Sleeping coder is key to energy saving

To help Pepsi-Co meet its corporate sustainability goal, Markem-Imaje has developed a new energy saving function for its most widely-used thermal transfer coder.

The provider of coding and marking solutions has designed a power saving feature for the SmartDate 5, one of its best selling coders. This is now included as standard to all new units and can be easily retro-fitted to existing ones, reducing the amount of power consumed by half, according to the company.

Pepsi-Co, which has been using SmartDate coding technology for the past decade, has embarked on a project with Markem-Imaje to upgrade its existing coders with the new function and eventually roll out its use across many of its sites.

Steven Brooks, Pepsi-Co regional packaging manager for Europe and the Middle East, said: ‘Globally we have over 2,000 SmartDate coders installed on our packaging lines.

‘Our largest areas of energy usage in packaging are electricity and compressed air and our goal is to reduce our energy consumption in these areas significantly over the next three years.’

UK engineering director for Pepsi-Co, Martin Miller, added: ‘In the UK Pepsi-Co is dedicated to using resources carefully. The challenge to our equipment and instrumentation suppliers is to find ways to decrease the amount of power that their products consume, a task which Markem-Imaje has responded to. Although the power saving on each SmartDate 5 may not be dramatic in its own right, the cumulative effect will help us meet our overall targets.’

With the new function, the SmartDate switches into sleep mode if the parent packaging machine is powered down, and it can also be programmed to sleep if the line is unused for a pre-determined length of time. It displays a small moon graphic while in sleep mode and, when the line re-starts, the coder powers up again in less than one second.

Markem-Imaje product manager Andy Gray said: ‘Having been at the forefront of coding and labeling in the packaging industry for many years, we’ve recognized a notable shift in attitudes to energy efficiency on the production line. Leading manufacturers such as Pepsi-Co are seeking more environmentally friendly solutions that will help them reduce their carbon footprint and their energy costs. This was the impetus behind the development of the Sleeping SmartDate.’