With care and consideration from sender to receiver
Poor-quality corrugated boxes are expensive – especially if they need to be transported long distances by air and if the products are damaged on the way. The Kenya-based packaging manufacturer Silpack, which has specialised in packaging for cut flowers, fruit and vegetables, decided to solve this problem once and for all. The company also aimed to position its brand as a guarantee of top quality products.
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The light and strong packaging concept that saves freight costs
Challenge
Although our customer used corrugated boxes based on recycled fibres with a high grammage to promote strength, problems nevertheless arose. Humidity is often high and variable during transport, and this caused the durability of the boxes to weaken to the extent that many were damaged on arrival at their destination. This resulted in smaller margins, increased product wastage and meant that flowers had to be sold at a lower price.
Solution
Billerud developed an innovative new packaging design using SoliQ Air™, our own quality-certified packaging concept that has been specially developed for air freight and long distances. This new packaging is constructed using 100 per cent primary fibres, which makes the boxes extremely light, strong and durable, even in tough conditions with high humidity. We improved the construction and created a new box design that made it easier to assemble the boxes. In addition, we developed a way of carefully strapping the flowers together, which prolongs their vase life.
Result
The packaging manufacturer Silpack has helped its customers to make their deliveries of cut flowers more reliable with stronger, more durable and significantly lighter boxes. The savings have been large: freight costs have reduced by $300,000 per 1 million boxes. Silpack’s operation delivers according to international standards and can now ensure the quality of its packaging products using SoliQ Air™. By doing this, the company also strengthens its own brand while benefiting from the rewards of high customer satisfaction and improved business.
Highlights
- $300,000 in reduced air freight costs on each 1 million boxes shipped
- 200 tonnes less paper being used per 1 million boxes with a positive impact on the environment
- 20% reduction in packaging material weight