Application:
Inventory marking in the mining industry

The user

All activities in German coalmining are grouped under the umbrella of the Deutsche Steinkohle AG. Nine coalmines are in operation in the mining areas of Ibbenbühren, Saarland and the Rhine-Ruhr region.

Initial situation

Until the beginning of the 90s the operational resources of the individual mines and their central depots were not distinctly recorded or marked.

A barcode marking system was developed in cooperation with ELTEX to enable operational resource inventory to be identified.

Solution from ELTEX

The difficult conditions underground such as temperature strain, water, corrosion, friction, high-pressure cleaning operations, weathering and dirt make months of up-front material tests necessary. A white polyester foil is imprinted with variable data in a thermal transfer printing process in the case of the inventory label from the ELTEX TOP-CODE series.

Further, a transparent laminate foil protects the label reliably against aggressive media. Since no customary laminate foils could withstand the rough conditions in a mining operation, ELTEX developed a special structure. The extremely robust, transparent foil is very resistant to impact and abrasion. The temperature-stable adhesive stands out on account of its very strong initial and final adhesion properties on almost all substrates.

Today, these inventory labels are used across-the-board in all coalmines.