Belgium-based Katoen Natie, an international firm specializing in logistics for various industries including petro-chemicals, port operations,and consumer goods, did not have to look to far to find a automatic labeling solution for its Spanish logistics center. The company selected another pan-European company headquartered in Belgium, auto-identification solutions provider Zetes, to create the made-to-measure system.
Katoen Natie operates a logistics center in Azuqueca de Henares, Spain. The center includes a 3,000-square meter warehouse facility which houses an audiovisual company which ships thousands of DVDs each day. The logistics firm needed a labeling solution that could automatically label DVDs with two specific labels, one listing the appropriate price of the DVD, and one which offered other pre-determined information.
The new system also had to be able to track and control of each product after the labels were applied, to ensure compliance to the labelling. These activities had to be accomplished at an average rate of 30 DVDs per minute with a minimal margin of error.
The successful solution provided by Zetes uses ZPA 1400 real-time printer-applicators, designed and manufactured by MD, a Spanish division of Zetes. The software used in the solution includes two applications. The first is a modular application allowing an efficient control of the various labeling lines and a systematic control of the information contained on the labels.
The second application, which checks that all the dispatches are correctly labeled, was designed specifically for Katoen Natie’s needs. The two applications have been integrated with the company’s internal management system to offer a fluid exchange of real-time data. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/rfidnews-4.gif)
