to improve barcode pallet labelling at their National Distribution Centre. 16 April 2008 - Dairy Crest is the UK's leading chilled dairy foods company, with over 8,500 employees across 21 sites throughout the UK and Ireland, including the company's joint venture, Yoplait Dairy Crest. Dairy Crest is one of the ten largest food companies in Britain. In 2000 Dairy Crest completed a £33 million investment in a new national distribution centre (NDC) and cheese maturation store at Nuneaton, Warwickshire which now dispatches some 250,000 cases of dairy products using approximately 2,500 pallets daily.
High volumes and continuous output in a chilled environment put great demands on the barcode labelling system at Dairy Crest's national distribution centre. The company realised that an upgraded system would not only improve standards, but also reduce downtime and maintenance costs, providing a competitive advantage.
"We had some stringent criteria." said Bill Whitelaw, Senior Shift Manager at Dairy Crest's NDC. "We wanted printers that could not only print high quality barcodes but also could work in a challenging environment- 24 hours a day, 364 days a year."
Dairy Crest talked to a number of suppliers about their requirements before choosing to work with Redditch-based KTEC Group who specialise in digital roll labelling systems and barcodes. As a result of discussions the KTEC Group came up with a viable solution and recommended Toshiba SX5 label printers.
"It was essential that we could demonstrate that the collaboration between KTEC Group and Toshiba could produce reliable, accurate barcoding that would perform throughout the National Distribution Network ensuring that Dairy Crest's product arrived at all the right destinations," commented Robert Knox, Managing Director of the KTEC Group.
Dairy Crest's existing printers have now been replaced with 12 Toshiba SX5 label printers which are dedicated to outputting the pallet labels at dispatch gates. The printers are mounted on a high stand so that the labels are easily accessible to fork lift truck drivers who obtain a label. As they pass, the label is then applied to the pallets prior to loading onto the transport fleet.
"We are very impressed with the KTEC Group they have demonstrated excellent technical skills and seamlessly integrated the Toshiba printers with our main computer systems. They have provided Dairy Crest with a system that has met our demands for high quality, high volume, reliable barcoding - we achieved our goal" concluded Bill Whitelaw.
For additional information on TOSHIBA digital barcode label printers contact sales@ktecgroup.co.uk
Tel: 01527 529713 www.ktecgroup.co.uk
Visit Dairy Crest's web site at www.dairycrest.co.uk