Northern Monk cuts down waste with new high-precision labeller

Northern Monk Brew Co., the progressive independent brewery known for its blend of traditional monastic values and modern brewing techniques, has successfully upgraded its packaging line with the installation of a Sovereign Monarch wraparound labeller.

The move has delivered significant improvements in both operational efficiency and the reduction of label waste.

The brewery introduced the Monarch system to handle the increasing volume of cans destined for supermarket retail, special editions, and its renowned Patrons Projects series — products that account for approximately 40% of Northern Monk’s total packaged output.

Nat Newport, trainee packaging manager at Northern Monk, emphasised the need for reliability and future-proofing: “We were looking for a labeller that could meet current demand, eliminate issues we were encountering, while also being future-proof. The result of this project has been a huge improvement in operational efficiency, a reduction in label waste, and a much higher quality to our applied labels.”

The Sovereign Monarch line is designed to ensure precision and control vital for high-quality packaging decoration. The system features:

• Scroll-fed system: precedes the labeller to ensure smooth and consistent container flow.
• Linear wrap labeller: precisely and securely applies full-height wraparound self-adhesive labels.
• Servo-driven conveyors: guarantee smooth and controlled passage of cans throughout the line.

The system is currently applying self-adhesive labels to cans at a rate of up to 200 per minute, meeting the demanding output needs of the growing brewery.

Jordan Hynes, business development manager at Sovereign Labelling Machines, highlighted the broader impact of high-quality labelling: “Northern Monk is a fantastic example of the impact high-quality labelling has for a brand and its products. It also goes to show the true impact on production and operational efficiency when labelling is not at the required level.”

The upgrade has not only solved existing issues but has directly contributed to the brewery’s sustainability goals by minimising faulty labels and misapplied packaging materials.

Mr Newport added: “Our new Sovereign Monarch labeller has brought our operational efficiency back up to where it needs to be and reduced the workload on our operators, enabling them to more effectively allocate their time. Overall, this project has been a great success and allowed us to achieve an even better result than we hoped.”