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2018 Ravenwood Conference Review

admin — Wed, 02 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This year’s Annual Ravenwood Conference was held again at our Head Quarters in sunny Suffolk. And the sun shone! It was great to welcome our delegates, old faces and many new due to our continued growth in the ‘Land of Linerless’ and the x-ray inspection sector. The theme for this year’s conference was based around The Muppet Show due to the arrival of new Fauxlafel family members, ‘Old Fauxgey’ and ‘Fauxpa’ based on ‘Statler’ and ‘Waldorf’. Our delegates all got to be ‘muppets’ for the day!

Day one welcomed machine distributors and day two, our printer partners. Agendas for both days included presentations from Ravenwood staff members.

Ravenwood Conference Day 1 – Machinery Distributors

Day one opened with our official welcome, from our Boss and founder, Paul Beamish. Paul announced and welcomed our new machinery distributors and then went on to provide a round-up of activity and developments since our last meeting in 2017. Paul then flagged up issues with pirate linerless labels and stressed the importance of working with our raw material suppliers to develop the best substrates, adhesives and silicones for producing faultless linerless labels. He then highlighted how we refer to the entire process, the ‘Circle of Linerless’, a term coined by Ravenwood to encapsulate our joined up approach for producing perfect linerless labels. From the approved materials, approved machine and printer partners, the Com500 coater that makes the labels, our Nobac 500 sleevers that apply them to the final stage of quality control, with our VXR x-ray inspection system.

Dave Gooding, our Commercial Director then discussed global sales and new label developments. Dave reported that Ravenwood had experienced significant growth in 2017 with 50% increase in applicators across many countries and regions with 2018 set to benefit from the same projected pattern of growth. New label developments include shaped and die cut linerless labels. Ravenwood and its printer distributors have been producing shaped and die cut linerless labels for many years. Dave went on to explain that in recent months, we have been busy developing this concept further including shaping the leading edge of the label for a totally bespoke and creative look across all linerless label formats. MPH Fulfilment worked with us in developing this. ‘Punched’ linerless labels are also a new concept and we worked closely with Coveris on a linerless ready meal sleeve. Other exciting developments Dave touched on were envelope replacement, flat skin labelling with Sealpac, SlimFresh labeling with Mondini and developing linerless ‘water resistant’ labels.

Director Dan Coe gave our delegates an update on Machinery Specification. Dan took our delegates through our new machine order form, highlighting the user-friendly process for ordering and ensuring all additional components are fitted to suit particular food trays and linerless label formats. He then discussed our ‘Preloved’ programme, lovingly tended to by Morph, our Master Engineer. Morph can undertake machinery work from complete set up to a full rebuild, as well as refurbishments and conversions on older models. He then discussed our Nobac machine range, each capable of applying a diverse range of labels to many different formats. Machines outside of these variations would then be considered bespoke. Ravenwood considers this service as a speciality – if you want it, we can build it!

James Read, our VXR Product Manager provided us with an update on our x-ray inspection system including our Vision only unit for the checking of vital information printed on our linerless labels. James and our Technical Director Marc Lindup have been busy working on integrating additional technologies and software including RFID readers to ensure the presence of security tags, adding barcode scanners and luminescence scanners. Our dynamic duo are also currently working on and developing the x-ray analysis of the fat content on meat cuts, as well as the presence of ‘value added items’ such as nobs of butter or sauces within meat and fish packs.

The Ravenwood Service team were then introduced including ‘where in the world’ they cover for providing support and assistance when needed, including emergency call outs. Steve Bundy, our Service & Logistics Manager discussed machine production plans and the importance of ensuring key components are ordered in line with build plans; coders, flash labellers and RFID. He then covered the logistical side of the ordering process from inception through to production and then finally, delivery to the customer.

Then next up, Derek Tooke, our Parts Manager, updated our distributors on the parts ordering process. Derek highlighted the importance of keeping a good stock of parts for both distributors and end users. He then went on to detail as to the different spares kit options and our new computer system for placing orders. And with the expansion of our premises which completed in January 2017, enables us to store more stock on site.

