The European Food Manufacturing Summit 2025: the Constellation Brands approach

The European Food Manufacturing Summit 2025, took place on June 11-12, focusing on innovations in food manufacturing, quality assurance, and supply chain optimisation.

The two-day programme included keynote speeches, plenary sessions, and workshops led by industry experts discussing the integration of AI, automation, and sustainability practices in food production. Attendees had opportunities for networking and learning about the latest trends and technologies shaping the future of the food manufacturing industry. 

Carlos Parodi, the vice president of brewery operations at Constellation Brands, presented the company’s efforts to improve its supply chain performance through innovation and sustainability.

Constellation Brands is an American company with two divisions: wine and spirits, and beer. While the company’s origins are in wine and spirits, it became the largest beer import company in the US over the last 12 years following its acquisition of brands from AB InBev. The company’s beer division operates exclusively in the US, importing brands like Modelo, Corona, Pacifico, and Victoria, and has experienced 59 consecutive quarters of growth. Modelo Especial is now the number one beer in the US market, surpassing Budweiser.

Constellation Brands produces 100% of its beer in Mexico and exports it all to the US market. The company has two facilities in Mexico, one of which is located near the Texas border and produces 32.5 million hectolitres annually. A third facility is currently under construction in Veracruz, Mexico, to support future growth.

A new operational model
The implementation of a new operational model was a key focus of Parodi’s presentation, a journey that began during his time at Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages in the world by sales volume.

The model was designed to address the issue of high turnover among employees who had received expensive training. The company decided to visit other industries to identify benchmarks, and a Coca-Cola plant in England, with its automated packaging lines, became the starting point for the new model.

The new model differs from the traditional setup by integrating production, maintenance, and quality control functions. In this new structure, which was first designed for Coca-Cola and then adapted for the beer industry, the roles were redefined:

• Manufacturing area: technicians and operators not only operate machines but also perform maintenance, quality checks, and process improvements.
• Manufacturing services: this is the new, more strategic name for the maintenance area, which now focuses on preventive and predictive maintenance, analysing data from the production lines.
• Quality assurance: this group focuses on standardisation, certification programmes, and statistical analysis, transferring routine controls to the shop floor.
• Continuous improvement area: this new area is dedicated to Lean Six Sigma projects and motivating teams to find improvements.

The model also changed the workforce structure, reducing the percentage of unionised employees from 65-70% to 30%, with company employees making up the other 70%. The new Veracruz facility is being designed with an even more aggressive goal: 90% company employees and only 10% unionised workers.

• Digitalisation and technology initiatives
  To support the new operational model, Constellation Brands has implemented several digitalisation initiatives. These include:
  Real-time information: scoreboards on packaging lines are connected to PLCs, providing real-time performance data to employees.
• 3D scanning and printing: the company can now produce over 1,000 spare parts in-house, leading to a 90% reduction in cost and a quicker response time compared to external suppliers.
• Enhanced traceability: by using blockchain technology, the company can identify the source of a quality problem within five minutes.
• Digital routines: the company is implementing tablets on the shop floor to digitise routines, eliminating paperwork, reducing errors, and optimising time.
• Predictive maintenance: the company installed 1,500 sensors on 600 pieces of equipment to monitor variables like vibration and temperature in real-time. This allows them to know the condition of assets and is expected to save $1 million annually.

Sustainability efforts
Constellation Brands has also focused on sustainability actions, with initiatives related to water and waste. For water conservation, the company has an agreement with a climate technology company, Kilimo, to provide water irrigation plans for local farmers. The company also encourages recycling through “Green Teams” and an “ecosystem initiative”. Through the initiative, employees can bring in recyclable materials from home and exchange them for a tree to plant. The company also has a compost donation program and grows watermelons and pumpkins for their dining rooms and employees.

Results and future vision
Over the past seven years, these changes have resulted in significant improvements.

• Productivity: 35% improvement.
• Performance: 10% improvement.
• Quality: 75% improvement.
• Safety: 80% improvement.
• Savings: over $100 million.
• Operating costs: 13% reduction.
• Water and energy index: 10% improvement.
• Wastages: 30% reduction.

Looking ahead, the new facility in Veracruz is being designed as an “Industry 5.0” plant, where control rooms will be the primary workspace for employees. Workers will monitor data and analyse information in a comfortable environment and only go to the production lines when necessary to fix a problem. This vision is based on the idea that when a facility consistently performs at a high level (85-87% OEE), a technician is not needed in front of a machine for a full eight-hour shift.