an unusual and unmistakable look for its ketchup, mustard and salad dressing bottles, food producer Meira is placing its trust in the high-precision two-side labelling system 362M built by HERMA. The labels for the Finnish company's redesigned products present a special challenge for two reasons.First, their tapered shape and size can easily give rise to inconsistencies during the dispensing operation. And second, they have to be applied exactly in the envisaged recess on the tapered bottles, which also have an oval cross-section. "Ours is a demanding situation, but the HERMA system offers compelling accuracy. Our products' new look has precisely the desired impact, and the labelling is performed very consistently and efficiently. Despite the complexity of the labelling solution, we are achieving an output of 60 bottles a minute," says Meira Factory Director Juha Suikkanen. "We also much appreciated HERMA's input before the system was installed; its technical advice related not only to the machine, but also to the development of appropriate labels." Meira is Finland's leading supplier of herbs and spices, seasonings, dressings and coffee. It is a member of the Italian Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group (Segafredo brand).
Synchronous centring device
The HERMA two-side labeller 362M is predestined for highly accurate front and back labelling applications. Its special centring device exactly positions the labels on the fly, and the product itself is arrested and centred during the labelling operation. Conventional practice is to align the product accurately and apply the label in discrete operations, but in HERMA's case, the centring device is synchronised with the conveyor belt. With many labelling systems, in contrast to HERMA's solution, the product's position can change in the event of even minimal misalignment between the centring and labelling operations – with a visible impact on the correct seating of the label. For Meira's application, the centring device plays a crucial role with the large ketchup (930 ml) and mustard (500 ml) bottles in particular. A pre-centring unit is sufficient, however, for the smaller bottles of salad dressing.
