Case Study: West Coast Tomato improves label accuracy and reduces downtime with Sato

West Coast Tomato boosts label accuracy to 95% with Sato

West Coast Tomato, a high-volume tomato packer, faced a critical labeling challenge where its system achieved only 50% accuracy, causing labels to fall off and leading to frequent work stoppages. This issue severely impacted operations and customer satisfaction. The company partnered with vendor Sato and systems integrator Cheetah Systems to find a replacement for their maintenance-intensive system.

Sato provided custom firmware modifications for its M8459Se print engines, which were integrated with Cheetah's labeling applicators and a new control system. This solution allowed for local label storage and correct application, ensuring proper adhesion and placement. The results were transformative: label accuracy rose to 95%, work stoppages were virtually eliminated, and the rate of missing labels was reduced to zero. This dramatically improved plant throughput and enabled plans for further automation.

West Coast Tomato