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Print Registered Film Multipacks
In response to market demand a cross functional review process has identified the options prevalent in the industry.
During the latter part of 2003 it was becoming more apparent that success and growth within the take-home canned beer market demanded a greater range of multiple pack offerings than Charles Wells (Jarvis) were able to produce. In response to this demand a cross functional review process identified the options prevalent in the industry at that time as being used by both ourselves and our competitors.
The conclusion of this was to actively pursue a route that was not evident within UK beer production as opposed to investing in updated equipment that would yield packs that were not differentiated from those already available. Being a conservative organisation an extensive market test was performed in the autumn of 2003 using stock which had been packed into print registered 6-pack film format by a contract packing partner. Any initial concerns that the consumer may relate the style of packaging to the soft drinks arena were quickly dispelled and the trial was deemed a success.
We therefore took the option to invest in what was felt to be the next generation of beer can multipacks and selected machinery which was capable of creating high quality, print registered shrink film packs and capitalise on the advances in flexible substrate graphics over recent years. Additionally this approach benefits the selling of such items in that there is not the significant cost impact on price point associated with the use of printed board packs as have been widely used for some time.
Extensive research into plant capable of delivering packs to our stringent standards resulted in the purchase of a KHS Kisters SP100V machine able to pack can sizes of 330ml, 440ml and 500ml into print registered film packs containing four, six, eight or twelve cans. Conveyor solutions were installed via SFT conveyors to transport the individual packs without pack damage or deformation into an existing (though new) tray loader/shrink wrapper. The decision to retain the use of a tray was conscious to overcome any difficulties at the point of in-store merchandising where sharp implements used to remove outer low fusion film could result in damage to the multipacks.
With the first production commencing in June 2004 the project has been and continues to be a success. It was conceived, designed, delivered and installed within all constraints and the packs produced have been extremely well received in all of the markets in which placed.