2022, A Year In Review

End of 2022 coming up so a few words to look back over the year. With Covid ending, a federal and then a state election its been a bit of a roller coaster but the important thing is we are here and keen to have a go at making 2023 a stellar year for Keg King and its wonderful customers.

This year saw the introduction of a number of new products from the simple Spundy to the unique Solstice fridge. Also our PET Kegs were finally a commercial success to the point where our stocks got depleted more quickly than we expected but better planning will fix that in 2023. Whilst on the subject of PET Kegs I want to mention the seismic shift that we are working on by introducing and promoting a 10 litre Keg. This size is ideal for the consumer and by sticking with standard couplings presents no challenge to beer and wine producers to fill and sell. Next year will see a big effort get under way to promote this as a way for the consumer to get their favourite tipple and we will provide them with low cost systems to be able to serve at the right temperature and pressure (watch this space).

The only way for Breweries and wineries to see this potentially very lucrative market segment is for us to go and show them. So in 2022 yours truly hit the road and 10,000km later has shown his face at many breweries and some wineries along the south east to the north east coast of Australia. Inland NSW and Victoria also did not miss out. Its really an amazing experience to meet all the brewers and operators in so many places. Keg samples were provided to all and it was interesting to see that some were quick to understand what a revolution the 10 litre keg is going to be. In all cases they loved the idea of using 10 litre kegs to send their brews to Comps rather than have the bother of metal kegs doing the rounds. So to get this moving 2023 is the time for us to push out the idea of breweries sending their valuable samples in 10 litre King Kegs and save costs.

May this year saw the Solstice fridges hit the shop floor finally and we are very proud that this was designed here in Australia, for Australian conditions and for Australian users. That does not mean we will not be selling it in the rest of the world also. We already have enquiries from many parts and not just for drinkers. Its 12 volt capability drew the attention of medical workers in places where mains power or poor mains availability make it hard for them to store vaccines and other medical items. Its quick repairability also made it desirable. For those who have not seen it the Solstice has all its electrical/cooling works contained inside an easily exchangeable cassette. If a malfunction occurs it’s a matter of minutes to undo 6 screws, remove the cassette and slide in the replacement. A very low cost changeover price makes this cassette thing ideal for keeping a spare and then having the spare sent back for fixing.

The Solstice can fit 6 cornies and have six taps, runs from 12 volts directly and comes with a power pack to allow use on 110/240 volt mains. It is stainless steel inside and out (SS304) and can also heat so making it perfect for fermenting. This fridge will never go into land fill and has that environmental credential underpinning its use.

This year also saw the introduction of the series XL fridge. Whilst the series 4 has served well a growing number of customers were looking for that extra room so we called it XL like extra large. We made some improvements whilst we were designing it and so it sports a stronger compressor, better insulation material, rollers for those who need to keep the height lower, an internal light so its easier to see what is going on in there and a multi speed fan control. Optional stainless tops and stainless steel under bench telescopic adaptors also came out.

Most importantly our managing director Maggie presided over the idea and design of our new stainless steel T-Bar fonts. Maggie really pushed this as she did the XL and these stunning Towers are making peoples’ mancaves and bars look so much more professional. Its great to have someone at the top who is so keen to add some quality and appearance and setting new standards on presentation. Lets face it the money that many folks spend on their Alfresco or man cave area is quite substantial and who wants to have crappy font towers and lousy taps letting the whole scene down. Its all about life style and we want to make the choices simple for those putting down their hard earned funds to get something really nice.

Of course there are still more new things like the Twist Flow Control taps etc and we will not mention them all here. Lets look forward then to the list of kit we plan to have there next year and it will include more interesting fridge products to suit homes and breweries. A new pump will get home brewers excited, PET kegs will make it easier than ever for Home Brewers to get into kegging and maybe even something on a single vessel brewery, new distilling gear and much more to enjoy producing brews etc.

Do you know that Keg King manufactures its PET kegs, fermenters etc here in Australia? Two separate factories here in Melbourne enable us to make a range of vessels for not just the beverage industries but also for potentially a lot of other uses from oils, juices and more. Keg King is proud to have a team of design engineers all of whom studied and graduated from the best tertiary institutions such as Melbourne University, RMIT and Adelaide University. There is no other organisation in Australia that has comparable capabilities in our chosen fields. Much larger businesses have begun to work more closely with Keg King and our profile in the beverage industry is growing to the point where our business is seen as a serious player in the supply chains to breweries, beverage systems integrators and retail outlets. The coming year will see us penetrate much further into the consumer market than ever before and what we learn there helps to filter back to bring new innovations from our design team. Internationally we have stronger partners than previously and our reputation is growing. Lets make it a great year for our customers, partners, suppliers and resellers. I look forward to interacting with as many of you as I personally can because such contact brings new ideas to help us make better products and improve our services.

Will Fiala

CEO Keg King