Salsicciamo revolutionises sausage production with linerless labelling
Salsicciamo has improved its production process by transitioning to linerless labelling.
The renowned artisan sausage maker recognised with multiple awards said the transition has streamlined business operations, offering increased flexibility, cost savings, faster labelling application speeds, and enhanced sustainability.
Giuseppe Roberti, Salsicciamo’s, founder, said: “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.”
Application speeds have 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 now reached 35 packs per minute.
Roberti added: “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 costly conversion processes associated with self-adhesive labels. Siliconised liner paper is both energy-intensive and expensive. By eliminating the liner and silicone, no waste is sent to landfill. Consequently, linerless labelling results in less transportation, fewer journeys and lower CO2 emissions.
When comparing self-adhesive to linerless labelling, the label dimensions of the self-adhesive labels were entered into Ravenwood’s CO2 calculator. The results show that for each reel of 3,000 labels, 13kg of CO2 emissions are prevented from entering the atmosphere. Additionally, this also means that each reel saves 83 square meters of liner from being sent to landfill. On considering the full spectrum of benefits, Salsicciamo purchased a Nobac 5000 linerless applicator with a 53mm coder.
Roberti said: “The Nobac 5000 can reach speeds of 100 packs per minute and has future proofed our production line.”
Salsicciamo challenged Ravenwood to develop a single flexible labelling format that could accommodate multiple tray sizes. Their sausage products were packaged in four different trays, all with the same width and length but varying heights. Giuseppe Roberti also wanted the labels applied along the narrow edge to maximise shelf space in retail stores. Ravenwood’s Keyline Designer created a c-wrap linerless label design that perfectly satisfy these requirements.
He said: “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 UK linerless printer, Coveris. Coveris is a leading European packaging and labelling company.
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 new Nobac 5000 linerless applicator, labelling processes have been completely transformed, resulting in happier factory staff. Previously, the 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, staff are able to assist in other areas of the production line.