Leading chilled dairy foods company Dairy Crest dispatches some 250,000 cases of dairy products using approximately 2500 pallets daily from its new national distribution centre and cheese maturation store at Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

High volumes and continuous output in a chilled environment put great demands on the barcode labelling system. 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 which specialises 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,” concluded Whitelaw. “They have provided Dairy Crest with a system that has met our demands for high quality, high volume, reliable barcoding – we achieved our goal.”

KTEC Group

Established 1993, KTEC Group comprises KTEC Technologies, Barcode Express, E-label and Reddilabel. These four IT/labelling companies have just-in time supply chain expertise and are dedicated to the distribution and supply of digital labelling systems; encouraging customers to ‘print their own labels’ in order to save on costs and improve flexibility. 

Toshiba TEC

Toshiba TEC Europe (TERIS) manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of barcode printers, point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, peripherals and software information systems throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a total solution provider, Toshiba TEC Europe offers a complete package from consulting and system design to system installation, operation and maintenance.

Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium TERIS has three divisions: the Retail division, the Auto ID division and the Services division. TERIS is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the sixth largest electronics/electrical equipment company and the world's 72nd largest company in terms of sales.