George Utz, the leading manufacturer of plastic containers, pallets and dollies, has made a substantial investment in new “In-Mould Labelling” technology (IML), meaning they can now offer their customers a cost effective and efficient way of tracking goods through the supply chain – technology that was previously only available abroad.
Up to now, for any customer requiring IML on products produced in the UK, George Utz were able to call upon the expertise of their European partners to provide the technical know-how – it’s fair to say that the Utz Group in Germany pioneered and perfected the technology.
However, customer demand in the UK grew rapidly and in order to meet that demand the Midlands-based manufacturer made the decision to invest in the new machinery and training for staff, enabling them to offer this on-site here in the UK, thereby reducing lead times and transportation costs.
The new technology allows full colour logos or barcodes to be injection moulded into the wall of a container, allowing a permanent and robust bond between the label and crate for very high durability. The image is statically charged to adhere to the tooling, and is then moulded into the body of the product. This is far more secure as it means the image cannot be peeled or washed off, is not heat or UV sensitive and is totally waterproof. The labels are also resistant to chemicals, acids and solvents.
George Utz has, for some time, been providing RFID (radio frequency identifiers) technology integrated into its products to assist with customers’ tracking and security issues. This state-of-the-art technology takes that to a whole new level.
General Manager Carsten Diekmann explains “In-mould labelling is a major innovation in our industry. It allows us to offer much higher specification, reliable barcodes and digital printing of logos with unlimited colours and a very high print resolution. The images are incredibly crisp.
“We are very aware that to continue to develop and grow we must continuously innovate in line with our customers’ needs, especially in this difficult market. We are all delighted with the new process – it has only been a few weeks but we are already seeing a lot of interest from both existing and new customers.”
As a UK manufacturer George Utz Ltd has been well known for many years for providing successful and reliable injection-moulded and vacuum formed storage solutions to British and European industry. It offers specialist technical advice about the best products to integrate with existing or new automated systems. Working closely with customers (including many well known blue chip names) and logistics experts, it develops innovative solutions for complex materials handling operations. George Utz prides itself on co-operation, quality and customer-focused project management.
George Utz Ltd
Carsten Diekmann
Tel: 01773 543170
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