Blog

Automation Breakthroughs in Narrow Web Slitting for Bottle Labels

by

Automation in slitting technology is nothing new, it has evolved steadily to meet rising demands for precision, speed, and consistency. However, the challenge has been most obvious in the production of bottle labels. Narrow slit widths and demanding rewind requirements have long presented bottlenecks in efficiency. Today, those limitations are finally being overcome, thanks to advances in automation.

At Universal Converting Equipment, we have dedicated ourselves to building the world’s most productive slitting machines, with the highest end being the Universal X8. Over the past year, our engineering team has perfected the automation required to handle bottle label production seamlessly, from “parent roll-to-packaged pallet”, with no operator intervention. This milestone represents not only a technological leap forward but also a redefinition of what productivity and reliability look like in the converting world.

The Challenges of Bottle Labels

Bottle label production brings unique demands that conventional slitting setups struggle to meet. Labels must be slit to extremely narrow widths with high precision to ensure flawless application on high-speed bottling lines. Compounding this challenge, the industry standard requires rewind rolls on 6-inch cores, difficult to manage when adding automation with delicate, narrow webs. Historically, these two factors have necessitated significant manual oversight, slowing throughput and adding cost.

Automation at Every Step

Our latest generation of slitters is designed to eliminate those inefficiencies by automating every stage of the process. From roll closure and roll start to the automatic positioning and offloading of finished rolls, each step has been engineered to operate without operator input.

  • Roll Closure & Roll Start: Automated mechanisms guarantee secure, repeatable roll builds every time. The days of manually attaching tail ends to cores to start rolls and taping down finished rolls are over.
  • Automatic Roll Positioning: Narrow web rolls are positioned with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring flawless alignment on 6-inch cores without manual adjustment.
  • Automated Roll Offloading: Once the rewind is complete, finished rolls are safely and quickly removed, ready for downstream packaging—again, with no operator required.

The result is a fully integrated system capable of running continuously, with productivity levels unmatched.

From Parent Roll-to-Packaged Pallet

What sets this achievement apart is the ability to truly handle the process from Parent Roll-to-Packaged Pallet. Incoming master rolls are loaded, slit, rewound, and offloaded onto conveyor systems with no human intervention. Once on a conveyor the finished rolls can be weighed, labeled, bagged and palletised automatically. By streamlining the slitting stage, converters can achieve unprecedented uptime and output, maximising the investment in post slitting automation. 

Productivity Without Compromise

Automation often raises concerns about flexibility, but our technology has been built to adapt. Whether a converter is handling short runs or long campaigns, narrow widths or broader applications, the machine’s automated intelligence optimizes setup and throughput. Combined with robust mechanical engineering, this ensures not only higher speeds but also consistency and reliability, key qualities when serving the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

Redefining the Future of Slitting

The automation breakthroughs we’ve achieved represent more than just incremental improvement. They redefine what’s possible in label slitting by removing manual bottlenecks and driving true end-to-end productivity. For converters supplying bottle labels, a segment where precision, speed, and cost control are paramount, the impact is transformative.

As the demand for bottled goods continues to grow worldwide, converters now have the tools to keep pace. With fully automated slitting solutions, they can meet customer expectations with confidence while setting new standards of efficiency for the industry.

At Universal Converting Equipment, we are proud to lead this transformation. By delivering machines that combine automation, precision, and reliability, we’re helping converters move faster, smoother, and more productively than ever before.

Experience the Future of Converting

by

We are excited to announce our participation in K-Show 2025.

Düsseldorf, Germany
 8 – 15 October 2025
 Hall 4 / C56

At our stand, we will showcase the latest version of the highly automated Universal X8 Slitter, designed to run in a fully autonomous manner. As the key to Parent Roll-to-Pallet, operator-free slitting, the Universal X8 delivers a step change in efficiency and productivity.

Also on display will be our popular Universal CCA – Automatic Core Cutter.

We will feature our trial/demonstrator coater, used to validate processes and prove new concepts. Alongside our experts, a representative from our partner ITW Dynatec will also be available on the stand to discuss adhesive and coating technologies.

Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment during the exhibition.

ICE Europe 2023 Exhibition

by

Munich, Germany
14th – 16th March 2023
Stand 824

We are pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at ICE Europe again this year. At ICE Europe we will be exhibiting the latest version of our highly automated Universal X8 Slitter.

We will also have one of our popular Universal CCA Automatic Core Cutters on display.

