Nukon

Nukon, part of the SAGE Group, partnered with Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) and its automation suppliers to deliver a digitalisation and end-to-end automated Barrel Management System (BMS), transforming some of the traditional winemaking processes at TWE’s Barossa Valley facility into a highly efficient, sustainable, and data-driven operation. Nukon are submitting the BMS to the Wine Industry Impact Awards in the category of ‘Agtech and Digital’. This end-to-end automation is a first in the global wine industry, replacing manual barrel management methods—such as chalk marks and paper cards—with a completely digital Barrel Management System (BMS). Leveraging QR codes, RFID tags, and mobile devices the BMS integrates with TWE's Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), and robotic systems to, for the first time, bring together people, processes, and data to streamline operations across a facility with the capacity to store up to 125,000 barrels. The BMS ensures complete traceability, digitalising barrel operations from inventory management to emptying, washing, filling, and storage. This initiative is expected to increase storage capacity by up to 60%, reduce manual handling risks, and lower energy consumption. It aligns with TWE’s sustainability targets, including net zero emissions by 2030, as AGVs are powered by renewable energy. The project also set new standards for operational efficiency, with barrel operations now driven by data insights that inform winemaking decisions. By integrating robotics and digital workflows into a traditionally manual industry, this project has created significant impact, demonstrating the potential of digitalisation in winemaking and setting a new benchmark for innovation, safety, sustainability, and operational excellence. The broader industry can look to this project as a prime example of how digital transformation can revolutionise not only efficiency and productivity but also environmental sustainability and data-driven decision-making. The BMS digitalisation project introduces automation and smart processes that will influence the future direction of the industry.