Spumador, an Italian company founded in 1888, is the creator of "Spuma", the legendary traditional lemonade. Over the years, it has expanded its range to include mineral waters and fruit juices. In 2011, the company, whose customers include both private individuals, bars and retailers joined the Refresco group, the leading European producer of soft drinks and fruit juices. The company's priorities have always been product quality and safety for both consumers and other brands that expect high-standard products. Reflecting this commitment, in 2000, it set up a sterile bottling process with rigorous daily controls and advanced bacteriological analyses. In line with its priorities, in 2012, Spumador decided to equip all the lines at its five production sites with "green" inkjet printers, which use MEK-free ink, with the intention of reducing VOC emissions. The stakes for Spumador are twofold: find high-output equipment capable of keeping pace with the production rate of their bottling machines, and ensure good legibility and excellent printing quality of codes in order to guarantee the traceability of production batches.

The solution

To meet these exacting specifications, Markem-Imaje suggested SMILE, an all-inclusive, versatile, flexible and exclusive contract. Based on the principle of equipment rental, SMILE allows Spumador to control its spending thanks to fixed monthly payments. The company is also guaranteed to have access to the most recent coding equipment, corresponding to its requirements at any given time, as well as comprehensive support, training and consumable delivery at an agreed schedule. In terms of equipment, 9232S inkjet printers were chosen for their speed and capacity to print on a range of surfaces including, glass, PET, cardboard boxes and caps.

The result

Reduced costs, assistance, flexibility… The advantages offered by the SMILE contract are numerous. The monthly payments have proved to be lower than the total cost of maintaining the previous machine fleet and purchasing the associated consumables. Other benefits have also won over Spumador, such as the use of latest-generation printers perfectly adapted to the production output, the very low additive consumption and the supply of MEK-free ink guaranteeing product safety. Cleaning operations are also less frequent, significantly reducing stoppage times. Finally, Markem-Imaje's sales teams have shown themselves to be attentive to the needs of Spumador, which greatly appreciates its expertise and availability. In fact the company is so satisfied that it now has a total of thirty new 9232S printers installed across its various sites.

The company

Name: Spumador S.p.A.
Group: Refresco-Gerber, European leader (soft drinks, fruit juices)
Head Office: Caslino al Piano (Italy)
Founding date: 1888
Staff: 440 employees
Production sites: 5
Production: 1 billion bottles per year (mineral waters, carbonated soft drinks, teas and fruit beverages)
2013 turnover: 160 million euros