The update from our marketing department included information on our new website and its improved functionality. The new site is set to go live by the end of May. Our Raveneers Corner news site is also growing with regular blog updates, press releases and case studies. Marketing at Ravenwood is extremely proactive in terms of social media with Linkedin likes growing 300% during the last year. Natalie and Sarah can assist our distributors with events and exhibitions and provide marketing support where needed.

Day one then rounded off with our printer introductions.

Our ‘muppets’ were entertained at our MD’s (Paul Beamish) house for the evening’s shenanigans. An Abba tribute band played for us followed by a disco. It was great to see everyone enjoying themselves with many taking to the dance floor. During the evening, we presented awards to our ‘Distributors of the Year’ based on sales and overall performance. Label Group scooped the title of ‘Machine Distributor’ and Coveris for ‘Printer Distributor’. A set of three cast metal ‘Flying Pigs’ – a retrospective take on the ‘Three Flying Ducks’ were presented to each.

Ravenwood Conference Day 2 – Approved Printers

Day two was largely based on Day one with the addition of an update on our Com 500 Coater upgrades, service, preloved coater programme and spare parts.

Jez then discussed sustainability and how linerless is paving a green path. Ravenwood strives to adopt responsible and ethical practices throughout business operations where possible. Some of these initiatives include how we transport our paper and card which goes from the mill to the printer. This means less miles travelled, making fewer journeys. By adding siliconised liner paper which is high in energy and cost means there’s also no expensive conversion needed. No matrix to dispose of for the printer means less transport to cart away the waste and any waste edge trimmings are all recyclable. And no waste liner for the packer again means less transport to cart away the waste. These are just some of the benefits that linerless can offer. Our full Sustainability Statement will be on our website.

Day 2 closed with our Material supplier meetings.

Overall the event proved to be extremely entertaining, insightful and with company growth set to continue, the future looks bright. Our linerless and x-ray inspection technology continues to go from strength to strength. Until next year!

For further information, contact marketing on +44(0)1284 749144.

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Ravenwood Grow Linerless Market

admin — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

At its annual congress, Ravenwood introduced new technologies and marketing initiatives designed to grow its share of the global linerless label market. Andy Thomas reports.

Outside of logistics applications, the global market share of linerless labels has not moved much in the last decade – despite the clear sustainability advantages of the technology.

Perhaps the main reason has been the requirement for end users to adopt specialist application machinery which is able to apply a label without peeling it from a backing liner.

UK-based Ravenwood, however, has achieved enormous success in the linerless label market by ‘closing the loop’ between linerless label production and application. The company operates a licensing system which includes the whole linerless supply chain from specialist materials to coating equipment and application equipment for the end user. The whole system is supported by Ravenwood certified engineers and by intensive training of licensees to ensure a standard, consistent and predictable product is delivered at the end of the packaging line. Currently over 1,000 applicator machines are installed worldwide.

Ravenwood has grown around 20 percent year-on-year since the 2009 crash and today 35 million linerless prime labels a week are produced on its machines by global brands and retailers.

Ravenwood was founded in 2004 by Paul Beamish, who had previously worked at SE Labels and then Skanem, both linerless pioneers. The company has recently expanded its headquaters in Bury St Edmunds. The building contains showroom, of ces, training facilities and R&D, and was the location for this year’s congress, bringing together suppliers, printers and distributors.

Ravenwood linerless ‘labels’ do not have to be adhesive backed – some of the company’s most successful products are ‘slideable’ sleeves supplied on the roll. Printed onto thicker materials, up to 300gsm and at sizes up to 500mm x 225mm, they are designed to replace cardboard sleeves on trays sealed with clear film, as typically seen in the ready meals market. The sleeves are applied on Ravenwood’s Nobac 500 series applicators.

