SALSICCIAMO, a UK-based artisan Italian sausage producer, is said to have made ‘significant advancements’ in production after switching to Ravenwood’s linerless technology and the integration of a Nobac 5000 linerless applicator.
Application speeds have reportedly increased by 133%, enabling retailers to benefit from quicker order turnarounds. Previously, sausage packs were labelled by hand at a rate of about 15 packs per minute. Since fully automating with linerless, production has reached 35 packs per minute.
Founder Giuseppe Roberti explained, “We have seen numerous improvements, the most significant being our transition from manual label application to fully automated labelling lines. Since moving to linerless, we are now experiencing faster labelling speeds, enabling us to pack and label a wider range of products more time efficiently.
“Linerless labels are extremely cost-effective and we are seeing a 50% saving on material costs when compared to the self-adhesive labels we were using previously.”
Linerless materials go directly from the mill to the printer, eliminating the need for conversion processes associated with self-adhesive labels.
Salsicciamo purchased a Nobac 5000 linerless applicator with a 53mm coder. The machine can reach speeds of 100 packs per minute.
Salsicciamo challenged Ravenwood to develop a single flexible labelling format that could accommodate multiple tray sizes. The company’s sausage products were packaged in four different trays, all with the same width and length but varying heights. Giuseppe also wanted the labels applied along the narrow edge to maximise shelf space in stores.
Ravenwood’s keyline designer created a c-wrap linerless label design that is said to ‘perfectly satisfy these requirements’.
Giuseppe added, “Using the same label size for all of our sausage products has made things so much easier. We no longer have to adjust the label applicator’s settings which has really streamlined the labelling application process and enabled us to work much faster.”
Salsicciamo’s labels are printed by Coveris.
Before adopting linerless labels, Salsicciamo used a self-adhesive desktop printer to print the self-adhesive labels, which were then manually applied. With the installation of the Nobac 5000 linerless applicator, processes have been ‘completely transformed’. Previously, staff found the manual application process to be slow and repetitive, requiring them to spend a significant amount of time in a cold environment. With more time freed up, employees can now assist in other areas of the production line.
