Articles
RSSAthena Controls Complex Labeling Requirements Made Easy With New Labeling Method
November 4, 2003
Labeling should be a simple conclusion to a production cycle, not a complex job that could delay shipment, believed Bob Moran, materials manager at Athena Controls.
Based in Plymouth Meeting, PA, near Philadelphia, Athena Controls designs and manufactures digital and analog temperature control instrumentation for applications in the process industries worldwide, ranging from plastics and packaging to food and pharmaceuticals. In addition to its standard products, Athena Controls modifies or custom-engineers controllers with options to satisfy special OEM requirements. Annual orders shipped from this 35-year-old company total $10 million.
However, shipping to such a wide variety of customers requires a variety of labels, often for the same product. Athena Controls has 11 different product families and within each one there are numerous labeling requirements depending on the customer, its market, and the agencies that must approve the products. For example, some must show the UL logo, others a CSA or a FM logo and still others a country logo. The electrical market may require the voltage and current on a label. And, companies like to have their name and phone number, as well as their own logo on the product.
That requires a lot of graphics, like US flags, warning triangles, UL symbols, etc.
