cans per minute. But then we figured screw it, who wants to go through another installation process once we outgrow the intermediate stage. So we decided to skip all the intermediate stuff and invested instead in a high-speed line. It’s an investment that is really at the core of the brewery itself. After all, you can make the best beer in the world. But if not enough people can get it because of packaging equipment constraints, what’s the point?”

For sheet metal fabricator Marlin Steel, spending money on safety technology makes dollars and sense. President Drew Greenblatt says the Baltimore, Maryland-based company invests millions in automation because it increases productivity, cuts cycle time and improves quality. It also makes manufacturing better in other ways.

“We’re able to ship product that’s made in a safer fashion because our employees are less likely to get hurt,” Greenblatt says. “We’ve gone more than 2,295 days without a safety incident. We attribute a lot of that to the technology and the robots.”

A non-automated company of a similar size would typically have had 18 to 30 injuries over that same span, according to Greenblatt. Thanks to its safety record, Marlin Steel saves money in insurance premiums and is better able to retain skilled employees, who value a company that demonstrates it values them.

But, at the same time, there are aspects of safety technology that Greenblatt would like to see improved. Chief among these are alerts that warn of attempts to defeat or bypass safety systems. Another desired innovation involves better sensors and systems, largely as a means to allow humans and robots to work more closely together.

Safety in numbers

As Greenblatt demonstrates, there’s a demand for safety technology, particularly if it’s part of an overall automation and productivity package. However, there also is room for improvement.

Sales of safety sensors and switches will reach $3.3 billion yearly worldwide by 2020, according to a new report from analyst firm IndustryARC. The heavy machinery used in manufacturing has the potential to crush, amputate, burn or blind, causing severe workplace injuries. That makes the use of sensors a necessity to protect workers, and it explains the 3.1% compound annual growth rate in sales, says Industry Consultant Ravi Medichelmela.

Willoughby, Ohio-based Bevcorp is one reason for the growth in safety-related technology. That is due to a philosophy followed by the maker of rotary fillers, blending equipment and handling parts for the beverage industry (Figure 1).

“We design for safety-standard compliance, but we go above that by adding features and functionality and using the latest technologies, which gives the flexibility to maximize uptime,” says Eric Hendrickson, engineering manager for electrical and mechanical.

On the technology front, the company makes use of Ethernet-based safety PLCs and similar controls, finding this improves diagnostics and adds flexibility. Because of the technology, something like a door, for example, can be added without having to run so many wires. That gives the OEM the capability to better adapt a machine to a specific customer or situation.

As for other design changes technology now enables, Hendrickson cites what was done with a bowl used in the filling process. The product within it has to be maintained at a certain level, with more periodically added in a foam-free fashion. Previously, a product change or adjustment required stopping a machine, opening up guarding, making a mechanical adjustment, closing up the machine and starting it up again—a time-consuming sequence that might have to be repeated. Now, an electronic level control system that sits inside the guarding and communicates wirelessly enables adjustments to be made without stopping the machine at all.

Bevcorp uses products from Rockwell Automation, and Hendrickson says these offerings have evolved over time. That allows OEMs to offer more diagnostics and options. Looking forward, Hendrickson notes that safety technology vendors are trying to make devices that cannot be circumvented through the addition of redundancy and double-checking of conditions, all to better spot attempts at altering or bypassing safeguards (Figure 2).

Matthew Miller, a machine safety specialist at ABB Jokab Safety Products, notes that making a true calculation about the cost and payback of safety should account for everything, and that leads to one conclusion (Figure 3). “The rewards easily outweigh the investment,” says Miller. “An unsafe machine can result in injured employees, production downtime, paying workers’ compensation, lawsuits and fines and increased insurance premiums, just to name a few.”