Wet Wipe Manufacturer Meets COVID-19 Challenges with Highly Scalable Coding Solutions

A large manufacturer of hygienic wet wipes achieved greater labelling efficiency with centralised control, reduced ink costs, and an anticipated quick-turn ROI.

Summary
Adaptability and agility are critical assets for any business, but today—with the additional challenges created by COVID-19—they are more important than ever. The global pandemic forced a fundamental shift in how companies do business, regardless of the industry they serve. Many had to adapt to a completely digital operation almost overnight while some were forced to develop new delivery models. And others faced an unprecedented surge in demand.

For this large manufacturer this meant an exponential increase in demand for their cleaning products as the coronavirus took hold all across the globe. To help respond to the situation, MPERIA® helped the company quickly replace their existing coding system to deliver:

• Centralised control to boost efficiency
• A 30% cost savings on ink
• An anticipated quick-turn ROI

The Challenge
The company which has been established for almost 25 years is a manufacturer of sanitising wipes that offers contract manufacturing to a variety of industries (foodservice, hospitality, cleaning, healthcare, and beauty) as well as their own premium and value wipes for the consumer market.

When COVID hit they pivoted to operating in the new norm while witnessing an astonishing increase in demand for one of their biggest product lines – the individual wipe packets included in many first-aid kits.
Unfortunately their existing coding system had several critical shortcomings. Most importantly, it could not scale to meet the surge in demand. Because the system was neither centralised nor capable of integration with the rest of the production systems, expanding their operations simply wasn’t feasible.

Additionally, the legacy system was truly inefficient. Its clunky, standalone user interface (UI) required floor operators to manually make changes across fifteen individual printers each time a code or date needed to be updated. Not only was this process incredibly time consuming, slowing production on a regular basis; it also increased the risk for potential coding errors.

The company knew a more efficient and modern coding solution must exist, one that would positively impact their bottom line while driving efficiency gains in operations and ink consumption.

The Solution
The MPERIA® controller with VIAjet™L-Series thermal inkjet (TIJ) printer offered everything they needed to modernize their production line for greater efficiency and cost effectiveness while also providing a seamless method to scale operations and meet growing demand.

ACCURACY, SPEED, AND HIGH RESOLUTION
They chose the L1 VIAjet printer, an ultra-compact, high-performance printhead, perfect for tight spaces and OEM integration. It’s an excellent solution for high-resolution codes up to 2mm (as well as larger codes and text up to 6mm), and ideal for the kind of high-speed commercial printing they do.
In addition to unmatched speed and quality, the VIAjet L1 also helps positively impact their bottom line with superior ink utilisation. Droplets of ink from the L1 printhead are smaller, translating to a yield advantage of nearly 30% over comparable HP cartridges. Also, because cartridge changeover is easy and happens less frequently, the company saves on routine maintenance costs and reduces downtime.

FLEXIBLE INTEGRATION OPTIONS AND SCALABILITY
Perhaps the most appealing feature of this solution is seamless scalability. The compact, low-profile system is fully networkable, allowing the company to connect all necessary components to a single MPERIA controller via Ethernet. True scalability enables easy expansion of their production capacity, adding printheads as needed.

EFFICIENT CENTRALISATION, USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACE, AND REMOTE ACCESS
Unlike their previous system, the MPERIA platform integrates easily with existing systems—virtually any ERP, MRP, or database. Because there’s no middleware or third-party hardware required, The company was able to manage the integration quickly and with very little effort.

Once integrated, the MPERIA platform centralises control of all the L-Series units so that making changes is painless. Instead of having to make the same change on multiple printers—slowing production and risking errors—the operator makes one change at the MPERIA controller, instantly updating all the printers on the line.

MPERIA® also gave the convenience of VNC (virtual network computing)—allowing remote management of the system from anywhere. This is especially relevant as production lines run five days per week, two shifts per day. Reliable, 24/7 remote access ensures consistently smooth operations and tremendous peace of mind.

The Results
The company was up and running with their new MPERIA solution in a couple of days. Their staff handled the installation without middleware or third-party hardware. The commissioning to set up the line, controller, and VNC also only took one day.

FAST, EASY SCALABILITY
The company initially implemented five VIAjet L1 Series printers at one location. They were so pleased with the initial results that they quickly installed five more printers in that facility and five additional printers at another location. Their plan is to expand this solution to their full production capacity, between 40 and 50 printers across two facilities. Flexible and scalable, the solution facilitates the easy addition of printers for them, ensuring they’re always able to meet a surge in demand.

CENTRALISED CONTROL
The MPERIA® platform gives efficient, centralized control of all the printers on their production line through a simple, user-friendly interface. In addition, it allows for remote access via VNC so that operators not only maintain social distance protocols while on the production floor, they can also see and manage what’s happening even when they aren’t on site.

COST SAVINGS AND QUICK-TURN ROI
Cost savings were apparent in three areas:
• Lower Ink Costs: Superior ink utilisation, as compared to HP cartridges, allows the company to generate 30% more printable quantity for the same cost.
• Lower Maintenance Costs: Easy-to-change cartridges and reduced frequency of changes helps them reduce expenses related to regular maintenance and upkeep.
• Greater Overall Efficiency: The centralised control, speed and accuracy of the printing process, and seamless system scalability all contribute to an overall increase in their production efficiency.
All of these cost savings combine to deliver an anticipated quick-turn ROI.

ENDS