Please contact us if you would like to book an appointment to meet us at the exhibition.

Universal X8 Slitter Rewinder
The Universal X8 Slitter Rewinder

Mike Wilkinson Retires

by

After over 50 years in the converting industry, Mike Wilkinson, known as Wilkie to many, has decided to retire. During his career he has worked for Chambon, Titan/Atlas, Comexi and Kampf until finally ending his career with Universal Converting Equipment.

Commenting on his time in the industry Wilkie said “I have seen the transformation of the packaging industry from paper/cellulose based materials to plastic materials and the rapid growth in packaging to preserve and protect food products. As Managing Director of Titan, I was responsible for the development of a small UK engineering company into one that could compete on a worldwide basis. Finally, at Universal I have seen the same happening. The Universal X8 machine is the best slitting machine I have seen with fantastic automation and it can achieve productivity levels that I am told other manufacturers cannot match. It has been a pleasure to end my career, in the slitting industry, with a company that is technically leading the market.”

Alan Jones, Director, Universal Converting Equipment, added “Mike Wilkinson joined our company at a time when most other people would be retiring. With Universal, he wanted to make a difference. He helped to open the door with Bryce Corporation in the USA, which led to Universal installing an automated slitting operation at their Searcy factory. This $8 million investment was the largest order received by Universal and it has been followed with an order for an additional two X8 slitter rewinders. Personally, I have enjoyed working with MIke and being able to tap into his wealth of knowledge and experience. Mike was taken ill at the recent K2022 exhibition but has thankfully recovered. At Universal, we all wish him the best for the future.”

Photograph of Mike Wilkinson

The future of Slitting

by

Over the last four years, Universal Converting Equipment has invested heavily in the development of a range of systems to improve the productivity of slitting machines. The key target has been to reduce downtime or the time the machine is not running. If you analyse the operation of a slitting machine, it can often spend more time not running than running.

The two main areas of downtime are due to a job change and a roll change – either finished rolls or parent roll. However, even within these causes, there are many items that build up to contribute to the total downtime. It is also necessary to ensure that the machines are producing good and consistent quality when they are running. To understand the approach that Universal has taken, it is easiest to move through the slitting process from unwind to rewind.

Fast Loading Unwind
In common with most slitter manufacturers, Universal offers a shaftless unwind with floor pick up on its X6 range of slitting machines. The Universal unwind moves vertically up/down to pick up the roll from the floor. Unlike pivoting pick up unwinds, the roll will always be in the same position on the floor, regardless of diameter, for the arms to engage with the core. The operator is provided with a remote control to operate the unwind arms so they can easily check that the chucks are entering the core correctly. This may only save 30 seconds per set up, but over a year, that adds up to a lot of time.

Automated Slitter Rewinder - X6
The Universal X6 Slitter

Automatic shear knife and razor knife set up
Correctly positioning knives, especially shear knives, can result in considerable downtime. Universal have developed an automatic knife setting system that can set 20 male and female shear knives in under two minutes. By the time a new parent roll is loaded into the machine, the knives are already in the correct position. The system can also position the guiding sensor so the material will be lined up with the knives. As well as saving time, the accuracy of the setup is improved and as the knife position is known, the cores can be accurately positioned to line up with the knives. Although shear knives take the longest to set, these benefits still apply to razor slitting. The male knife holders used as part of this system can be hold either razor or shear knives making it quick to change cutting system and allowing a mixture of shear and razor if required.

Closed Loop Tension Control
Most slitting machines are supplied with differential friction shafts to control rewind tension. These shafts rely on the control of friction to give you the correct winding tension. This can change with time. Using load cells to measure and control rewind tension is the only way to ensure your finished rolls are wound at the correct tension. Correct winding tension is essential to ensure good quality rolls are produced. The actual winding tension profiles can be recorded as part of the quality assurance record for the rolls produced. Universal also add an extra tension zone through slitting so you can increase the slitting tension without changing the rewind tension.

Fast Finished Roll Unloading
When a set of rolls is complete, the machine comes to halt and the operator then unloads the rolls. To reduce this downtime on a duplex slitting machine, Universal now offers a system that reduces the time from when the machine stops to when it starts winding again to under a minute. This is a huge time saving compared to the time an operator normally takes to remove finished rolls, re-core and re-start. The machine will repeatedly run at this speed – the machine doesn’t get tired or need to go for a break. As well as saving time, the system ensures the cores are always lined up accurately with the slitting knives and manual handling of the finished rolls is reduced.

