Founded in 1935, WALA Heilmittel GmbH, based in Bad Boll/Eckwälden in the district of Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg, develops and produces Dr. Hauschka natural and organic cosmetic products and WALA medicinal products. A completely new filling and packaging system was installed at the company’s site with machines from four manufacturers to meet the continually growing demand for these products worldwide. Important prerequisites in this respect were that the entire system had to fit into a relatively tight space and cover a total of 21 different formats for glass and plastic bottles with contents of between 10 ml and 500 ml.
Flexible labeling system
The HERMA 040M HC labeling machine has proved itself as an optimum element of the filling and assembly line at WALA. After all, the HERMA 040M HC is not only compact. Its modular design also makes it easy for the user to respond quickly and flexibly to changing formats. This reduces the set-up times. "This is essential, because our batches are sometimes quite small with around 1,000 to 6,000 units," explains Bernd Wendling, Team Leader in the WALA factory. The HERMA labeling machine essentially has two different responsibilities: it attaches front and rear labels to glass bottles and it also serves as a transit station for pre-printed plastic bottles.
Equipped for the highest quality
WALA, a foundation-owned company, places great value on its glass and plastic bottles being labeled and packed with a high-quality appearance throughout the entire production process. "The packing material and therefore also the labels are a challenge. Errors like small scratches are not accepted”, explains Bernd Wendling. The labeled bottles are therefore transported gently: all format parts of the HERMA labeling system are designed so that there is no contact with the already labeled part of the products. Control stations that check for the presence of printing and codes check that the labels are correct – faulty labels are removed via a label ejector station. Incorrectly printed bottles and those with a missing label, checked by three Laetus cameras, are also discarded automatically. The HERMA system carefully pushes the sensitive glass bottles via a deflector onto an isolated but clearly visible "side track". The operators can simple remove these products or feed them back into the process if necessary. "This application is an example of how it is possible to solve a complex requirement with a modular labeling system," states Martin Kühl, Head of the HERMA Labeling Machines Division.
