The reliability of Domino’s D-Series has led to a reduction in downtime and as the laser uses less energy and generates no waste, it reflects Caballero’s commitment to protecting the environment.
Jaime Pindado - Technical Manager at Caballero Group.
Founded in 1830, family business Caballero Group produces world-renowned quality wines and spirits. The Spanish company exports to over 50 countries worldwide, employs 125 people while also generating an annual turnover in excess of €53 million. With this significant demand for Caballero’s high-quality products and the requirement to comply with food safety regulations, it is vital Caballero’s products can be traced back to their original source. To ensure traceability of Caballero’s wines and spirits, the company places its trust in Domino’s D320i laser to code every product.
Part of Caballero’s success is thanks to its vineyards and wineries, which produce 7 million bottles of wine every year. Prior to distribution, the company must ensure all bottles are coded with the correct information. This ensures the products can be traced back to their origin to comply with a range of food safety regulations, such as the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety.
“We have to guarantee the traceability of our products – the batch and date code on the bottle must be easy to read and indelible,” says Jaime Pindado, Technical Manager at Caballero Group.
Prior to installing Domino’s D320i on its wine bottling line, Caballero had to adjust its line throughout the day due to the wide variety of glass bottles used. “Our previous non-Domino coding system’s printheads would need realigning when changing the bottle type,” continues Pindado. “With all the required changes and maintenance to the printer, there was a significant amount of downtime.”
Caballero had already experienced Domino’s technology on its spirits bottling line. “17 years ago, we installed our first Domino laser to code onto our spirit bottles” explains Pindado. “It has coded more than 100 million bottles in this time and I do not remember production ever having to stop because of an issue with it – it’s been faultless.
“We wanted the same results on our wine bottling lines. Our previous non-Domino coding system not only caused significant downtime for realignment but also could only print within the label. So, we made a collective decision to change to a system that could print clear, concise indelible codes directly onto the glass bottle. We analysed several different lasers, but it was Domino’s D320i that provided the best option for us.”
Requiring no inks or solvents, Domino's D320i laser can help reduce downtime and maintenance costs. The compact and adjustable laser includes a small i-Tech scan head, enabling simple integration onto Caballero’s existing production lines. The D320i can deliver multiple lines of text in a range of fonts and sizes. It is capable of permanently applying codes to a wide range of product substrates, even difficult to mark materials. The inclusion of RapidScan technology, with optimised mirrors in the printhead, allows for coding in high speed production lines ensuring maximum productivity.
“With the D320i, we have eradicated manufacturing stops and adjustment times,” continues Pindado. “As a result, our productivity and total cost of ownership have improved. The codes produced are very clear and consistent in quality.
“The installation and setup of the laser went very smoothly too. Despite the narrow spaces and complex set up of some of our lines, the D320i was simple to fit. Staff immediately adapted to the laser thanks to the intuitiveness of the TouchPanel and QuickStep user interface. It took less than a day of training for them to understand how to operate it, and the Domino team were and still are always available to answer any questions.”
Christina Mallin, Laser Product Marketing Manager at Domino Printing Sciences says: “We’re delighted that, after experiencing 17 positive years using its first Domino laser, Caballero Group has added the D320i to its wine bottling lines. In this time, the Domino team has developed a close relationship with the company. When Caballero came to us looking for a laser for its wine manufacturing we knew that the D320i would be the ideal technology and we’re very pleased to see the positive impact the laser has had on Caballero’s production.”
