Home
Big bag emptying stations

Big bag emptying stations

Viravix Engineering offers the service of installing an emptying station in a brewery. This equipment allows quick and loss-free unloading of bulk products from soft containers of big-bag type; organise their temporary storage to optimise logistics.

The experts at Viravix have more than 15 years’ experience with AB InBev, the world’s leading brewer, and offer the best practices they have already implemented. We pair the best process engineers with brewery owners.

What is a big bag emptying station?

Grain, malt for brewing can be delivered to the brewery in soft packs or containers of varying volume. They have to be transferred to other containers for storage, which increases product loss and sanitary risks

The bagging station is designed for fast and dust-free unloading and emptying of big bags and pallets as well as temporary storage of products.

The machines consist of:

one supporting frame with base;
movable lifting device to facilitate forklift trucks and electric winches;
Integrated central hopper with different product volumes.

In order to optimise the logistics process, “bright heads” have come up with rasping stations. The use of these devices makes unloading and temporary storage of bulk goods much easier.

Structurally, the roasting station is simple. The four-legged steel frame serves as the base of the whole unit. In the centre of the frame is a hopper with a product door. This can be equipped with bag opener knives, dust collectors, electromagnets and other devices. An electric hoist is used to move the bags or pallets to the hopper.

The advantages of using a bagging station:

Human labour is almost completely eliminated when unloading “dusty” products. This reduces the risk of personal injury, occupational disease and microbiological contamination of the product.
The time required for defrosting is reduced. Unloading and handling of raw materials causes downtime in production. Automation of the process increases the productivity of the brewery.
The defrosting machines are easy to operate and simple to use. The only parts needed are the plates and seals.
Melting stations are available in different versions. It is easy to find a variant for limited space.

What types of emptying stations?

All modifications of emptying stations can be grouped into three groups:

automatic;
semi-automatic;
manual.

Automatic emptying

Machines empty bulk containers without human intervention. The forklift operator is usually only involved in loading full bags onto the conveyor belt and removing empty packs.

The forklift control system allows you to set and monitor the process parameters:

the number of bags;
the volume of the bags;
the empty bag emptying time.

The archiving and storage of the data allows the history of the process to be viewed at any time.

The emptying systems can also differ in:

in terms of capacity;
Hopper capacity;
Their design, normal or explosion-proof;
The optional extras, etc.

Manual emptying stations

Generally smaller in size. Their main purpose is to ensure convenient storage of the product at the direct point of use.
Hand-held emptying stations are affordable. They effectively replace bulky silos and bunkers in small production facilities.

The manual rasping stations can be optionally equipped with:

Aspiration systems;
Electromagnets for freezing bulk material;
blades for ripping bags;
Automatic container feeders;
compactors for empty bags;
Hopper funnel attachments to reduce the amount of dust in the air;
gripper devices;
A vibrating system for shaking the bags;
shut-off and control devices;
ladders with service platforms;
other components.

The experts at Viravix Engineering will help you to tailor a bagging station to your specific production needs, so that you do not overpay for unnecessary functions.

Who are we

Viravix Engineering is a team of process engineers renowned in the brewing industry. Each of our specialists has gained more than 15 years’ experience at AB InBev and other industry giants, starting as a low-level maintenance worker and progressing through the stages to a zonal expert, with 12 breweries in different regions of responsibility. We are known by name in the industry and talk to one another about our work.

We have already carried out dozens of projects in Ukraine and the EU while “sailing solo”. It has been turnkey modernisation of production or assistance at individual stages. We help with project expertise, equipment selection and delivery, commissioning and service.

We are ready to prove our experience with credentials from experts and successful cases.

VIRAVIX uses international standards and practices in the areas of safety, brewing quality and sensible energy consumption in production.

Our experts have extensive experience in the design, delivery, and modernisation of brewery rasping stations.

Analysis of the customer’s existing processes

This is the initial step for individual design and selection of a rastariser. We often use remote monitoring systems for analysis, such as the web application QiVisor. This is a very handy tool that works as easily as a Wi-Fi router. Remote process monitoring systems help to find bottlenecks in the brewery.

Improving existing processes or developing new ones

We take an engineering approach, viewing the brewing process as a system of interrelated elements. Our experts offer individual technical solutions, based on the needs and possibilities of the customer. We try as much as possible to use the potential of the equipment and software that we already have in the brewery. It is better to efficiently load the existing system than to install an expensive and beautiful new one, which may not pay off.

Integration of new equipment

Modernisation of existing production. We use 3D modelling and 3D scanning for the space in our designs. This ensures that the rasher can fit into existing plants and does not overburden other equipment.

Delivery of the emptying plant and accessories

When ordering through us, you can obtain discounts as an engineering company from 15% to 30%. We supply equipment and spare parts from leading European manufacturers.

Assembly and disassembly of equipment. Electrical works, automation and programming

We perform a range of services on a turnkey basis, from design to commissioning. But we also allow assembly by the customer’s own staff, under our supervision, to reduce project costs. We have a special ‘Do-It-Yourself’ service.

Technical advice and remote support

For emergency assistance we offer QiVisor. Our engineer will analyse the system data without an on-site visit, which saves about 3 times the inspection time and travel costs of an average of 340 Euro per month. The customer’s specialists will be able to monitor the brewery processes 24/7 from anywhere in the world where the Internet is available. And they can get advice from our experts if necessary.