Paul Beamish says these linerless label/sleeves are up to 30 percent more sustainable than cardboard sleeves. ‘And our products are flexo printed, which is as good quality as litho-printed cartons, and they retain their image right the way through the supply chain.’

Other Nobac machines can apply ‘Skin pack’ labels and can be attached to weigh scales to deliver complete fixed or variable weight packaging solutions. The latest addition to the Nobac line is the 500R, which applies a full ready meal wrap in format sizes up to 225mm.

A constant problem facing Ravenwood and its licensees is ‘non-approved’ labels, either pirated labels which ‘look’ like the real thing, or cheaper substitutes bought outside the authorized supplier network.

‘Pirated or non-approved labels do not work well on our applicators and at the end of the day these copies are of poor paper and adhesive quality,’ said Paul Beamish.

‘The production manager often won’t know that the buyer has cut corners and purchased these sub-standard labels and when things go wrong, many are quick to blame the applicator. Our engineers provide ongoing support and can spot these poor quality labels instantly, proving that any downtime or product recalls are as a direct result of these inferior copies. So going forward, we are now placing more emphasis on marketing and promoting our approved network of machine suppliers, printers and partners to emphasize the importance of using Ravenwood linerless labels.’

New developments

Ongoing material and machinery developments are key USPs for Ravenwood and the company works closely with its supply chain to identify areas for improvement.

Innovia, Ashland, Evonik and Henkel were present to talk about new developments in materials, silicone and hotmelt adhesives.

Explained Beamish, ‘We are being forced to go faster and faster, which is why we spend so much time working on materials, and why we need to make sure printers are using the latest materials.’

A high quality print surface is particularly important, said Beamish. ‘Dive characteristics and adhesive/silicone relationship are crucial. You could buy any paper but find the adhesive will be sucked in and the silicone relationship is wrong so the labels don’t release properly, and that in turn affects the machines. It is vital to guarantee 120 packs a minute, and this needs the whole chain to be working together.’

A wide range of application machinery was on show at the event, including the new VXR end-of-line quality control system. It detects contaminants and checks both label accuracy and tray seals, all within a 1.9m footprint. The x-ray inspection system uses leading edge Sapphire carbon nanotube field emission technology. The whole unit is food safe. Also introduced at the congress was a new flexible packaging variation of the linerless sleeve system.

What of the future? Paul Beamish sees major opportunities in direct thermal linerless labels supplied on the reel for logistics applications using handheld printers. And there are many more products which could be handled on the Nobac applicators, including fresh foods like cress, and fresh meat and fish, which require special coatings to enhance shelf life.

Primary linerless labeling, in 8-9 colors and using value-added materials is another area for development.

Linerless coater

For the label converter, the core production technology is the Ravenwood Com500 coater, designed to coat silicone and adhesive in a form compatible with the Nobac range of applicators.

The Com500 applies multiple lines of release and adhesive between 3-25mm wide, coating labels with silicone on the front and adhesive on the back at speeds up to 450fpm (137m/min).

The labels can be printed on both sides before silicone and adhesive coating. The silicone sits on top of a special lacquer developed for linerless, and the laquer and silicone together act as a protective layer against UV, moisture and chemicals.

New Comac developments announced at the congress include the ability to run digital media. Ravenwood is also looking to add flexo units for varnish and reverse print, as well as potentially a slot coater and chill rolls so thermal materials can be run.

‘We are looking at new coat heads for more accurate coat levels,’ said Paul Beamish. ‘We now have on board an industry professional who says he can measure glue weight on clear film more accurately.’

Marcus Greenbrook, international sales manager at GEW, explained to delegates the N2 nitrogen inerting system used on the Comac silicone coating station. A nitrogen blanket reduces oxygen in the chamber to 50PPM, preventing it inhibiting the silicone curing process. ‘We control web movement into the chamber so we can get the gap much closer and stop oxygen being dragged in,’ said Greenbrook. The result is decrease of odor and migration – key for food grade applications – and the ability to cure at a lot lower power levels.’

