SEALANT MANUFACTURER CUTS SPURIOUS RETURNS

The UK's largest manufacturer of building and DIY sealant products. Adshead Ratcliffe, has solved a growing returns problems using a system devised by labelling specialist Positive ID.

Founded in 1859, Derbyshire-based Adshead Ratcliffe‘s "ARBO" brand is recognised world-wide for both quality and performance. They are used throughout the building, glazing and construction industries by architects and contractors. Specialist products are available for marine, automotive and industrial sectors and Adshead’s in-house research and development facilities is able to tailor-make sealants for more specialised applications and colour match to order.

The shelf life of the company's sealants is three months. If goods are returned four months from despatch, they had to be replaced, but increasingly sealant was being sent back as faulty when it was actually out of date.

Positive ID were called in and proposed a specially designed combination of a two-line hand-held label gun - built for this application - and a label to use with it which displayed the product’s colour (vital as the packaging is universal) date of manufacture and batch number. All the information is printed by the hand-held gun and applied directly to the product as it comes off the production line by the operator in a single, quick operation. Constant information is first printed in red on the label by Positive ID.

"We’re very pleased with the implementation of the new system," commented Adshead’s Technical Manager, Roger Sheenan. "We can now pinpoint exactly the date of manufacture and people don’t try to return out of date goods."

Positive ID operates nationwide supplying a choice of hand-held labellers for industrial use in solving labelling and identification problems involving coding, stock control, inspection and testing, batch numbering and ISO2000.

Standard machines with popular print combinations are immediately available from stock, but models can also be built to meet individual customer or industry needs, as was done for Adshead Ratcliffe.

Self-adhesive labels for use through all hand-held machines on the market, whoever the manufacturer is, are produced on the latest label equipment. Stock lines are offered in white or a choice of colours, including dayglo. Permanent, peelable and freezer adhesives are available. Logos, department and company names can be pre-printed to order.

The company also operates a popular 24-hour label bureau service for urgent orders, including small runs of bar code labels – there is no minimum order quantity. All products come with full in-house technical backup and on-site support.

Please contact us for more information.