Greenvale AP has improved the efficiency of its product coding process, following collaboration with coding and marking specialist Markem.
The manufacturer has replaced its existing hot foil machines because their limited capacity for variable printing meant that product and traceability details could not be added to the date codes displayed on its bags of potatoes.
New coding equipment was needed to increase the information printed onto the bags and to improve print quality and flexibility.
A number of SmartDate thermal transfer coders were installed. These print the best-before date, as well as the variety of the potatoes, the grower code, the origin of the product, and vital traceability information.
A hand-held scanning system to each of the production lines and networked the entire coding operation was also introduced.
The efficiency of the factory has improved and the flexibility of the amount of information that the manufacturer can now print on its product has increased.
The system, which was introduced at Greenvale’s Doddington site, has been replicated at the manufacturer’s factory in Duns, Scotland.
Rob Philips, operations manager of the Cambridgeshire factory, said: “Markem has provided a far more sophisticated coding solution than we originally envisaged and we are delighted with the results.
“As a leading supplier to the UK’s largest retailer, it is imperative that our coding is accurate and efficient and Markem has helped us to achieve just that.”
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