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Brecon Carreg, the UK’s leading Welsh bottled water brand, is likely to reduce its consumption of hot melt adhesive by 60 percent this year; cut its energy costs; lower its impact on the environment and significantly improve productivity – simply by altering its adhesive application systems from contact to non-contact.
“These savings are open to all bottlers using wheel-in-pot roller applicators to apply adhesive,” says Malcolm Paton, Area Sales Manager for Beardow Adams, which supplies its BAM 414 hot melt to the Brecon Carreg plant in Trap, near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire.
“The traditional applicator physically transfers the hot melt to the label with a heavier coating than is needed. With non-contact systems, application is much cleaner, more controllable, far more economical and less wasteful in terms of product and resources used.”
Brecon Carreg has two Krones Canmatic labellers which use wheel-in-pot rollers for both the vertical pick up and lap sections of the wraparound labels applied to its 500 ml PET bottles of water. The company has replaced the wheel-in-pot rollers on one of its Canmatics with a new Nordson swirl spray for the pick up section and a slot die coater for the lap portion. “While it may seem odd that the company supplying the hot melt is willing its customers to use less adhesive, a combination of a better application system and some unique properties in our hot melts is a winner for our customers,” said Mr Paton. “This should give Brecon Carreg a competitive advantage, in turn increasing sales – and the need for more hot melt.”
Making environmental savings in its production processes is an important issue for Brecon Carreg, whose water comes from the rain naturally filtered and purified for 15 years as it percolates through the rocks of the Black Mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
“Because we are using less adhesive and have a better control over what we do use, our entire production process has become far more efficient and environmentally sustainable,” says Jeff Phillips, Planning and Procurement Manager, Operations, Brecon Carreg. “A closed system has replaced open pots, which has reduced odours and contamination of the adhesive. We can now control the temperature of the melt tank accurately and have eliminated the stringing caused by heat loss during the transfer from roller to roller.” “Having seen the considerable savings and the environmental benefits to be made by investing in updated equipment, we are proposing to change over our second Canmatic this year,” says Mr Phillips.
Brecon Carreg has been using BAM 414 hot melt for several years. It is among Beardow Adams’ most versatile adhesives, for it can be used on most label application systems and is suitable for direct food contact. It was formulated to bond plastic labels to cold, wet glass, PET, PVC or HDPE bottles at speeds of up to 600 labels/minute. It is particularly successful at overcoming label expansion, common with carbonated drinks in plastic bottles that are shaken or left in warm conditions, by allowing the labels to slip rather than break or come off. |
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EDITOR
Further information from:
Stuart Wetherell
Strategic Marketing Director, Beardow Adams
E-mail: stuart.wetherell@beardowadams.com
For a TXT copy of this release and photographs please contact Peter Mann at Buzz Associates on 01767 651115 or e-mail peter@buzzassociates.co.uk
For a pdf of release, click here
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