Smurfit Kappa creates a bespoke TopClip system for mid-sized breweries

BeerSelect is the first brewery in Belgium to use Smurfit Kappa’s automated TopClip system. 

Smurfit Kappa has delivered a pioneering Belgian craft brewer with an end-to-end packaging system, TopClip, the 100% paper-based substitute for shrink wrap that bundles beverage multi-packs. 

BeerSelect has increased remarkably over the last three years and attracted considerable attention from investors and beer drinkers alike. The brewer sought packaging that would align with its sustainability aspirations and an automated machine system to produce the solution in-house efficiently.

Smurfit Kappa reviewed every aspect of BeerSelect’s operations and decided that the most effective solution was to build and install its Mid-Speed TopClip machine at BeerSelect’s green-field brewery. This machine has proven worth for many small and medium-sized drinks companies as it can handle 30,000 cans per hour and is flexible enough to switch between different configurations to bundle four, six, and eight packs of cans. 

With a 30% more down carbon footprint than a shrink-wrap consumer pack, TopClip is 100% renewable, recyclable, and biodegradable. It displays the products more effectively than the complete wrap-around solutions commonly used for canned drinks.

Speaking about the collaboration, BeerSelect’s Co-founder, Kasper Peeters, said: “In TopClip, we found a solution that fits perfectly within our sustainability mindset. The most tangible benefit is using a packaging solution that will not harm the environment, and implementing a tailor-made machine system has made a big difference in both the ease and speed of production.”

Koen De Winter, European Project & Machine Systems Manager at Smurfit Kappa, added: “The TopClip automated system that we specially designed for small and medium-sized breweries has taken off. TopClip was the ideal Better Planet Packaging solution to meet BeerSelect’s needs. Building the machine for them became an even more effective and holistic solution.”