Going Green

Packaging – Not Just a Pretty Face

By Gail Nickel-Kailing on April 28th, 2009

Print is dead! Newspapers are shutting down their print operations; magazines are skinnier than ever; even the Postal Service is having a sale on postage to get large volume mailers to print and mail more.

Long live print! Just look at the shelves at Wal-Mart, Costco, Amazon, all the big box stores and every supermarket on the continent. What do you think covers every item there? Print!

Until the time comes when it’s possible to “teleport” an item directly to your living room or to manufacture every item you need on demand in your own home, packaging is a critical part of product development and delivery. For the foreseeable future, there is no electronic substitute for a package.

(To view the accompanying slide show, click here.)

Print as a Value Add

More and more printers are reaching out to add services, to add value to the print process; today we take a look at a manufacturer who considers that print is the value-add. AllpakTrojan is a remarkable company that combines corrugated converting, package manufacturing, and commercial print to deliver sophisticated and attractive packaging with environmental sensitivity.

Packaging is more than just a pretty box that sits on a retail shelf. Packaging is an entire eco-system consisting of science, art, and technology to contain, protect, preserve, transport, inform and sell products.

AllpakTrojan combines graphic and structural design, lean manufacturing, and complex software and hardware to produce packaging that not only enhances the image of the product in the hand of the consumer but also provides protection for transporting products around the world.

To support the shelf appeal of the retail packaging that AllpakTrojan produces, the company designs, manufactures, and  prints point-of-purchase (POP) displays, counter displays, and a wide variety of marketing materials. They also provide pack and assembly services to complete the loop, if the customer wishes.

Design with the End in Mind

Designing a packaging system that will get a product from A to B safely, securely, at the lowest cost possible while being environmentally sensitive is the challenge that AllpakTrojan’s graphic and structural designers have relished.

Commercial printers look at design services as enhancing their print services, at AllpakTrojan design services are an integral part of the manufacturing process.

The company’s structural designers are packaging engineers who strive to build the perfect container for the lowest overall cost and with the lowest environmental affect.

The Recycled Cycle

For transport of larger items – including products weighing hundreds of pounds – Cushionfold®, a patented process referred to internally as CFG, turns corrugated paper into structurally sound containers that are less expensive than foam, lighter than wood and are 100% recyclable through the corrugated recycling system.

AllpakTrojan converts papers of various levels of recycled content into corrugated board on a machine that affixes fluted paper to litho printed top sheets (single face laminate) with liquid starch. No solvent-based adhesives are used, making corrugated board one of the most environmentally friendly substrates available. Corrugated paper can contain up to 100% recycled post consumer waste content and is 100% recyclable.

Using the only German-made machine in the US designed for this application, the CFG (cushion-fold-glue) process makes it possible to ship packing materials consisting of multiple layers of corrugated in flat packs and yet the customer can break the slabs easily into corners, braces, trays, and other packing elements.

For Precor, a manufacturer of high-end exercise equipment, corrugated trays on which treadmills and other equipment are assembled have replaced wooden pallets. CFG corrugated braces and padding have eliminated foam and plastic bagging.

Except for three small pieces of foam that fit into one hand, the entire shipping container now consists of a single completely recyclable material.

For another customer, AllpakTrojan was able to design a new packaging system that eliminated all wood and foam in shipping cartons and reduced both the size and weight of the container. The benefits to the customer? The 100% recyclable container costs less, weighs less, and allows for more containers on a pallet … saving the customer nearly $120,000 a year.

An additional unintended consequence resulted from the elimination of all plastics. Because various fittings and small parts had been rolled in bubble pack for shipping in the past, customers often discarded them by mistake and had to request duplication. The new packing system includes “wells” under the cover cap where all the fittings and parts are shipped, eliminating accidental loss.

Waste for Sale

Cutting, folding, punching, and gluing paper and corrugated generates off cuts, dust, and scrap. When you walk through AllpakTrojan’s plant, the first thing you notice is how clean the operation is.

To capture all that valuable fiber, a huge suction system has been installed on the roof of the plant. Stationed at each piece of production equipment, a vent creates a vortex of air and pulls the waste into the collection system, where it ultimately ends up in a giant baler. Filtered air is then pumped back into the building, reducing emissions and energy costs. By separating the waste into several recycling streams, AllpakTrojan is able to sell fiber to processors at a higher price.

Long ago, the company switched from petroleum-based inks to water-based Flexo inks and vegetable-based UV and UV hybrid inks, which has virtually eliminated volatile organic compound (VOC) discharge. The company recently invested in technology to separate all the water from waste inks while turning the solid pigment into dried cakes that can be easily disposed of.

In huge collection barrels, a chemical flocculent is added that causes the solids to coagulate and the pigments are filtered from the water. Once filtered, the clean water then goes into the local water treatment system.

Brown is the New Green

Most people think of corrugated packaging as brown paper boxes, but AllpakTrojan goes beyond brown to green. Environmental initiatives extend from recycling paper waste and inks, to Lean Manufacturing, ISO 14001 certification and wind power credits.

“Part of what we do is help our customers and employees understand why it’s important that we be a sustainable company,” said Wayne Millage, President and General Manager of AllpakTrojan. “We have an environmental responsibility and a responsibility to help our customers make the right choices.”

Today, AllpakTrojan employees think about the environment every day. Nearly one-third take part in the company transportation program that encourages car-pooling, public transportation, and bicycle commuting. The staff eats in break rooms where all waste is recycled. Teams through out the company look for new ways to become more efficient, to do the right thing for the environment, and to invent new solutions that benefit customers.

The Future?

Digital printing is just beginning to make inroads in package printing. You will find proofs, prototypes and extremely limited runs coming out of the company’s design group, however Millage doesn’t consider digital “ready for prime time” as a high-volume production solution.

As press manufacturers perfect high-speed inkjet technology and the presses become fast enough, companies like AllpakTrojan will be looking to add the technology. While short runs are a major benefit, the minimal set up and elimination of plates make digital printing a sustainable choice as well.

Millage is watching the technology carefully and AllpakTrojan will adopt digital production as soon as it is up to speed.

Stay tuned!

Note:
AllpakTrojan is the winner of the WhatTheyThink Environmental Innovation Award for “Beyond Environmental Sustainability.”