December 16, 2021

On the global level, Montelektro is probably one of the few system integrators capable of establishing seamless communication between an old PCS, like S5-Botec QNX, and latest generation PCS (brewmaxx v9.7), with minimal downtime.

This competitive advantage has come out again during the recent implementation of a beer filtration automation project in Heineken BIELA brewery in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Beer production was running on a 25+ years old BOTEC QNX4 process control system, whose hardware has become obsolete. As a possible system malfunction and unavailability of spare parts posed a production risk, the brewery was faced with a need to modernize its PCS, with the additional goal to improve the production process, reduce costs and increase efficiency. Thus, they decided to upgrade the existing PCS with the latest brewmaxx process control system, with the first phase being beer filtration process. This implied a “cutout” of the filtration PLC and establishing communication with other process cells (mainly cellar) that run S5/Botec, while ensuring minimal downtime. Thanks to the expertise of our engineers capable of managing the systems of all generations, by using reverse engineering methods in understanding the S5 program and implementing our know-how, Montelektro has successfully integrated the state-of-the art brewmaxx system into the remaining S5/Botec environment.

The plan is to upgrade the whole brewing process in BIELA to the new brewmaxx PCS by mid-2022. Therefore, in the following period, Montelektro plans to replace Botec QNX4 with brewmaxx in the other three process cells (Raw materials, Brewhouse, Cellar) and replace the old equipment with the new, modern system.