Anheuser-Busch: Looking at today's issues

Bob Darnell, senior director of packaging technology at Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis, began his career in 1987 as a brewing industrial engineer. Now, more than 20 years later, Darnell oversees the Anheuser-Busch packaging technology division across the globe. His responsibilities include managing initiatives to improve packaging quality while also developing new and innovative packages for Anheuser-Busch's beverage business.

Darnell also serves as a member of the Packaging Management Council (PMC), an association of senior packaging managers from consumer and industrial goods manufacturing companies, facilitated by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturer's Institute (PMMI [www.pmmi.org]). PMMI sponsors and produces PACK EXPO International 2008, November 9 to 13, at Chicago's McCormick Place.

Packaging Digest recently spoke with Darnell to learn more about the trends affecting today's packaging and what the future holds for packaging:

PD: How important is packaging to Anheuser-Busch?

Darnell: We spend a great deal of time and effort ensuring that the bottles, cans and containers we use to package our beers meet the demands of our consumers. In addition to offering consumers a wide variety of packages to meet their various needs, we must ensure that our packaging is safe and protects and preserves the high quality of our beer. In short, packaging is our last opportunity to make a statement about our products and convey our commitment to quality.

PD: How does Anheuser-Busch approach the package-development process?

Darnell: We use several steps in the package-development process, all of which are keys to our efforts in determining and providing the consumers what they want. Teams from numerous areas of the company lead us in this effort. From engineering to marketing to logistics, we get input from every department involved in the packaging process.

PD: Consumer desires are a key catalyst for packaging innovation. What are consumers looking for and what do they want from your packaging?

Darnell: Consumer needs can vary greatly and meeting those desires is one of the challenging and exciting parts of our role in the packaging-technology area. Some consumers want to keep it simple and traditional; others are looking for something unique. But all of them expect to have a package that is functional and not over-designed.

PD: Sustainability is top of mind in the industry today. Do you think the issue has been well defined? Where are the biggest strides being made? What are the biggest hurdles that still need to be overcome?

Darnell: Throughout our history at Anheuser-Busch, we've been focused on protecting and preserving the environment. Not only is it good business, it's the right thing to do. When it comes to packaging, we will continue to develop lighter-weight packages while maintaining quality standards. We have reduced aluminum can weights by more than one-third since the early 1970s, and we look for improvements every day.

Our biggest hurdles are working across our entire supply chain to understand and implement environmentally-friendly packaging. We are focused on continuous improvement of existing packages to further reduce material use and test new packaging materials, while being focused on ensuring the quality of our products.

It's a challenge to find the balance between reducing packaging material and protecting the high quality of our products during shipment. Our goal is to optimize the reduction of packaging materials without creating waste in the distribution process.

PD: Automation is a vastly growing area. What do you think the drivers are behind this growth? What are end users like Anheuser-Busch looking for from automation?

Darnell: Our current efforts around automation are focused on enhanced consistency and quality. We can produce more efficiently with less downtime, as we have more consistent raw materials coming into our process. We are using automation to improve our operating efficiencies.

PD: What new or emerging technologies impacting packaging do you think will be important in the next few years?

Darnell: At Anheuser-Busch, we are always investigating new ideas that can potentially enhance our packaging efforts and ensure the quality of our products. We really see automation and the use of data to enhance processes as being the key technological drivers going forward for the industry.

PD: What are some of the opportunities and challenges facing packaging in the coming years?

Darnell: Reducing our environmental impact is going to continue to be a key focus throughout the packaging industry. This is important to us as a company and to our consumers.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of our recycling subsidiary, Anheuser-Busch Recycling. In 2007, it recycled more than 27 billion aluminum cans, making it one of the largest recyclers of aluminum beverage containers in the U.S. We're very proud of its accomplishments, and it stands as an example of Anheuser-Busch's efforts to reduce its environmental impact and educate consumers on the importance of recycling.

PD: When sourcing solutions for new products or packaging, what resources do you use?

Darnell: We work closely with our suppliers to explore our options. They are a great resource when developing a new package or trying to modify a piece of equipment to efficiently produce a new package. We are also working with other leading industries to benchmark and share best practices. Trade associations, conferences, seminars, shows, etc., are all valuable resources.

PD: How does attending packaging tradeshows fit into your search for new packaging solutions?

Darnell: Tradeshows are a very valuable source of information, making contacts and getting new ideas. For instance, we got a lot of new contacts by attending the National Restaurant Association show last year. It was a good opportunity to talk to our customers on their ideas, their needs and to visit with other beverage makers.

PD: Can you describe Anheuser-Busch's approach to tradeshows such as PACK EXPO?

Darnell: PACK EXPO is a great show. We use it as a learning/training opportunity, as well as a source of new ideas and contacts. We will often have developmental projects in mind and use PACK EXPO to help define those projects. Besides engineers, we have also sent our operations and marketing people to the event.