SIVA IoT Fills the Gap for Track & Trace of Metal Cylinders!
- Beer & Gas companies need digital record of their metallic kegs/cylinders
- SIVA’s cylinder tag accommodates surface curvatures of 126 to 450 mm. One tag -many cylinder sizes
- Fast tag application (spot welding not mandatory)
- Laser engravable
The average Beer Keg or Gas Cylinder provides up to 40 years of service life. From filling to inventory management, to distribution, return, cleaning & sterilization and then re-filling, even today many companies manage this movement manually which is very slow and prone to errors. Beer manufacturers and providers of Gas cylinders have voiced the need to be able to digitally track vessels throughout this rotation cycle. For several reasons, attaching a RFID tag to a metal cylinder has been challenging. SIVA aims to optimize the cylinder and fleet management for the Beer & Gas industries
12 Mar 2024 - Quality in the Making since 1986
Challenges of Labeling Beer Kegs and Gas Cylinders
The labeling of kegs/cylinders is a challenge. Because the risk of theft is constant, such metal bottles need to be labeled. However, the surface is curved, which raises the question of how to ensure that the label adheres well over long periods of time. In addition, such bottles are exposed to rough handling and extreme temperatures.
Trying to Find the Right Beer Keg Tag
SIVA started to look for a solution in 2019/20. Working closely with a beer producer, SIVA first proposed a spot-welded tag. This would solve the issue of how to fasten the tag. However, spot-welding was much too labor-intensive and expensive. Around that time, a competitor introduced tags in several sizes which could be spot welded to different cylinder curvatures. Beer/Gas cylinder companies do not have the time & resources to spot-weld 1000’s of cylinders. Laser-engraving was not possible with the competitor tags, which was a drawback. Feeling strongly that there should be ONE size filling as many variations of cylinders as possible, SIVA continued to design a tag which could adhere to vast degrees of curvatures, can be applied quickly to keep affixing costs low but also allow for laser-engraving and complex personalization.
The SIVA Beer Keg and Gas Canister Tag
SIVA addressed these challenges and finally has launched circular tag with a 40mm dia. The use of a high-performance foam backing takes the shape of the curvature ranging from 126 to 450mm. The foam backing also ensures that the entirety of the tag has surface contact for adhesion. The tag & adhesive resist alcohol as well as high temperature & high-pressure chemical washing. This eliminates the need for spot welding which is slow, labor-intensive and expensive. SIVA’s cylinder tag can also be permanently laser-engraved.
In order to make sure that the tag cannot be taken off, the surface layer of the tag protrudes out and is stuck directly onto the keg or canister. It functions as a lip which seals the gap between the tag and the surface of the canister itself, providing a flush finish. An optional metal ring can be provided by SIVA, which can be used to spot weld the tag to the cylinder, should the user have very stringent requirements for durability & adhesion.
