Use-Case – Tabletop Auto Labeling Machine T160LB

The Challenge

A contract manufacturer in the cosmetics sector located near Graz was applying labels to about 2,000 flat cartons per day for local retail clients. Ingredient, batch, and expiration information was being labeled by hand at two separate workstations using manual dispensers.

This manual approach required two full-time employees per shift and often resulted in labels that were crooked or had air bubbles. Approximately 4% of cartons needed to be relabeled due to misapplied labels, which led to overtime during peak periods and diverted staff from upstream filling and packing operations.

Manual Process

Operators would take cartons from a stack, peel labels from a roll, visually align them, and smooth them onto the cartons by hand. Output varied greatly depending on the operator’s concentration and fatigue, especially late in the shift.

Before Automation:

• Daily output: 2,000 units/day
• Time per unit: 30 seconds/unit (including handling and visual inspection)
• Total time per day: 2,000 × 30 s = 60,000 s ≈ 1,000 minutes (≈ 16.7 hours/day)
  Handled by 2 operators during a single 8-hour shift, with some overtime
• Labor expense: 16.7 hours × €25/hour ≈ €417/day
• Rework/issues: 4% of units (≈ 80 cartons/day) needed relabeling, adding about 1 hour/day of extra work

Automated Solution

The business installed a Tabletop Auto Labeling Machine T160LB at the end of the cartoning line, replacing the two manual labeling setups. Cartons are now fed continuously, and the T160LB applies each label with ±1 mm precision.

After Installing Tabletop Auto Labeling Machine T160LB:

• The machine runs at 60% of its top speed for consistent operation
  80 pcs/min × 60% = 48 pcs/min actual throughput
• Updated cycle time: 1,000 units/hour ÷ 2,000 units = 3.6 seconds/unit equivalent at the current workload
• Total time per day: 2,000 ÷ 48 ≈ 41.7 minutes of machine operation
  Including loading, unloading, and checks: about 3 hours/day of operator presence
• Labor expense: 3 hours × €25/hour = €75/day (one operator part-time for labeling, remainder of time on other duties)
• Quality gains: rework from crooked labels dropped from 4% to 0.5% (≈ 10 cartons/day), saving about 45 minutes/day on relabeling

ROI Calculation

Investment:
Machine cost: €2,899
Daily labor expense before: ≈ €417/day
Daily labor expense after: €75/day
Daily savings: €417 − €75 = €342/day (labor only)
Monthly savings (22 working days): €342 × 22 = €7,524/month
Payback period: €2,899 ÷ €342 ≈ 8.5 working days (less than 2 weeks)

Even with a conservative estimate, allocating only €120/day as savings directly from labeling (freeing up one operator for most of the shift), the return on investment is still rapid:
Daily savings (conservative): €120/day
Monthly savings (22 days): €120 × 22 = €2,640/month
Payback period (conservative): €2,899 ÷ €120 ≈ 24 working days (about 1.9 months)

Conclusion

By switching from two manual labeling stations to the compact T160LB tabletop auto labeler, the company reduced labeling labor from roughly 16.7 hours/day to about 3 hours/day of operator time. Label rework due to misalignment dropped from 4% to 0.5%, and operators were reassigned to more valuable upstream packaging activities.

“The T160LB enabled us to reduce from two full-time labelers to less than 3 hours of labeling oversight per day, saving about €120 in labor each shift. Our rework rate dropped from 4% to under 1%, and we recouped the €2,899 investment in under two months.” — Markus H., Production Manager, Graz Cosmetics GmbH