Dog owners increasingly attach importance to feeding their pets in a natural way, and that is why they rely on “Barf”. “Barf” stands for “biologisch artgerechtes Futter” (biologically species-appropriate pet food) and is based on what wild dogs and wolves eat in the wild. “Die Futtermacher”, a family-run company with about 40 employees, based in Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, supplies its increasingly popular pet food – so far mostly in deep-frozen form – to over 300 retailers all over Germany as well as some other European countries. To allow the canned food business to really take off at this point, “Die Futtermacher” has invested in a modern labelling machine from HERMA, among other things.
Whereas previously only 200 cans a week were labelled by hand at the facility, that number has now increased to 1,000 to 2,000 cans a day, labelled with the help of HERMA’s new wrap-around labeller 152C P. “Our ambition is to create a completely consistent product,” Tobias Weinacker, who is responsible for sales and marketing at “Die Futtermacher”, explains. He is more than satisfied with the labelling results of the HERMA labelling machine 152C P: “The label fits perfectly, there’s no offset even though the labels are quite long. Another important requirement is that the handling of labels of a total of ten different menus in two different can sizes has to be smooth and easy to change from one set-up to another.
Easy handling
This is a challenge that HERMA‘s wrap-around labeller 152C P is happy to take on. It’s actually a bestseller itself, because it focuses on the essentials and offers high accuracy and impressive performance. This is ensured not just by the HERMA 500 applicator, but also the vertical roller prism and the wrap-around roller. At the exact moment of labelling, the prism and the etap-around roller starts rotating the cans and fixes them in place at the same time. This almost completely eliminates the issue of spiral offset. Even aligned labelling works perfectly. Most adjustments on the new labelling machine can be carried out without the use of tools. Changing from one batch to another is quick and easy. Installing a printing unit, such as a hot stamping unit or thermal transfer printer, is also easy, even at a later point in time. In the case of “Die Futtermacher”, this is actually an important factor: “At this point, we still use a printer to print variable data such as batch number and best before date offline, in advance,” Weinacker says. “But that certainly isn’t an optimal solution.”
Sustained improvement
Since 1984, “Die Futtermacher” have supplied dog owners with high-quality “Barf”, mainly in deep-frozen form. “In the past, we used to see ready-made menus in cans as a kind of holiday alternative. And that’s why production was accordingly low,” says Weinacker. But because they‘re so practical and because some dog owners, for example vegetarians, have a problem with handling raw meat, cans can help open up other target groups. “We want to be able to grow without sacrificing our quality standards,” says Weinacker. And that’s where concentration on core competencies is crucial. Building up comprehensive specialist know-how regarding labelling technology is not really part of this. The new labelling machine simply has to work.
“Since we’ve only just started our new can production line and the occasional technical question still comes up, we’re currently attaching great significance to the rapid availability of a service technician.” HERMA was also able to score some points in this regard. Whether by phone or on-site, in person – any open questions are always resolved quickly, Weinacker was able to report. “Their hands-on mentality lines up perfectly with our own philosophy. That’s why we feel that we’re in excellent hands with HERMA.”
