The Client, a leading national brewery with multiple sites, faced a complex operational challenge: blending beer with a specialized ingredient delivered by tanker truck to produce a homogeneous product. While this process had succeeded at other locations, the unique geometry of existing tanks at the target site rendered previous solutions unworkable. The project demanded installation of all piping and equipment within highly constrained bright beer tank cellars, compounded by an aggressive timeline for start-up. The Client required a solution that would not only overcome spatial limitations but also ensure seamless integration with existing brewery processes.
First Key responded by embedding a consultant within the Client’s Capex team, ensuring direct project management and effective communication across stakeholders. Leveraging deep industry expertise, First Key designed a custom system for unloading tanker trucks and recirculating modified filtered beer tanks to achieve optimal mixing. The solution incorporated AutoCAD flowsheets, precise equipment selection, and pump sizing, all tailored to the site’s constraints. Coordination with equipment suppliers and plant stakeholders enabled efficient scheduling of downtime, ensuring installation proceeded without delays. Throughout the project, First Key maintained up-to-date construction schedules and produced detailed contractor scopes of work.
The project delivered measurable impact, starting with equipment installation and commissioning on schedule, meeting the Client’s aggressive requirements. The initiative was completed within budget, and First Key continued to support product blending optimization over multiple production runs. As a direct result, the Client successfully launched a new product line, unlocking additional market opportunities and demonstrating the value of strategic partnership. This engagement exemplified First Key’s commitment to operational excellence, cost control, and growth enablement for beverage industry leaders.
