Coding sector displays a moving picture

Standing still is not an option when the sands below your feet are shifting. Move, move, move! has become the mantra for coding equipment companies determined to make headway in difficult times. While some are acting alone, branching out into new, worldwide markets, others are bringing about consolidation in the sector, merging to redouble the strength of their respective product portfolios.

Allen Coding’s year gets a caffeine-fuelled kick-start thanks to landing a major new customer that happens to be South Korea’s top coffee supplier. And a New Year company move symbolises its optimism for the future having found a lucrative market niche.

“Allen Coding has undergone a significant transition in the past 18 months and we have used the time to our benefit,” says Adrian Shepherd, managing director at Allen Coding, part of ITW. The company has moved to Stevenage, a short distance from the old address at Milton Keynes and is the first occupant of new premises.

There was another radical strategic business move, says Mr Shepherd: “We have changed where we manufacture.”

By splitting production between Taiwan, Spain and the UK, Allen Coding has been able to hold down the price of equipment. It has also dropped the price of consumables. In the current economic climate purchasers will be pleased to grab savings when they are offered.

The company’s top-selling Super Compact model has printed circuit boards and power supply components made in the UK, the cassette is being produced to rigorous high standards in Taiwan and assembly is based in Barcelona, Spain.

The Taiwanese product is every bit as good as the original made in the UK and reduces the cost by 40%, says Mr Shepherd.

Allen Coding’s popular Compact coder has British-made electronics, with cassette production and assembly being carried out in Barcelona. Legislation, while it is not everyone’s best friend, helps drive business for Allen Coding and the rest of the coding equipment community.

Last year, the company’s fortunes spun on a multi-million pound order to supply and install TP4000 thermal transfer printers at the major coffee manufacturer in South Korea. On the back of new legislation in Korea that required date coding on all sizes of packaged food products, Dongsuh Group, which produces Maxwell House and Maxim coffee in foodservice sachets, ordered 128 of Allen Coding’s five-head multilane printers.

Dongsuh is applying dates, real-time traceability codes and machine identity, using the TP4000 to achieve a rub-resistant print in line with the packaging artwork. The substrate is printed in ‘wallpaper’ fashion, formed and filled with coffee, sugar and powdered milk for use in airports and hotels. Claimed a ‘world first’ for ITW, the TP4000 will code up to 600 sachets/min.

The completed Dongsuh order has been delivered in three parts, the first having been successfully installed in November. The remaining shipments went out in December and January. Mr Shepherd cannot fault the South Korean clean-room production standards, with washdown and humidity control, a spacious factory floor and ‘commendable operator training’.

Expansion at its Spanish factory is helping to keep jobs in Europe. The Korean legislation change has given Allen coding ‘a little niche’, and a 12-18 month head start of the competition, says Mr Shepherd. It meant a new production line at Barcelona for Maxwell House, which has 70% of the Korean market. Meanwhile, in the UK six additional mechanical and electronics contract employees have been taken on, which could turn into permanent positions for some of them.

Allen Coding blazed the trail on the UK market for the Icon laser coder, in a partnership agreement with the Barcelona-based coding equipment manufacturer Macsa.

The small character, non-contact coder is suitable for most substrates, including labels, cartons, plastics and glass used in the beverage, cosmetics and industrial sectors. Icon is said to create neither unwanted ink deposits nor solvent emissions for added health and safety benefits.

The timing of the merger between two coding equipment leaders Markem and Imaje proved to be a significant factor in addressing the events of 2008-9. By the time the recession hit, the new Markem-Imaje organisation had carried out some strategic decisions about the manufacture and distribution of its products and services.

The strongest products from both companies were combined in a new portfolio, which offered market-leading product identification solutions for all stages of packaging - from primary packs to SKUs (stock-keeping units) and pallet loads.

Some manufacturing rationalisation was carried out, with the most efficient plants becoming Centres of Excellence for the various technologies. Distribution and technical support networks were extended and refined to better serve emerging markets in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

All this meant that Markem-Imaje could focus on changing market requirements. New product development is usually an early casualty of tough trading conditions, but the company took a different view. Instead, a number of new products began to appear, each with specific features to help address the issues facing manufacturers and packers today.

These include the latest development in hotmelt and liquidink case coding technology. The new 5600 and 5800 coders offer increased efficiency and uptime at lower operating costs. Improved connectivity delivers fast set-up and change-overs, and helps automate the whole packaging ID process.

This means that corrugated cases, trays and shrink-wraps can be coded on-line to GS1 standards, opening up potential savings in packaging inventory costs.

Offering savings through rationalised packaging is the SmartDate 5/128, big brother to the best-selling SmartDate 5 thermal transfer coder. The extra large print area means that generic flexible packaging can be transformed by the addition of extended product details, nutritional information, ingredients lists, graphics and barcodes.

Markem-Imaje marketing specialist Lucy Benbow comments: “The last 12 months have been very challenging for manufacturers and equipment suppliers alike. More than ever, packers have had to drive down costs whilst improving the productivity of their lines, and these considerations are central for all new product development at Markem-Imaje.

“Increasingly, too, customers are looking for more sustainable solutions. Energy-saving features are also embedded in our NPD programmes, and wherever possible we will offer our customers low-cost upgrades to help extend the life and performance of Markem-Imaje products.”