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The Challenge

The brand owner of one of Smith & McLaurin’s (SMCL’s) customers encountered an adhesive problem during the integration of Pressure Sensitive Labels (PSL) within their inline bottling and label application system. The problem occurred when the label needed to be repositioned if misaligned on the inline applicator. The existing adhesive was not staying open long enough to allow the label to be repositioned, causing significant downtime on the bottling line.

Go Direct, Go Faster

The brand owner, realising that at this early stage of their development within PSL they did not have the appropriate knowledge base, arranged a meeting with SMCL and the label company to try to resolve the issue. This direct, consultative approach ensured that all stakeholders in the development process had full knowledge of the problem; consequently the development process was significantly faster and more efficient.

Here’s how we proceeded:

1. Several repositionable adhesives were trialled via A4 samples and applied by hand to bottles to determine suitability for this specific application.
2. Having defined the correct adhesive, a sample of the new face/adhesive/liner combination was manufactured and delivered to the brand owner for live trials within four working days.
3. The trial confirmed that the degree of repositionability was correct for the application and that the release level for the inline applicators was at the right level to allow for fast application speeds.

What happened next

SMCL’s flexible and proactive approach to the problem enabled their customer to offer a quick, professional solution, and helped them to successfully retain their client. In turn, SMCL and the customer both enhanced their reputations for offering a consultative approach to resolving end user issues.