The fast unloading technology can be incorporated into Universal’s X6T turret slitter for the ultimate high productivity machine. However, for most applications where flexibility is required, the system is supplied with the Universal X6 duplex slitter giving the level of performance which could only previously be achieved with a turret slitter.

The Future of Slitting
We believe that this is the future for slitting. It will not suit all applications, but for a large proportion of slitting requirement it offers the chance to greatly increase the output from a single slitting machine and also reduce the labour required to run the machine. The technology has been cost engineered to make the system affordable.

How much is this technology worth? As an example, if you saved 30 minutes per set up and you have four set ups a day, you now have two additional hours of production per day. If that time is worth £100/hr you have saved £200/day. If you assume that the machine operates for 250 days a year that is a saving of £50,000 per year. Over a ten year period the technology has saved £500,000.

This is why we think this is The Future of Slitting

Universal offer free lifetime support on all slitters

by

X6 Slitter photo
The Universal X6 Slitter – with free lifetime support

Universal Converting Equipment manufacture class leading slitting machines and other converting equipment that is sold worldwide. The Universal X6 slitter offers a range of technically advanced features to ensure production of high quality product while minimising the amount of time the machine is stopped.

However, to achieve repeat sales, Universal decided they must also offer excellent reliability and customer support. To achieve this, Universal has focussed on four areas within its business:

Designing reliability into the machine.
Our approach is to focus on future reliability as part of our initial design process. We do not make our own drives or circuit boards – we buy our drives from a global supplier with worldwide support.

Our bearings and standard mechanical components are purchased direct from the manufacturer to avoid the risk of supply of counterfeit components. We provide easy access to lubrication points so it is easy to keep components correctly lubricate to prevent premature failure.

Internal manufacture of mechanical components.
Over the last three years, we have invested heavily in CNC machining centres to allow us to make our mechanical components ourselves. This has both improved product quality and reduced our manufacturing lead-time.

As the component drawings now go directly from our 3D CAD/CAM system to the CNC controller there is no risk of data entry error and it ensures repeatability. As part of this process, we have also standardised our components.

Should there be a need for a mechanical component, we will nearly always have it in stock and if not we can make it quickly. We also have extensive stocks of pneumatic and electrical components allowing us to respond to any need for spares quickly.

Comprehensive on-machine diagnostics.
The X6 slitter rewinder can be supplied with a range of automation systems to position the unwind, position the guider sensor, position shear knives and anvils and position the cores.

As the automation grows, so does the complexity of the control system. To make it easy for local engineers to support, we have developed the diagnostic system to give clear reasons if the machine will not operate.

We use a 22 inch colour touch screen as the main operator interface so all the information required can be clearly displayed. If the operator presses the start button and the machine will not start because, for example, a guard is open, a pop up will explain in simple terms what needs to be corrected.

We also provide dynamic electrical circuit drawings which are viewed on the display. They show the status of components such as inputs, outputs, voltages and current meaning that diagnostics which an electrician would do with a meter can be undertaken without even opening the control panel.

Remote diagnostic systems that work.
If we have completed the first three steps correctly then the need for remote support is greatly reduced. Universal is so confident in the reliability of its X6 slitting machine that it offers free telephone and internet based support for the life of the machine.

Sometimes a local engineer can struggle to resolve an issue. All our Universal X6 slitter rewinders have remote access capability via either VPN or port forwarding. The control system has been integrated to a level where when we connect to the machine remotely it is almost the same as being next to the machine. We can see the status of all the control components on the machine and look at the settings on the three touch screens. we can even watch as the operator changes settings on the touch screen.

Instead of the local engineer having to have a laptop with software and interfaces to connect to the machine, we offer this service free to our customers for the life of the machine.

Alan Jones, Managing Director of Universal Converting Equipment adds
“I am always amazed when talking to customers, the number of times I am told that they have purchased equipment that performs well but the ongoing support is poor. Since the launch of our X6 slitting machine, we have seen sales increase rapidly with orders from around the world. Although we will not stop developing the features of the X6 slitter rewinder, our biggest challenge is ensuring that we maintain our reputation for excellent support. Not only are we seeing repeat orders but some customers are ordering two or three machines at a time so the formula appears to be working. We have recently announced a showroom and support centre in the USA which will help consolidate are growing position the the Americas. We always have several X6 slitting machines in build so customers can visit and test their material on a machine. We will also have an X6 slitter rewinder at our showroom in the USA.”