Weetabix Deploys Wireless Intelligent Labelling Solution For Breakfast

Published 19th September 2007

Globally renowned food company, Weetabix, has deployed a bespoke intelligent labelling solution from food sector labelling specialist, Kelgray, at its four UK food manufacturing sites. The intelligent printing solution which includes wireless printers, automated ‘print & apply’ systems and barcode scanners, is optimised to streamline pallet labelling operations whilst ensuring the company complies with GS1 labelling, food standards and traceability legislation.

The Weetabix Food Company is one of the worlds best known breakfast cereal producers, producing cereals on a massive scale; the company’s Kettering Site alone produces over three billion breakfast biscuits every year, as well as other famous brands, such as Alpen, Ready Brek, Oatibix and Oatiflakes, for worldwide distribution.

Under the contract, Kelgray is supplying Weetabix with rugged, high performance Intermec PX6i intelligent wireless printers operating over a Cisco wireless network. The PX6i has an on-board computer, which means it doesn’t require connection to a PC. Weetabix is using the PX6i printers with a tethered Intermec 1553 barcode scanner as a complete mobile printing solution, mounted on a trolley. This means that operators can take the printers wherever they are needed across the entire multi-factory site.

A Senior Product Manager at Weetabix, recalls “We needed a pallet labelling solution that complied with our current requirements and could integrate with our planned installation of a new Warehouse Management System (WMS). Each site has many factories, each with numerous production lines providing any of the range of branded cereals. We did not want to hard wire a vast amount of hardware into the factories, we wanted a much more flexible solution – and that meant that wireless was essential.”

The tethered scanners are used with the wireless PX6i printers for verification of product information prior to pallet labelling, and once the information has been verified, and the label printed and applied, the data is sent to the central database where it is held as production and traceability information to comply with food standards 178 2002 detailed traceability requirements.

The solution also includes ‘print & apply’ automated two side pallet labellers from Kelgray. The P601 2-sided automated label printer and applicator sits immediately after the wrapper on the production line and delivers high speed, automated double sided pallet labelling. There are also a number of Kelgray’s own in-house developed EasiPrint automatic case labellers in operation, which print and apply labels with barcoded commodity codes (TUC codes) to each outer case box of cereal. The production line automation provider has integrated the scanning of these barcodes into the automated pallet wrapping process, and the data is sent straight to the pallet label printer to ensure that the correct label is printed.

The intelligent solution is driven by data from the production management system. Using its experience of working with food processing companies, Kelgray has been able to include a number of features that ensure maximum up-time for production lines. For example, as a contingency against wireless network failure, the intelligent printers periodically poll the host database and download the latest update of production data into the on-board processors, so that even in the event of failure of the wireless network, the production lines can keep on working.

“Kelgray offered us a bespoke solution for a complicated system that they have delivered on time and on budget. The solution meets our labelling requirements today and is designed to be fully integrated with a new WMS system, scheduled to go live in 2008. I am happy to say that Kelgray has been flexible and adaptable throughout the project; this being one of the key reasons for choosing them as our supplier with regards this project,” commented the Weetabix Senior Product Manager.

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