Manufacturer of labeling solutions: printers, labels, RFID and services for industry, retail and healthcare
SATO Europe
Heidelberg (DE) · Harwich (GB) · Wrocław (PL) · Templemars (FR)New on Amplifa
About SATO Europe
SATO is a globally active Auto-ID and labeling solutions company founded in 1940, with its European headquarters located in Heidelberg. The portfolio comprises industrial and mobile label printers, hand labelers, scanners, RFID solutions, software as well as unprinted and printed labels and tags. At the European production sites in Harwich (UK) and Wrocław (Poland), labels and tags are manufactured, including thermal transfer and direct thermal printing on paper-based materials; in Poland, contract manufacturing of self-adhesive labels for blood and plasma bags is also carried out in accordance with ISO 13485. Customer industries include healthcare, transport and logistics, retail, hospitality, the food industry, automotive and manufacturing. The SATO Group generated global revenue of over US$ 900 million and is represented in more than 90 countries; in Europe, hardware, consumables, remote preventative maintenance (SATO Online Services) and on-site service are offered.
- Site
- Heidelberg
- Processes
- Manufacture of unprinted and printed labels and tags, Thermal transfer printing, Direct thermal printing, RFID printing / RFID encoding, Manufacture of self-adhesive labels for blood and plasma bags (contract manufacturing), Transformation of consumables (further processing of consumables), Printer repair, maintenance and service (on-site, telephone, workshop), Remote preventative maintenance (SATO Online Services / Alerte)
- Materials
- Paper (FSC/PEFC-certified labels and tags), Thermal paper (direct thermal), Thermal transfer ribbon, Antimicrobial wristbands (direct thermal / thermal transfer), TYVEK / fabric / nonwoven (not approved for cutters), Thermal transfer printing, RFID labels, Paper (FSC/PEFC certified)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018, ISO 13485:2016, BRCGS Packaging Materials, FSC, PEFC, Ecovadis, Imprim'vert
- Founded
- 1940
- Industries
- Healthcare, Transport & Logistics, Retail/Trade, Gastronomy/HORECA, Food Industry, Automotive
- 01
Design and development of labeling systems
- 02
Manufacture of unprinted and printed labels and tags
- 03
Transformation of consumables (custom labels)
- 04
RFID printing and RFID encoding
- 05
Sales of hardware, software and consumables
- 06
Service, maintenance and remote preventative maintenance
Materials and Printing Processes
Thermal transfer printing
Printing process with thermal transfer ribbon for durable labels in industry and logistics.
Thermal paper (direct thermal)
Ribbon-free printing process for labels with short to medium durability.
RFID labels
Printing and encoding of RFID labels for traceability and inventory accuracy.
Paper (FSC/PEFC certified)
Labels and tags made from paper from responsibly managed forests and verified recycling sources.
Antimicrobial wristbands (direct thermal / thermal transfer)
Patient wristbands for healthcare using direct thermal or thermal transfer printing.
Locations
Heidelberg
DESATO Europe location: sales, support and product introductions
- Industrial label printer CL4-SXR
- Industrial label printer CL6-SXR
Harwich (Essex)
GBLabel production (SATO UK Ltd, Valley Road)
- Materials
- Paper (FSC/PEFC)
Wrocław
PLLabel production, sales and service (SATO Central Europe Sp. z o.o., ul. Tyniecka 13)
- Materials
- Paper (FSC), self-adhesive labels
Templemars
FRSales, service and transformation of consumables (SATO France SAS)
Products and Assemblies
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacture of unprinted and printed labels and tagsSurface | – | – | – | – | Paper (FSC/PEFC certified) |
| Thermal transfer printingSurface | – | – | – | – | Label materials, Thermal transfer ribbons |
| Direct thermal printingSurface | – | – | – | – | Thermal paper |
| RFID printing / RFID encodingSurface | – | – | – | – | RFID labels |
| Manufacture of self-adhesive labels for blood and plasma bags (contract manufacturing)Surface | – | – | – | – | Self-adhesive labels |
| Transformation of consumables (further processing of consumables)Surface | – | – | – | – | – |
| Printer repair, maintenance and service (on-site, telephone, workshop)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Remote preventative maintenance (SATO Online Services / Alerte)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
8 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial label printer | SATO CL4-SXR | – | – | 2026 | Heidelberg, Germany |
| Industrial label printer | SATO CL6-SXR | – | – | 2026 | Heidelberg, Germany |
| Industrial label printer | SATO CL4NX/CL6NX (SOS-compatible) | – | – | – | – |
| RFID printer | SATO | – | – | – | – |
| Hand labeler (hand labeling devices) | SATO | – | – | – | – |
| Portable printers / hand labeling devices | SATO PW4NX | – | – | – | – |
| Scanner | SATO | – | – | – | – |
| Cutter accessories (guillotine/rotary/TG3) | SATO | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Certifications
All European sites are certified to ISO 9001:2015; further certifications include ISO 14001, ISO 45001 (UK), ISO 13485 (Poland), BRCGS Packaging Materials as well as FSC and PEFC for sustainable paper sourcing.
| Evidence | United Kingdom | Poland | France |
|---|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001:2015 | |||
| ISO 14001:2015 | |||
| ISO 45001:2018 | |||
| ISO 13485:2016 | |||
| BRCGS Packaging Materials | |||
| FSC | |||
| PEFC | |||
| Ecovadis | |||
| Imprim'vert |
History
- 1940
Founded by Yo Sato; development, manufacture and sale of machines for processing bamboo, rattan and palm.
- 1962
Yo Sato invents the hand labeler.
- 1964
Start of in-house manufacture of hand labelers.
- 1970er
Development of hand labelers compatible with OCR and barcodes for POS systems.
- 1981
Invention of the world's first thermal transfer printer for JAN/UPC/EAN POS systems.
- 2003
Market launch of the first RFID printer in Japan.