Reinventing The Off-Line Label Rewinder
When Todd and Susan Hickman purchased Web Techniques in 2014, they had big plans for the small company. Web Techniques was already the leading manufacturer of tabletop label inspection machines, which unwind, count and then rewind labels. Todd and Susan wanted to bring new automation technology to these machines, so they could serve a broader spectrum of industries including pharmaceutical, food and beverage and chemical.
The Challenges
One of the challenges was keeping the system’s control scheme — the industry standard — while completely redesigning system controls. Working with HTE, they used Mitsubishi Electric Automation solutions to engineer the new high-quality, low-cost base machine that Todd says is “bulletproof”. Todd is so confident in the quality and performance of the system that he offers a 100% money back guarantee.
The Solution
With a handful of competitors all using thirty-year-old technology, the Hickmans knew they could make a significant leap forward in performance. Gone are the old printed circuit boards and LCD readouts. The new system incorporates PLC control, Touch Screen input, Variable Frequency Drive speed adjustment and a high precision encoder that ensures spot-on speed and length accuracy every time.
The Benefits
This Mitsubishi Electric Automation solution delivered a 25% performance increase over the previous system. This has allowed Web Techniques to accelerate ROI for customers. The system also enables significant cost savings, because programming can be done with little or no modifications to system hardware.
The reimagined rewinder also has new capabilities such as bi-directional rewind, which enables easy identification, repair and repositioning of rolls in half the time. Constant speed control automatically adjusts speeds as diameters change to maintain quality. Without this, companies have to manually monitor, which adds to their costs.
The Results
Using regular cadence, the company has introduced innovative enhancements that build on the new digital interface display, including integrated serialization rewind, which enables government compliance and improves consumer safety while gaining a better understanding and control of inventory. Another new option — vision-capable rewind — quickly and accurately counts, serializes, validates and rewinds label rolls, saving time and money.
With serialization deadlines approaching fast, the WT-35VS Serialization System ensures compliance in every global market. Web Techniques recently implemented a revolutionary system that ensures accurate counting of label stock. It helps Fortune 100 pharmaceutical companies eliminate label mix-ups and miscounts.
Web Techniques is not only more nimble, they have tripled annual revenue. In fact, Web Techniques was selected as one of Small Business Monthly’s Future 50 Companies in their annual search for the 50 fastest-growing companies in St. Louis. They’ve come a long way in a very short span of time.
Become Our Next Success Story
We love our customers and the challenges they bring to us. We also like to let our customers shine by discussing how we worked together to solve their biggest challenges. If you have a challenge that needs to be solved and would like to be our next BIG success story, reach out to us and let’s connect!