Continued Greenbrook, ’Our Rhino power supply gives us better control of the UV system and reduces nitrogen consumed compared to older systems.’ UV output monitoring is integrated into the E2C lamphead, with up to seven sensors mounted across length of the lamp. GEW is now looking at closed loop control of lamp output based on sensor readings, said Greenbrook.

Ravenwood will be exhibiting at Labelexpo Europe. Visit the Label Expo website.

The above article was written by Andy Thomas, Strategic Director at Labels & Labeling and is featured in the June/July issue of Labels & Labeling. Flip to page 49 and read the online article.

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2017 Ravenwood WorldCon Post Event Review

admin — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This year’s Annual Conference was held in the new build of our HQ in Suffolk. During recent years, we have mostly hosted the event off site due to the accelerated growth of our Distributor network. So with the new build complete, it was great to be able to welcome our delegates back to Ravenwood again, allowing us the opportunity to show off our new offices, meeting rooms, workshops and training areas!

The event proved to be our busiest and most successful to date. Day one welcomed machine distributors and day two, our printer partners. Agendas for both days included machine demonstrations and presentations from both Ravenwood staff members and industry key note speakers.

Many machines were on demo including our new game-changing VXR system, unveiled at Pro2Pac. The ‘end of line’ solution provider to meet the food industry’s stringent requirements! The VXR boasts 3 technologies incorporated into just 1.9 metres. And our Comac Coater, designed to work with our Nobac 500 flagship linerless label applicator was also on proud display. The Comac allows for the application of multiple release and adhesive lines, coating the labels with silicone on the front and adhesive on the back.

Our Partners in vision and x-ray provided an insight into our new VXR system which boasts ‘Sapphire’ carbon nanotube field emission technology. Delegates were also informed of the latest in Coater developments and Ravenwood staff presented updates on key areas of the business including sales, service, parts and marketing.

Evening entertainment was laid on at our MD’s (Paul Beamish), motorcycle emporium – Krazy Horse. It was here that we presented awards to our ‘Distributors of the Year’ based on sales and overall performance. GH Ulma scooped the title of ‘Machine Distributor 2017’ and WS Packaging for ‘Printer Distributor 2017’. Winifried Hamann, Head of IM EMEA – RC Silicones at Evonik was also presented with an award for his long service and dedication to Ravenwood and linerless. Winifried retires this year and we wish him well! Each were presented with a set of three cast metal flying pigs – a retrospective take on the ‘Three Flying Ducks’.

Overall the event proved to be engaging, entertaining and most importantly an education.

For further information, email Natalie on +44 (0)1284 749144.

Raveneer Jez (left) featured with team Evonik at Krazy Horse! Winifried Hamann pictured 2nd left.

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Pro2Pac 2017 Raveneer’s Post Event Update

admin — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Pro2Pac food and drink packaging exhibition at ExCeL London has been hailed as a roaring success!

Packaging professionals from across the land including retailers, restaurateurs and caterers, as well as a host of FMCG companies descended on Pro2Pac to discover the very latest pioneering technology and cutting-edge innovations. More than 120 exhibitors were in attendance, including leading global names such as Tetra Pak, Fischbein-Saxon, Coveris, Henkelman and non other than linerless gurus, Ravenwood Packaging.

The Ravenwood stand attracted a whole host of visitors from many different realms, most notably from the UK, Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Chile and Spain. We showcased three of our Nobac applicators with each applying linerless to skin pack, MAP and ready meal formats. And taking centre stage for its grand unveiling was the almighty VXR System, our very latest game-changing innovation!

Our Raveneers reported an extremely busy show. The Fauxlafels slept for three whole days after returning home to Ravenwood Towers. Read all about the new VXR system.

For further information, call Natalie +44(0)1284 749144.

Our Raveneers and the Fauxlafels of course enjoying a great show at Pro2Pac!

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