To provide a faster, more efficient repair service to its customers, wherever they are in the world, Markem-Imaje completely overhauled the way its centers are organized. |
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| To help it get even closer to its customers, at the beginning of 2011, Markem-Imaje launched a large-scale restructuring plan for its repair activities. “Until now, our centers have not been evenly enough distributed to provide sufficient expertise and autonomy in all of our regions,” explains Éric Forzy, in charge of the project. During the course of 2012, new activities meeting the group’s environmental and safety standards will become operational in Asia (China, Singapore, India) and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina). | The group’s various technological centers are tasked with training personnel in laser, inkjet and thermal transfer technologies. “The benefits to customers are clear: regionalized flows mean that we can intervene more quickly in the event of a breakdown, with guaranteed service quality as a result of standardization of the processes implemented at each site. What’s more, there are real environmental advantages associated with reduced transport requirements and the recovery of defective products.” |
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The aim of the first global customer satisfaction survey conducted by Markem-Imaje was to find out what customers think about our company, giving them the opportunity to express their expectations and to identify points that generate added value. “Previously, some subsidiaries had conducted their own surveys, but it was always difficult to draw any lessons from the results on a group-wide scale,” explains Amadou Sylvestre, Global Quality Director. A survey was, therefore, conducted on a representative sample of customers in seven different countries at the end of 2011. “The same questions were put to numerous employees, the objective being to make them more aware of customers’ expectations.” To create the questionnaire, a consulting firm approached seven customers – one per country – and 15 employees from different business lines and subsidiaries. Watch this space in 2012 to see the results! .
Launched in September 2011, the new 2200 Series offers the best level of efficiency on the market for printing and applying labels. The 2200 is even more reliable and simpler to use than its successor, the 2000. In addition to a standard 18-month warranty for the hardware, an extended warranty with a maintenance contract is now available for up to five years. Capable of printing and applying labels on 125 boxes/min. with a precision of 0.25 mm, the 2200 Series is robust and strong, thanks to a central 38 mm thick backbone and covers protecting its vital components. The label pad and contact parts are non-stick for easy cleaning. It is also simple to use, thanks to simultaneous label and ribbon changes - taking less than 40 seconds and tool-free printhead replacement. The production line has 25% fewer stoppages, because of the exceptional length of the ribbon and label rolls: 560 meters compared to a market standard of 450 meters. The printed codes are ANSI standard grade A and B compliant. An optional barcode scanner is available to ensure that 100% of the boxes leave the factory with a readable code. The 2200 is 95% recyclable and consumes less than 35 watts in stand-by mode and 135 watts at maximum throughput.
On course for 2013 |
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| A major pillar of the group’s sustainable development policy is the environmental performance of its various production sites, which is the subject of an ambitious improvement project between now and 2013. The objective is to achieve tangible results in five areas. These include reducing environmental impacts by 20% in the areas of energy efficiency, waste production and water consumption in comparison with 2010 figures. Another major objective is pollution control, the aim is to reduce volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions by 17%. | The program should also significantly improve the carbon footprint of the group’s various activities. Initiatives have been launched on all sites and a specific budget has been allocated in 2011 to enable the group to successfully implement these various projects. |
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Launched in December, the SmartDate X60 is Markem-Imaje’s new thermal transfer coder. Complementary to the SmartDate X40, it offers the best performance in the market in terms of speed and resolution: “It’s the only coder capable of printing up to 1,000 mm/s at 300 dpi. When we need to use full resin ribbons, it can print up to 600 mm/s, whereas printers with a standard thermal head can only print at 300mm/s. The warranty period has been increased to 18 months as standard, with the possibility of a five-year extension,” says Andy Gray, Thermal Transfer Product Manager. Thanks to its extra-long 1,100-meter ribbon and a printhead that lasts 20% longer, the SmartDate X60 limits machine downtime, therefore, meets the demanding requirements of the food industry, for example, biscuit or confectionery manufacturers.
