Videojet Technologies has partnered with the prestigious Bushmills whiskey brand for over 30 years. Supplying coding and marking machines since 1991, Videojet has supported the brand’s growth by providing the technology that has allowed Bushmills to meet increased volume demand, manage legislation changes around labelling and minimise production downtime.

Bushmills is home to the world’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery. Official records stretch back to 1608, when the area was granted its licence to distil. Over 400 years later, whiskey is still being made in Bushmills, thanks to experience and craft passed down from generation to generation.

Working in listed buildings with historical significance presents some challenges when running a state-of-the-art bottling line, but Videojet’s expert team is currently running six VJ3340 CO2 lasers and six Large Character Marking (LCM) machines in the filling hall on seven different levels.

Laser precision

CO2 lasers were chosen for marking Bushmills’ glass bottles due to their ability to produce high-contrast, permanent marks that are resistant to fading, scratching, and chemical exposure. The use of lasers also eliminates the need for additional consumables, such as inks or labels, making the process efficient and cost-effective. 

The six VJ3340 CO2 laser printers apply unique bottle numbers and production dates and times onto glass bottles, and a further VJ3340 laser is mounted on a separate carousel line that marks limited edition and special line whiskey bottles.

Videojet’s laser marking machines offer precision and control over the marking process. CLARiSOFT message creation software is used to ensure the accuracy of the information printed on bottles and cases. The software allows for simple drag-and-drop editing, multiple field types (such as bold, underline and italics), barcodes, logos, graphics and shapes.

For larger-scale production lines, the VJ3340 lasers are able to apply codes at a rate of up to 500 per minute. The operator can adjust the laser power, speed, and other parameters to achieve the desired marking depth and area. To offer further energy efficiency gains, the lasers have been designed to perform optimally at just 80% power. This means that tube life is lengthened as the laser is working at less than full capacity so any tube degradation won’t become apparent until later in the laser’s lifecycle.

Due to space constraints within the heritage building that Bushmills occupies, the production lines are positioned very close to each other, incorporating 90-degree turns. Videojet lasers have the widest marking fields in the industry which gives the greatest flexibility around where they can be positioned and with over 20,000 different configuration options, they can fit into almost any available space.

Boxing clever

Before the installation of Videojet’s Large Character Markers (LCM), Bushmills used to hand-roll ink templates onto their boxes. With different information required for different countries and jurisdictions, this was a complex and time-consuming process.

As the name suggests, Videojet’s LCM printers are designed to apply large characters typically ranging from 3mm to 70mm in height. The printers use piezo technology to create high-definition characters by ejecting ink droplets onto the surface in bold, easily readable fonts. This makes them suitable for situations where product information, lot numbers, expiration dates, barcodes, QR codes or other identification details need to be quickly recognised.

Thanks to the ink delivery method, there are no messy ribbons for engineers to deal with, or ink droplets to clean from the factory floor.

Bushmills has cited Videojet’s LCM printers as being crucial for maintaining its brand value. 

Bushmills’ Bottling Hall Manager, James Dysart, commends the impact of Videojet’s LCM printers, which have saved time and enhanced the brand’s image by providing clear and precise information on secondary packaging. He said: “Many brands don’t pay attention to their secondary packaging, but we know that when our whiskey is sat on a runway waiting to be loaded, or in a shipping container in a port, it’s a marketing opportunity. We give the same attention to the print quality on our shipping boxes as we do to the labels on the bottles. Bushmills stands for quality and this needs to come through at every point.”

Smooth operations

Initially supplying continuous inkjet printers, as Bushmills’ needs changed, Videojet worked closely with the team to review operations and periodically supply upgraded technology to ensure continued improvements. 

Videojet printers offer uptime figures which are amongst the best in the market. Smooth operations with minimal disruption is crucial to Bushmills’ success. In addition to field service support, Videojet offers Videojet Remote Support (VRS). This online connected service enables remote fault diagnosis and repair without an engineer visiting the site. 

VRS not only allows the support technicians to see the status of each Videojet printer, they can also, with the customer’s permission, ‘dial in’ to the printer and make changes to enable quicker recovery.  Videojet’s data shows that 70% of printer faults that don’t require a part can be fixed remotely. VRS is available across the entire range of Videojet Technologies. When Bushmills do require an engineer to visit, they are well served, as there are three Videojet technicians based within 40 minutes of the site. The business also benefits from local backup for each printer, ensuring swift recovery from any unexpected downtime.

Looking to the future

So what’s the secret to a long-lasting partnership? John Tierney, Country Manager at Videojet said: “We’re a committed partner in the Bushmills relationship. Protecting the integrity of the whiskey brand has always been our main focus and we’ve worked together over the years to ensure that product quality is never compromised.

“Understanding Bushmills’ business and providing the products and services that allow the brand to grow and evolve is key.  Using our expertise, we’ve designed solutions that have saved the customer time, improved production flow and contributed to lower running costs.  We take a true partnership approach to create an environment for open dialogue. This means we can resolve any issues and plan for the next developments.”