Laura and Eric Sorkin have been tapping maple trees in Cambridge, Vermont (USA), for 15 years and producing maple syrup from the sap under the name Runamok. Demand for the high-quality product increased and production was professionalised in 2016. The focus was also on the product design, which needed to match the quality of the contents with high-quality labelling. The couple therefore turned to Gernep.
Runamok quickly developed into a well-known manufacturer of high-quality syrups, honeys, cocktail mixers and bitters in the USA. Today, the products are sold in over 2,100 national and international shops as well as via the company's own online shop and Amazon. Despite 100,000 taps, their own maple trees were soon no longer enough, so they now work with 50 other family businesses. One reason for their success is their high quality standards. All ingredients are carefully and thoughtfully selected. But it's not just the contents that are of the highest quality, the Product packaging has an unusual design.
Special labelling requirements
Runamok is traditionally bottled in rectangular 250-millilitre glass bottles. Depending on the product, the bottles are given different labels in an elaborate design. In 2021, the Sorkins wanted to upgrade their existing production line with a expand and optimise modern labelling machine. Semi-automatic labelling could no longer cope with the increasing sales. However, the high-quality product packaging put Runamok to the test when they were looking for a labelling machine manufacturer. In the Bavarian labelling machine specialist Gladlyp the American family business found the right partner.
„We had many discussions with potential suppliers and immediately had a good feeling about Gernep. We were confident that they would fulfil our requirements,“ says Jeff Mitchell, Director of Strategic Development at Runamok. For this order, Gernep not only had to fulfil the company's high quality standards, but also meet the cramped space conditions in the Vermont plant. The decision was therefore made in favour of a Compact servo labeller with two self-adhesive dispensers. The Soluta 6-720 2SK SD can label up to 6,000 bottles per hour with two labels per container.
The maple syrups come with a transparent foil label featuring a white line drawing to match the contents. The elderberry syrup, for example, features a fine drawing of an elderberry bush. The rich brown colour of the contents is still clearly visible through the transparent label. The long foil label stretches across the front and the two narrow sides. A narrow strip of paper is also applied over the no-label look label. This is attached to a limited space exactly between the product name and the size information on the film label attached. The striped label also runs across three sides - but from the front to the back. In addition to maple syrup in various flavours, the company also produces maple-based cocktail syrups. These are filled in the same bottle and have a no-label look with a splash of colour as the background. Instead of the narrow paper strip, these products have a larger paper label on three sides.
Technical tricks enable a high-quality product
The syrups pose a complex challenge for Gernep. Film labels tend to develop bubbles and creases due to the static charge. However, these are all the more recognisable on transparent labels with dark bottle contents. That is why a Deionisation unit integrated into the labeller. This neutralises the electrostatic charge of the label material and prevents uncontrolled adhesion to the glass bottles.
In addition to preventing bubbles and creases, labelling accuracy is extremely important for Runamok. The labelling tolerance with regard to the height offset when applying the label was specified by the customer with a very small deviation. Gernep therefore had to modify the labelling machine for the long labels. The sponge pad material had to be carefully selected and special brushing had to be requested from suppliers. In order to further fulfil Runamok's high quality standards, the Labeller for the American market UL-certified. This test mark certifies standard-compliant manufacture and testing.
Prepared for the future
Product control is not only important to Runamok in terms of the contents, the packaging must also be flawless. To this day, random checks are still carried out by hand. However, the company expects to continue to grow in the coming years and has therefore made provisions for this. Gernep Soluta can be flexibly prepared for future changes without having to integrate inspection and coding systems from the outset. As a precautionary measure, the labeller has therefore been upgraded to a Label inspection prepared with cameras to check the placement of the labels with millimetre precision to be able to. Both in-house and external camera systems can be easily integrated.
In addition, the Labelling machine prepared for coding, so that data, barcodes or QR codes can also be lasered or printed onto the label. A rotary encoder with a socket for the printer has already been built into the base of the machine for this purpose. The printing system recognises when the label is dispensed onto the bottle and then triggers the printing process. The printer therefore only needs to be placed on the labeller and the print head inserted into a prepared holder on the dispensing unit.
