Changing consumer trends towards “sexier” bottle shapes and labels is forcing the manufacturing industry to move away from traditional labelling technologies according to leading glueing technology company Robatech Australia.
Managing Director, Charles Graham says the trend towards new and unusual container shapes and more attractive labels means equipment manufacturers such as Robatech Australia are becoming as much slaves to fashion as the food and beverage companies whose products they bottle.
“Bottling is as much about fashion as is the product itself," he says, "the look of the bottle and label can be the deciding factor for the consumer — particularly in a highly competitive market such as bottled water where manufacturers fight tooth and nail to establish a point of difference.”
“Until a few years ago paper labels were usually stuck onto glass bottles with cold glue but with the demands for more precision and flexibility in labelling while still achieving maximum output, the industry is being forced to find more efficient and adaptable methods.
“Robatech has always prided itself in staying ahead of the game and we have developed a new hotmelt labelling system which is more precise, more efficient and more cost-effective than the old coldglue technology.”
Mr Graham says Robatech Australia’s 'right-round' labelling system is a precisely controlled closed system glue application which uses a unique pressure sensitive technology.
This means Robatech’s equipment uses between 30 and 70 per cent less glue than roller applications.
“The big advantage is that Robatech equipment can control the application of the adhesive with one primary tank while other systems require two,” Mr Graham says.
“This means not only do our systems use less glue, but there is a lower initial investment for the end user and lower ongoing servicing costs.”
The Robatech right-round labelling system consists of a hotmelt applicator, a spray head and labelling head that sticks cut right-round labels stacked in a magazine onto glass and plastic containers.
The start glue is sprayed onto the container in the form of several small, spiral-shaped spots which cause the rotating container to pick up a label from the magazine, while a slot-type nozzle simultaneously applies a thin strip of glue to the end of the label which is then placed around the bottle and precisely glued where the ends overlap.
“One of the advantages of the closed system is that no contaminants can get into the glue and when production is shut down, say over a weekend, residual glue can stay in the system and be re-used once the plant is re-started,” Mr Graham says.
“Robatech’s superior pumping technology also means that our systems are the fastest and most-efficient on the market.”
Robatech Australia is a Swiss-owned subsidiary of Robatech AG, a family-owned and run company based in Muri, Switzerland, which has been a leader in glueing technology since 1975.