Brand Protection for Wine Inspection
Mettler Toledo CI-Vision Posted 05/24/2012
Vision Inspection Ensures 100% ConfidenceFor an established wine brand, presentation is crucial. Using vision inspection, manufacturers and consumers can have 100% confidence in their product quality. Considered a competitive advantage, a major winery is able to produce more cases at an overall cheaper costs, while protecting their brand name.
Producers of the world famous Franzia® and the sensational Cupcake® Vineyards brand,
The Wine Group,
Inc (TWG brands and case study used with expressed written permission of, The Wine Group, Inc ) uses vision inspection on their production lines in order to ensure the highest quality in filling accuracy, packaging and bottling presentation. Their widely recognized brands could be severely diminished with the distribution of just one batch of defective product, such as inappropriately filled bottles which is regulated by industry specifications.
TWG chose to implement vision inspection systems into their production lines instead of manual inspectors. By utilizing vision inspection technology in substitute of manual inspection, they have ensured their overall product quality and delegated labor to other quality control initiatives within the facility.
With production speeds of 200 bpm running through the labeler, manual inspection became nearly impossible. CI-Vision was able to accurately inspect at speeds of 200 bpm and greater. TWG’s vision inspection solution currently performs the job of what normally requires 6 quality inspectors.
CI-Vision designed TWG’s two solutions according to the needs of a wine manufacturer.
The first station is installed directly after the filler, with inspection of correct fill height, presence of cap, screw cap, and cork, with majority of defects occurring during the capsules process. Station two is found directly after the labeller and consists of 3 cameras inspecting for the presence of capsule, front & back label, and correct product registration.
TWG’s biggest inspection need is ensuring accuracy of label application. Label presence and quality is essential in upholding the brand reputation. According to Wine Marketing Consultants, “A brand is an idea, and if perceptions by anyone interacting with the product are negative the strength of the brand will suffer and brand equity will be lost.”
In one instance, CI-Vision’s label inspection system prevented wrong labels from being applied; from anywhere to 20 to 1000 cases, and thanks to the system’s accurate specifications TWG was able to prevent a potential liability. With an average production turnover of 30 million bottles on a single line, reliable inspections that never tire are essential for successful production and brand integrity.
