The hottest packaging technology makes your choice

Packaging technology: make your choice

for many companies, packaging technology can be said to be one of the most important steps in the whole production process. Because packaging directly affects the final appearance and feeling of products and the appearance when they are placed on the counter to meet consumers. Therefore, packaging can ultimately help consumers make a choice, whether to put this product in the shopping cart or choose other products

this kind of demand has promoted the development of the packaging industry in the past decade. No matter what industry this demand comes from - from packaging boxes for hazardous chemicals, thermoforming packaging for sterile medical equipment, or special blister packaging in the pharmaceutical industry - the immediate opportunity is to have a contracted packer who can help you meet your short-term needs and provide the basis for long-term cooperation

more than a year ago, whirlpool company, a commodity production giant, found itself in a very critical situation. A customer needs five kinds of microwave oven models and needs to immediately deliver relevant maintenance tools to the designated location. Whirlpool has no equipment related to packaging and transportation tools, and it is impossible to manufacture it before the deadline, so it asked the packaging unlimited branch in Louisville, Kentucky for help

this work requires packaging and transportation of about 900000 maintenance tools, each of which includes seven to ten related accessories. The whole work took 45 days. Whirlpool's request is a good example of how contract packers can help manufacturers cope with sudden business needs, said Bill pflaum, executive director of the contract manufacturing and Packaging Association (CMPA), a non-profit Industrial Trading Association based in Jackson, Tennessee. He also said that in general, contract packaging has begun to develop and gradually meet the needs of manufacturers. Nowadays, contract packers can be classified into contract manufacturers according to the lax division, and contract manufacturers have become indispensable partners of mainstream manufacturers

he added: "our industry today is very different from that ten or twenty years ago. Many changes are due to technology. Now there are few single-purpose equipment and production lines. Almost all current equipment is controlled by computers and can be quickly adjusted according to the needs of users."

it is difficult to say how large the scale of the current contract packaging industry is, because there are many different types of external buyers. Some companies only provide packaging services, while others provide a full range of services, from actual production to product packaging and transportation to final customers or distribution centers. At the same time, some non-profit packers, also known as protected workshops, employ some physically or mentally handicapped people to complete manual packaging work in these places

the packaging services provided by the company are also very different. Companies like sharp specialize in hemispherical packaging, bottle and bag packaging for the pharmaceutical industry. Wyandot, based in Jeffersonville, Indiana, specializes in packaging fast-food products such as French fries, corn chips and cheese. Without knowing the exact number of external purchasers, industry experts believe that with their contributions, the whole industry has increased significantly in the past decade

wyeth is a pharmaceutical company with assets of US $14.6 billion. The company has packaging technology in many production areas, but it still needs to frequently find contractual packaging services. Rene lehoux, the head of the company's pharmaceutical factory in Montreal, said that when the company is not good at a certain packaging technology or the development of this technology in the factory is too risky for the whole factory, the company will consider cooperating with contracted packers. Lehoux added that cooperating with contractual manufacturers usually saves some costs. "But when the factory environment does not allow packaging to be completed in the factory, external procurement is necessary," he said

however, external procurement sometimes has risks, especially in the packaging field of the pharmaceutical industry. Lehoux said, "when we purchase externally, we need to sign a contract with the supplier, including all quality terms, and then we supervise it. If we fail to meet the requirements of the contract, we will re sign the contract."

of course, not all packaging businesses are so strict. In many cases, companies only require production speed. Magnetic attraction, a Durham based company, won a $9 million contract to supply magnets to a large commodity company. John Dowling, the company's sales manager, said that the company needs to hire some people to pack the magnets, but this kind of work means that it needs to find a group of people to work quickly and send them away after the work is over. In view of this situation, the company entrusted Aaron Thomas, located in Garden Grove, California, to complete this work. Dowling said, "our business pursues profit maximization, so cost is our first consideration. Consumers don't care whether our products are packaged by ourselves."

for companies, purchasing packaging from outside does not often play a positive role, especially when they already have packaging equipment, personnel and production capacity. According to the argument of Wyeth and magnetic attachments, contract packaging should be the right choice under the following circumstances

* the demand for a product of the company suddenly increases, and it cannot be produced through its own production line in the short or long term

* short term special needs are not enough to invest in new equipment

* the company wants to conduct product market tests and formulate quarterly plans

* special packaging requirements are put forward in the promotional activities; (for example, when Colgate needs the packaging of toothbrush and toothpaste, it will turn to packaging Co., Ltd. for help.)

* if the products are not packed, it is more cost-effective to transport them to foreign markets, and they can be packed and distributed abroad

* when the company lacks experts to meet the requirements of providing users with high-performance and reliable 3D printing filament new packaging

* when the factory needs to be closed for maintenance, and the work can be represented by foreign purchasers

* when many products need to be repackaged and sold

* in some industries, such as pharmaceutical industry, some new demands may put forward higher requirements for short-term production and investment

according to chuck kerins, the sales manager of sharp, the company will first conduct a detailed analysis when deciding to adopt external procurement. The company is a contract packer located in Conshohocken. In some cases, such as urgent deadlines, external procurement may be the only option. However, in other cases, the company will consider the cost of purchasing new equipment and other aspects to compare with the external procurement method

sharp has noticed the rise and fall of the economy brought about by the great changes in industry in recent years. In the era of economic prosperity at the end of the 1990s, many companies chose external procurement because the market demand was very large. In the subsequent economic downturn, they took external procurement as a way to cut costs. Recently, sharp noticed the rise of a new type of virtual pharmaceutical company. Such companies buy all products from other pharmaceutical companies, and then package and transport them. This trend shows that external buyers are making adjustments to ensure the normal operation of their production lines

sharp has four subordinate factories with a total area of 400000 ft2. One branch in Conshohocken specializes in the production of porous foam packaging, and another nearby branch is engaged in the production and printing of bottle cap materials, cards and cardboard boxes. Two other companies based in Caldwell, N.J., are engaged in the packaging of bagged and bottled products

kerins said, "we can see that the traditional company operation model, that is, the era when a company packaged all its own products, is about to become history. Today, companies have more choices, and they can choose the most suitable one to maximize profits."

similar to whether to choose external procurement packaging, there are also some problems to consider when choosing external packaging partners

* location: choose an external purchaser close to your production and distribution system, which is scientific, solid and reasonable. In order to reduce noise and protect the electromechanical plant, this can save transportation time and reduce freight

* experience in road: be sure that your contract packer is able to complete your work, and someone has proved that they can realize their commitments

* cost: analyze each company to find the most cost-effective way

* control: ensure that external purchasers follow certain procedures, and contact you in time for any problems

* financial resources: is your partner in good financial condition? Will you be dragged into a financial crisis

* quality: we must investigate every detail of quality control in the factory of external purchasers

cmpa said that the last point is quality control. If an external purchaser destroys the company's reputation in the industry, it is meaningless no matter how much cost it saves or how fast the packaging speed is. If in the pharmaceutical industry and some industries closely related to human health, it may lead to disease and even death

"remember, what you buy is your name, your trademark, that is, the image of the company. Of course, there are certain risks, so you hope your partners can make a 100% guarantee to you."

information source: Modern Packaging