A neatly applied and aligned label conveys the image that the product has been carefully manufactured. A haphazardly applied one can raise doubts about the package contents.
Kevin Watts of Laubscher Cheese Co., Mercer, Pa., knew there had to be a better and faster way of labeling the company’s different products. The production line was weighing and labeling each block of cheese manually. Watts looked into automating the weighing and labeling to improve production speeds.
The cheesemaker isn’t alone. Labels and labeling equipment are on the minds of dairy processors and other manufacturers. A 2012 study by the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute, a trade group based in Reston, Va., found that 59% of manufacturers will need new labeling equipment (or need to modify current equipment) to meet the changing needs of labeling, marking and coding.