The renowned confectionery manufacturer Storck has optimized its distribution with marking technology from REA Label. This enables the company to react to the market faster and more flexibly than before.

Storck is one of the ten largest confectionery manufacturers in the world and exports its products to more than a hundred countries. Thanks to modern logistics centres at the production sites in Halle/Westphalia and Ohrdruf/Thuringia, the company can offer a 24-hour delivery service all over Europe. In order to react quickly and flexibly to the demands of the markets, all processes are continuously optimized. Most recently, in addition to the reorganization of the supply chain, the update of the marking technology was on the agenda.

In order to automate the transport and marking of pallets and to reduce manual intervention, new pallet labellers were to be integrated at the transition to the loading hall in the high-bay warehouses in Halle and Ohrdruf. There was a tight timeframe for implementation: the installation had to take place during ongoing operation, and the multi-site project had to be completed before the peak season of the Christmas business.

In view of this challenge, Storck left nothing to chance: the company commissioned a comprehensive market survey including comparison of suppliers and called in a project team of the University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld/Germany to examine various solution approaches. The decision finally came down to high-quality pallet labellers from REA Label, which convinced with their robust housing, stable mechanics, user-friendly software, modern interfaces and future-proof technology. In addition, REA's service was able to score points with high flexibility, comprehensive availability and a detailed concept, guaranteeing reliable implementation.

Despite the tight deadline, eight pallet labellers were implemented on time at both locations at the transition from the high-bay warehouse to the loading hall. At this point, pallets are distributed via four elevator shafts to a transport system with eight lanes. Afterwards, they are labelled on three sides on the longitudinal, forehead and backside during standstill. A servomotor height adjustment is not required.

The data for each pallet is transferred from the conveyor system to the respective labelling unit via a Profibus interface. The pallet labeller recognizes dimensions and edges automatically. This ensures that the label positions specified in the GS1 standards are exactly adhered to. With three-sided labelling, up to 80 pallets can be handled per hour. The labels ­contain product- and order-specific data for shipping companies and customers such as route information, weight, best-before date and article number.

The pallet labellers were smoothly integrated into the logistics process and are easy to control in daily operation: they work fully automatically and are monitored decentrally; all messages are visualized. Alternatively, they can also be operated on the line via an integrated terminal with illuminated LCD clear-text display and user-friendly touch panel. In addition, each system is equipped with a three-colour pole lamp, which indicates the respective operating status.

Industry 4.0 is standard at REA Label: the interface programming for the data communication enables the comfortable integration of the pallet labellers into the existing infrastructure and the connection to the storage management system (LMS) from Storck. The just-in-time print data is transferred directly from the higher-level LMS system to the pallet labellers. The labels are printed inline and then applied according to standards. The conveyor/labeller interface was implemented via a DP/DP link, and the safety-relevant signals are also processed digitally.

Automatic data exchange is just as much a matter of course at REA Label as a large selection of thermal transfer printing modules. Therefore, special customer requests can be implemented. By using high-quality components and the integrated freely programmable PLC control, the systems can be configured variably. The unit housing protects against dust. If necessary, a heating or air conditioning system ensures the optimum operating temperature. The pallet labellers are also available in stainless steel and can be used in the cooling range down to –24 °C.

At Storck, they are very satisfied with the pallet labellers from REA Label: “We have found a high-performance, future-proof solution that we can adapt to current and future requirements as needed”, says Frank Müller, head of the logistics centre in Halle. “This enables us to react to the market faster and more flexibly than before”.