A Revolution in Label Production: How KEIMFARBEN is Setting New Standards With Automated Processes

The challenge for industrial production today is to combine efficiency and precision. KEIMFARBEN GmbH has found exactly this balance with an innovative solution for label creation and is setting new standards for error-free and future-proof production.

Creating product labels is much more than just a creative process – it is an essential component of customer communication, ensures transparency and simultaneously fulfills important legal requirements. For KEIMFARBEN GmbH, the market leader in high-quality silicate paints, this process was associated with a great deal of manual work for a long time.

From manual labor to automation: The starting point

With an extensive product portfolio of around 500 products and over 1,000 label variants for various types of packaging such as buckets, canisters and sacks, the labels have to be created in up to 15 different languages. This challenge made manual label creation an extremely complex and time-consuming task, characterized by copy & paste work, numerous manual checks and laborious typesetting.

The marketing department faced several challenges: in addition to the enormous potential for errors and the high time expenditure, it was difficult to react quickly to short-term changes or new legal requirements. One example was the labeling requirement for titanium dioxide, which had to be implemented within a short period of time. The labeling requirements are not only a legal necessity, but also an important aspect of transparency and providing customer information, which is a high priority for KEIMFARBEN. “We were in a constant battle against time, especially when new legal requirements or product changes were pending.” recalls Sabrina Ruckerbauer

By connecting the PIM/MAM system to priint:comet, KEIMFARBEN achieved a further milestone in automation. This integration now makes it possible to largely automate the creation of label layouts while maintaining the necessary flexibility and customization options.

An in-depth look at the new process

Automation at KEIMFARBEN is based on the intelligent interaction of various systems and data sources:

• SAP provides the basic master data such as filling quantities, EAN codes and article numbers, complemented by safety-related information such as hazard warnings and pictograms.
• Contentserv is responsible for the central bundling of this data and adds additional content such as marketing texts, quality seals and translations.

This data is then seamlessly forwarded to the priint:comet Plug-in for Adobe InDesign. There, the information is integrated into the desired template, creating a print-ready label in just a few seconds.

Auto-generated bucket label

Increased efficiency and new opportunities

The introduction of automated label creation has brought noticeable improvements at KEIMFARBEN. Sources of error that previously occurred due to manual entries have been almost completely eliminated. At the same time, the processing time per label has been significantly reduced.

Another advantage is the increased flexibility: the company can now respond more quickly to market demands and legal changes. Multilingualism, which is essential for international markets, was also significantly simplified by the introduction of multilayer labels. These labels provide space for up to three pages of information and allow the integration of multiple languages in a very small space.

“We have not only saved time and resources, but we have also raised the quality of our labels to a new level.” explains Ruckerbauer.

A look into the future: Expansion of automation

KEIMFARBEN has ambitious plans to further expand automation. In addition to the planned integration of DeepL for automatic translations, label creation is set to be extended to include more container types and packaging types.

In addition, the company plans to use the publishing functions for other print products such as product catalogs and technical documentation. A move to the cloud is also in the pipeline to make the system landscape even more flexible and future-proof.

Verdict: A role model for the industry

By automating its label creation, KEIMFARBEN has not only optimized internal processes, but also created a clear, competitive advantage. The combination of innovative technology and a clear strategic vision makes the company a pioneer in the industry – and shows how digitization and automation can be successfully implemented.

Sustainability as a corporate principle

Responsibility for the environment and society is a top priority at KEIMFARBEN. The company rises to the challenge every day of making its contribution to a sustainable world. KEIMFARBEN develops and produces products that are designed to promote a healthy, fair and sustainable future.

KEIMFARBEN has already been awarded the German Sustainability Prize for this commitment and has been nominated for the prize three times in a row. At KEIMFARBEN, “Made in Germany” is not just a slogan, but a principle that is lived daily and guarantees the highest quality standards.