Wherever rotary machines are presented with tricky labelling tasks that have to be performed at high speed, the HERMA 500 Rotary comes into its own. For this reason, the Italian company BRB Globus recently equipped a new Mega ADE rotary machine with no fewer than six of these applicators. The machine itself is designed for a very special purpose. The product it is labelling ranks among the world’s most expensive mass-produced alcoholic drinks. It’s no wonder that its producer, a high-turnover and renowned liquor manufacturer, wants to protect itself against product piracy. With this goal in mind, three labels are applied to each of the distinctive round bottles made of white glass. There is a very large brand label that dominates the front of the half-litre bottle, a smaller rear label containing the statutory product information, and a tiny special label that leaves behind a unique serialisation code when it is peeled off. The code enables consumers to determine for themselves whether or not the bottle contains the genuine and expensive strong liquor. “This very small security label has to be applied in an exactly defined position. It’s a challenge that calls for great precision and the utmost reliability. The same applies, of course, to the likewise demanding large-format label for the front of the bottle. Thanks to the HERMA 500 Rotary applicators, however, the Mega ADE is ideally equipped for the task at hand,” explains the President of BRB Globus Alessandro Marchini. Founded in 1984 in Mantua in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, the company decided to install these particular applicators in a machine for the first time in view of their sleek format, which is designed specifically for this type of application. In consequence, the rotary machine easily achieves the output of 14,000 bottles an hour demanded by the liquor producer. In order to maintain this performance while applying the three different labels during more or less continuous duty, the machine is equipped with six HERMA 500 Rotary applicators. For setting-up and maintenance purposes, they slide easily out of, and back into, their operating positions on special carriages. The individual inspection windows in the machine head open and close pneumatically.
Smart quick removal
“We have been using HERMA labelling technology in our rotary machines, which are in service right across the world, for a long time. But the new HERMA 500 Rotary has bowled us over once again,” insists Marchini. “For one thing, it is extremely simple and quick to configure.” Thanks to its touchscreen, the applicator is as easy to operate as a smartphone. The menu structure is designed in such a way that no more than three clicks are needed to reach the desired menu item. And another clever design detail – to enhance cleaning – ensures high everyday operating efficiency. Wherever self-adhesive labels are being applied, it is inevitable that tiny traces of adhesive are deposited on the applicator’s feed roller. It’s therefore important that the roller is cleaned from time to time. Without cleaning, perfect feeding of the label web and precise application of the labels cannot be sustained in the long run. In order to maximise machine availability, both the clamping plate and the brake plate of the HERMA 500 Rotary can be removed quickly without any tools. Thanks to functionality, the HERMA 500 is thought to be the quickest to clean of all the applicators in the world. According to BRB Globus President Alessandro Marchini, “That’s a genuinely smart solution.”
