Packaging

Labellers with the right bite

Wednesday 14. October 2020 - More and more dog owners attach importance to feeding their pets a natural diet and rely on Barf. This stands for biologically species-appropriate food and is based on what wolves and wild dogs eat in the wild. Die Futterma-cher, a family-run company from Villingen-Schwenningen with around 40 employees, supplies this trendy food - so far mainly in frozen form - to over 300 dealers throughout Germany and some in other European countries.

Now that the canned food business is also really taking off, “Die Futtermacher” has invested in modern labelling technology from HERMA. Whereas previously only 200 cans a week were labelled by hand here, the figure has now risen to 1,000 to 2,000 cans a day, which are labelled with the aid of the new HERMA labelling system 152C P. “Our ambition is to create a product that is completely consistent,” explains Tobias Wein-acker, responsible for sales and marketing at “Die Futtermacher”. Wein-acker is more than satisfied with the labelling results of the HERMA 152C P: “The label fits perfectly, no misalignment, although the labels are quite long. Another important requirement: Labelling a total of ten different menus in two different can sizes must be handled smoothly and with little effort for changeovers.
Simple handling
This is a challenge that the 152C P labeller from HERMA gladly accepts. It is a bestseller in its own right: because it concentrates on the essentials, impresses with its amazing performance and offers high accuracy. This is ensured not only by the HERMA 500 labeller used, but also by roller prism technology. At the moment of labelling, the prism sets the cans in rotation and fixes them at the same time. This virtually eliminates misalignment. Self-aligned labelling succeeds perfectly. Most settings on the new labeller can be made without tools. Changing batches is quick and easy. The installation of a printing unit such as a hot stamping unit or a thermal transfer printer is also possible without any problems, even at a later date. In the case of the “feeders”, this is a not unimportant point: “In the moment, we still use a printer to print the variable data such as batch no. and best before date in advance offline,” reports Weinacker. “But that is certainly not the final straw.
Sustained upswing
Since 1984, dog owners have been receiving high-quality barf at “Die Futtermacher”, mainly as a frozen product. “Ready-made menus in tins have been seen in the past rather as a kind of holiday alternative. The production was correspondingly low”, says Weinacker. But because they are so practical and because some dog owners, such as vegetarians, have a problem with handling raw meat, tins can help to reach a wider target group. “We want to grow without sacrificing our quality standards,” says Weinacker. Concentrating on our core competencies is crucial in this respect. Building up comprehensive special know-how in labelling technology is not one of them. The new labeller simply has to run. “Since we’ve only just started our new can production and there are still a few technical questions that need to be answered, we’re currently attaching great importance to the quick availability of a service technician. HERMA was also able to score points with this. Whether by telephone or in person on site – all open questions were always quickly clarified, reports Weinacker. “The hands-on mentality corresponds to our own philosophy. This is another reason why we feel so well looked after at HERMA.