Beyond Bottlenecks: Rethinking End-of-Line Performance

When beverage lines underperform, the root cause isn’t always what you expect it to be. End-of-line systems from packaging to the palletizer are often overlooked. And despite significant investments in conveying equipment, packaging lines often operate well below their theoretical capacity due to recurring short stoppages caused by minor inefficiencies.  But even minor inefficiencies in these areas can lead to massive operational challenges, impacting production and decreasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). As production speeds climb to keep up with growing market demands and packaging complexity increases, end-of-line performance has become a critical lever to stabilize and improve throughput, reliability, and cost control.

Small Issues. Big Impact.

At high speeds, conveying systems have very little margin for error. Inconsistent product flow, misalignment, or excess friction can quickly create backups that disrupt the entire line.
These issues typically stem from a few common factors:
       • Misalignment between conveyor belt material selection and the application requirements
       • System designs that introduce unnecessary transfer points
       • Wear patterns that go unnoticed until failure occurs
Individually, they may seem like manageable issues, but together, they can significantly reduce production, increase product loss and drive-up maintenance related expenses.

Where Performance Begins

To overcome these challenges, beverage producers must look at the foundation of conveying performance, which starts with conveyor belt material selection.
In beverage environments, systems are frequently exposed to moisture, continuous operation, and transfer points that, when improperly designed, can disrupt product stability. Belt materials must balance durability, low friction, and resistance to wear, all while maintaining stable product handling.

When materials are not properly selected to perform with the application, operators often see:
       • Increased drag and energy consumption
       • Accelerated wear on components
       • Unstable product handling, especially with lightweight container tippage.

Additionally, as producers continue to adopt lighter-weight and more sustainable packaging formats, these challenges become more pronounced. Thinner materials, reduced secondary packaging, and an increasing variety of package sizes and configurations can improve sustainability outcomes but often come at the cost of additional demands on your conveying systems.
There are base materials that are commonly used and premium materials that have a host of new benefits to help reach your goals and solve challenges. Each material type has its own pros and cons. Modern beverage applications demand higher performance materials than standard chain materials can provide, especially in high-speed canning and bottling lines. These applications require materials that offer improvements such as a lower coefficient of friction, chemical resistance, better abrasion resistance, enhanced product stability, higher PV limits, and the ability to operate over a wide temperature range, including running dry. Premium chain materials combined with premium wear materials are essential for optimizing the performance of high-speed conveyor lines.
When properly selected, the right belt will help to maintain consistent flow, reduce strain on critical applications, and extend service life without requiring major system overhauls, not to mention maintaining the quality of the new modern packaging types.

Design for Flow, Not Just Movement

Moving products isn’t the same as optimizing flow.
High-performing conveying systems are designed to maintain smooth, controlled movement throughout the line. This means minimizing transition or pinch points, eliminating accumulation pressure, and ensuring consistent alignment. In many beverage facilities, transfer points, accumulation zones, and conveyor curves are among the most common sources of product damage and downtime. Improperly configured transfer areas can cause products to stall, rub, or misalign, while unmanaged accumulation can create excessive backline pressure that increases the risk of crushed packaging, product instability, and unplanned stoppages.

Well-engineered systems reduce the likelihood of jams and product damage while supporting higher throughput. Small design improvements, like optimizing conveyor geometry or reducing transfer points, can deliver meaningful gains in system stability. Additionally, selecting conveying technologies that actively manage product forces throughout the line can help avoid these problems. Low back pressure conveying solutions, friction-optimized components, and application-specific conveying materials can help reduce accumulation forces, minimize product-to-product contact, and improve handling performance. When matched correctly to product weight, operating speed, and environmental conditions, these solutions can significantly reduce wear while improving overall line reliability.

Wear Is Predictable, If You Know Where to Look

Wear is inevitable in beverage production. But unplanned downtime doesn’t have to be.
Most failures are preceded by gradual degradation such as elongation, surface wear, or misalignment that can be detected early with the right approach. In some cases, recurring wear issues can be traced back to installation and setup conditions. Transfer heights, conveyor gaps, accumulation settings, and out of spec alignment tolerances can contribute to chronic maintenance challenges that gradually impact production performance.

Operations that shift from reactive to proactive maintenance see measurable benefits. By monitoring system performance and inspecting key wear points, teams can address issues before they escalate into costly disruptions.

The result: fewer breakdowns, more consistent output, and lower total cost of ownership.

What Happens When Systems Are Aligned

When conveying systems are engineered to match the application, the results are tangible.

In a processing environment a facility was running conveyors at speeds up to 360 FPM and experienced repeated belt and roller failures, increasing downtime and maintenance costs. After evaluating the system, the Regal Rexnord team identified issues under the conveyor with chain wear and recommended the Rexnord™ 1533 Series LBP MatTop™ Chain to improve durability, handle high speeds, and extend service life in the demanding environment. By upgrading to a more application-specific conveying platform, the facility was able to reduce maintenance demands while also improving line stability, ultimately delivering significant annual cost savings.

Similar outcomes have been achieved in high-speed accumulation and overhead conveying applications where conveying technologies were matched more closely to operating conditions. By optimizing chain selection and reducing accumulation-related stresses, facilities have extended component life, reduced maintenance interventions, and improved overall system uptime while maintaining consistent product flow.

The takeaway is clear: performance gains don’t always require new lines or major capital investments. Often, they come from optimizing the components already in place with a preventative retrofit.

This same principle applies across beverage packaging operations. Solutions such as advanced MatTop conveying platforms, including the Rexnord 1533 Series, are designed to improve wear resistance, maintain alignment, and support smoother product flow, helping reduce maintenance interventions while keeping lines running consistently.

Efficiency Drives Sustainability

The reality is that being dependent on maintenance labor is becoming harder and more costly, so beverage producers must use their time efficiently. Improving conveying performance doesn’t just impact uptime, it can also support you in achieving your business sustainability goals.

More efficient systems reduce energy consumption by minimizing friction and unnecessary load. Better product handling decreases waste, while optimized designs can simplify cleaning processes and reduce water use. Reducing accumulation-related damage, spills, and product loss can also help minimize cleanup activities, rework, and discarded packaging materials, creating sustainability benefits that extend beyond energy savings alone.

These incremental improvements add up quickly, helping operations meet both performance and environmental targets.