Case Study: Emmi Switzerland (Dairy Industry)
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Case Study Dairy Hitting the Jackpot for Lot Numbers The Emmi production plant in Ostermundigen, Switzerland counts on Hitachi inkjet printing systems for marking their lots. Summary The winning numbers are 20, 1500 and 50: Around 50 Hitachi inkjet printers mark all the products with their lot information at the Emmi‘s Ostermundigen plant near Bern, Switzerland. 1500 different articles are filled and packaged there, monthly, on 20 production lines. A bonus number iis the 10, because the oldest inkjet printer of the Japanese printing experts has already been working reliably for 10 years. Emmi Emmi processes around one million tonnes of milk at its 25 production facilities throughout Switzerland. The company is number 1 in the Swiss milk market with a production volume of around 3.4 million tonnes of milk. In 2017, the Emmi Group generated sales of around CHF 3.4 billion. The Emmi plant in Ostermundigen started operations in 2003: Around 600 employees work there, now, processing 330 tons of milk every day – about a tenth of all the milk processed by Emmi in Switzerland. Today, the plant is the largest production site in Switzerland within the group. The best sellers from Ostermundigen are the ten caffè latte variations. „That is probably the most important Emmi brand“, says plant manager Isidor Lauber. In 2012, this product group hit the magic number of 100 million cups sold. The Ostermundigen product portfolio also comprises numerous yoghurt, ice cream and dessert varieties along with products catering to the great demand for lactose-free milk. „Around 50 Hitachi printers mark all products with their lot information at Emmi.“ CUSTOMER Emmi Switzerland

Case Study Dairy PRODUCT Inkjet Printer CHALLENGE When it comes to lot numbers, which are absolutely essential for all of these products, the management at Emmi’s Ostermundigen plant leave nothing to chance. Lauber makes it perfectly clear: „No cup leaves the plant without this info: on which production line was the product filled, what was the relevant fill date or best-before date?“ It also includes the information on which lane the individual cups were filled and sealed. Inkjet coding technology is ideal for this task. „We use different kinds of lids, from plastic films and aluminium to...

Case Study Dairy Hitachi allows for service requests to be handled within a particular time window so that production continues until the next suitable break. SOLUTION Since the implementation of Hitachi solutions for marking technology, there are no longer problems with “smudging” or “spilling” ink. „Everything is clean in production, you can ask any of our employees. That was an important criteria in the selection of Hitachi”, Lauber insists. Refilling ink and solvent is just a matter of a few easy steps. The line operator is responsible for the solvent and a technician exchanges the ink....

Case Study Dairy „The total package was a great fit.“ Hitachi was able to establish themselves and their printing systems bit by bit at Ostermundigen. Their distribution partner in Switzerland is Peyer Graphic. Guido Wertli, Head of Coding at Peyer Graphic, recalls: „Emmi gave us the opportunity in 2006 to install a first device in one of the lines. That was quite successful because the Hitachi printer worked well even at a production temperature of 50°C on the yoghurt line.“ Over the years, other printers were placed, one by one, on the smaller lines: „The technicians noticed that they...