RFID front-runner: Paper industry stands to benefit from core SC tracking solution

Sonoco is the world’s largest manufacturer of fiber-based tubes and cores, many of which are used companies worldwide to package various grades and types of paper. Now, in partnership with IPICO , Sonoco is offering a first in RFID in the form of a core solution for the paper industry. Using IPICO’s dual-frequency technology, the new fiber cores allow customers to automatically identify, track, and locate paper rolls at any point in the supply chain.
“IPICO and Sonoco have developed a unique process by which RFID technology is embedded in fiber-based cores. Sonoco is using this process to produce its new Intellicore engineered carriers to meet the unique needs of paper manufacturers,” says John Colyer, Sonoco VP, Industrial Products, North America. “This technology can be read through any size paper roll, to facilitate management throughout the product’s life cycle.”
According to Gordon Westwater, president and CEO, IPICO, “Until now, the paper industry has been unable to seamlessly provide real0time tracking and location for the hundreds of millions of rolls it produces annually. Working with Sonoco and using IPICO’s identification technology, we have created what we believe will quickly become the RFID standard for the paper industry.”
Leading paper manufacturers have long sought reliable and cost-effective tools to help their customers instantly track exact paper roll location, recognizing that paper grade identification, storage visibility and waste reduction are key opportunities for cost savings and profit enhancement.
Says Mike Ramsay, managing director, Mondi March Corrugated Packaging , “The system gives the site real-time, foolproof data that enables us to determine exactly which reel has been used for each customer product. This, for the first time, gives us full traceability so that we can guarantee to a customer that the correct type and source of paper has been used. The technology is so simple to use, [delivering] accurate data reporting at less cost via savings in labor, waste, stock levels, and stock-outs.”