2021 has been a busy year for BKON’s production facility. In 2018, we pivoted our business away from the BKON Craft Brewer countertop single cup machine. Nowadays, we’re laser-focused on large commercial scale manufacturing, and we’re helping a growing number of coffee and beverage brands innovate their cold coffee business.
Driven by our desire to always optimize, we’ve made some exciting enhancements to our facility this year.
One of our goals was to create an automated system that reduces dry coffee exposure in our facility. The last time coffee produced in the BKON facility is exposed is when it’s filled in super sacks at our customers roasting facilities.
We’re honoring the care and precision that our customers put into their roasting process by limiting dry coffee exposure and keeping our process as clean as possible.
Optimizing A PROCESS FLOW
Our operations team looked at every aspect of our production and conceptualized a new streamlined layout that allowed each step to flow in a more seamless process.
Limiting coffee exposure started with a new bulk bag unloader. It’s heavy-duty steel construction provides unmatched efficiency when handling our customers coffee. It provides a fast and uninterrupted feed of coffee to our closed-circuit grinder and chain vey system.
Our new Chain-Vey system furnished by Modern Process Equipment is a highly customized system for transporting coffee beans and grounds. It’s bi-directional and fully automated. This close-circuit process prevents cross contamination and sanitation, and allows coffee to travel to and from each step in the process through stainless steel pipes. Whole beans move from the bulk bag unloader to the next step in the process, grinding.
BKON’s Industrial Roller Mill Grinder, from Modern Process Equipment is a true confluence of technology and craft. The three stage water-cooled rollers provide a more accurate grind size with consistency from start to finish.
Ground coffee hits the Chain-Vey system again, and is programmed to release into one of our 5000 pound coffee silos. The silos are vented from the top to allow coffee to degas. Built in weights in the silos help to ensure for proper dosing and blending of coffee for each brew run. The ground coffee drops into the Chain-Vey system again and is sent to the STORM brewers, where our proprietary RAIN™ brewing process is then applied.
It’s been a fun year watching our facility evolve. But what we’ve truly enjoyed most is watching our customers grow and expand. Everything we do is driven by our desire to put out the best product possible, and we love experiencing that vision alongside our customers.
Interested in learning more about BKON’s services? Enter your e-mail below and we’ll be in touch.