Reverse IML: The perfect solution for Frylite
Frylite is the name for quality cooking oils in Ireland. For more than thirty years, they have been supplying customers across the country with a range of different oils and collecting used waste oil. All the manual handling and transport takes a toll on the labels on their containers. How do they make sure their brand labelling will truly represent the quality they deliver?
Self-adhesive labels have their place. In some situations they offer the perfect solution. But ask Aoife Doherty, Quality Manager at Frylite, and she will assure you that none of these situations involve the 20 litre buckets Frylite use to transport their range of cooking oils.
“The labels just didn’t survive,” she explains. “We have a lot of manual handling and our labels were constantly damaged. They often peeled off. Or they didn’t retain their shape. The colours faded. They tore. You name it. They simply weren’t practical for us.”
Reuse
Frylite reuse their buckets. First, clients return used oil to Frylite in the buckets, allowing Frylite to clean, refill and send out the same bucket up to five times. However, they began to notice buckets disappearing, an issue they put down to the ease with which the labels peeled off.
“There were occasions when the buckets came back with the labels in top condition,” says Aoife. “But we put our buckets through a wash process which is like an industrial dishwasher. The labels rarely survived. Replacing them after each use was tiresome and time-consuming. We were determined to find a new solution. Which is why we contacted Corcoran.”
The tailored approach
Renowned for offering high-quality service, Corcoran Products supply a wide range of PP and PET products to a variety of industries including Food Service, Agriculture, Pharmaceuticals and Industrial. This includes the BRC-approved containers used by Frylite.
“We are known for offering bespoke products,” says Derek Lennon, Commercial Manager at Corcoran. “With our clients and our suppliers, we become actively involved in the development of solutions that respond to increasingly sophisticated needs. It’s the best approach because everyone understands exactly what’s involved.”
This customised approach has seen Corcoran become actively involved in the development of innovative new products that meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of their customers. There were a few ideas that immediately came to mind. Corcoran contacted their partner, injection moulding experts, Dijkstra Plastics, to investigate options such as printing directly onto the buckets.
Reverse IML Labels
“We needed a solution that would stand up to the rigorous washing process the buckets undergo; it’s a caustic chemical wash administered with high-pressure blasting. Concepts like offset printing simply couldn’t survive it. We tried everything,” says Derek. “We had almost given up hope.”
“It was at about this point we spoke to MCC Verstraete about the issue,” says Joram Knol, Graphic Specialist in IML at Dijkstra Plastics. “Which is when Reverse IML started to show some real promise.”
“With Reverse IML labeling, the printing is placed between the IML packaging and a thin polypropylene film,” explains Jan Van Iseghem, the Regional Sales Manager for Northern Europe at MCC Verstraete.
This means the print is secure, protected from tearing and the rigors of transport and handling, and able to stand up to high-pressure cleaning, heat and chemicals without a problem.
Jan Van Iseghem, Regional Sales Manager at MCC Verstraete.
Committed to finding the right solution
“We could see that Corcoran Products & Dijkstra Plastics understood exactly what we needed the labels to do. They were as committed to perfecting the process as we were,” says Aoife.
“They didn’t hesitate to make adjustments, run tests, go back to the drawing board and run through the whole process again,” says Derek. “MCC Verstraete, Dijkstra Plastics and Corcoran: we all worked together to create a label that meets Frylite’s needs. And it’s great to see that we could do exactly that.”
“The Reverse IML labels were exactly what the doctor ordered,” says Aoife. “They allow us to wash and reuse the buckets time and again, without any signs of the three-colour image fading and helping to achieve the Frylite Excellence Valve by meeting repeated customers expectation of excellent standards before the buckets are due to be recycled. It makes for great shelf presence. So wherever you go in Ireland, you’ll see the Frylite brand. There’s no longer a problem with buckets disappearing. It’s impossible not to recognise a Frylite bucket as a Frylite bucket.”
