April 2012System Integration & Control Systems Design
Using Ethernet/IP technology and Integrated Architecture, Rockwell Automation has positioned Chivas Brothers’ Kilmalid plant as one of the most integrated plants in the industry. Chivas Brothers forms part of the Pernod Ricard group, manufacturers of well-known whiskey brands in Dumberton, Scotland.
Modernisation was essential
With many roles to fulfil, including cask filling, blending, bottling, distribution, packaging development, quality and inventory planning, the plant uses a wide range of automation hardware and software services. However, over the years the existing equipment became obsolete and, in the case of hardware, tough to find spares.
Chivas Brothers decided to modernise the Kilmalid facility with eight new high-speed palletisers, the refurbishment and replacement of control gear on the high-bay cranes and the replacement of all conveyors used for case and pallet handling. The upgrade also included the installation of an automatic pallet exchange system and the replacement of the legacy MES suite that is used to co-ordinate blending, vatting and bottling apparatus.
The modernisation turned the facility into one of the most impressive examples of automation and a contemporary MES in the industry. The entire automation infrastructure is controlled by Allen-Bradley ControlLogix PACs, which operate in conjunction with CompactLogix units on the palletisers over an EtherNet/IP network. Other Allen-Bradley hardware includes PanelView Plus 1000 HMIs and PowerFlex 40 and 700S drives.
The solution evolves
The Kilmalid facility is an interesting example of evolution in the industry. It has grown from a small number of PACs running on ControlNet, via RSView Scada implementation, to a much bigger server/client ControlLogix PAC-based, process control architecture running on EtherNet/IP. “As the technology has evolved, so has the plant because of the continuous upgrade programme in place,” according to Grant Coffin, account manager, Rockwell Automation.
“The introduction of EtherNet/IP and PanelView makes our lives immeasurably easier, especially when it comes to fault finding, it simply removes a lot of pressure from our technicians,” says Stephen Trainor, senior electrical engineer at Chivas Brothers. “Rockwell Automation has also implemented FactoryTalk AssetCentre, which includes disaster-recovery backups and change logs.”
Chivas Brothers also praised the high quality services it received from Rockwell Automation. “The auto dispatch system took three years to design, install and commission. Rockwell Automation maintained good timing with the project and stayed within the budget limits without any major problems,” says Trainor.
The decision to go with Rockwell Automation was driven by Chivas Brothers’ project engineering team based on its familiarity with Allen-Bradley products combined with the ease of use to implement powerful solution needs.
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