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Sealed Air Solves Robert Rothschild Farm´s Packaging Jam
SpeedyPacker® Foam-in-Bag System Protects Glass Jars from Damage
From its modest beginnings in 1976, the credo of family owned Robert Rothschild Farm has been to make its customers feel special. Based in Urbana, Ohio, the company makes high-end gourmet-food products including jams, which are merchandized in hexagonal- and octagonal-shaped glass jars. According to Robert Rothschild Farm, the glass jars were difficult to protect from damage during the distribution cycle.
"We ship more than 125 products to 5 000 specialty food stores across the country so protecting the jars during distribution is essential to our business," Susan Neiswander, quality control manager of Robert Rothschild Farm, stated. "When we discovered a 13 percent damage rate, based upon at least one item damaged in the order using packaging peanuts, we started researching alternative packaging methods."
A sales representative for Sealed Air Corporation met with Neiswander and Jackie Barr, shipping and warehouse manager of Robert Rothschild Farm, to discuss Robert Rothschild Farm´s packaging needs. Because the gourmet foods are sold in breakable glass jars, the products need packaging that cushions, as well as prevents the jars from moving around within the container. Sealed Air recommended Instapak® foam-in-bag packaging that conforms to the shape of the products in a carton, providing both cushioning protection and void fill to prevent movement within the box.
The SpeedyPacker® foam-in-bag system was an ideal choice for Robert Rothschild Farm. The system dispenses a controlled amount of Instapak® foam into a sealed film bag where the foam expands to take the shape of a shipping carton´s contents ? in this case, the carton containing uniquely shaped jars of gourmet foods ? thereby creating a protective cushion. Within seconds, the foam sets and locks the products in place. The solid cushions prevent the products from shifting during the distribution cycle, greatly reducing the risk of damage.
Robert Rothschild Farm also added the Instapak® Pad Molding system to its packaging facility to help expedite the packaging process. The Pad Molding system consists of a floor-model SpeedyPacker® foam-in-bag packaging system combined with pad-forming conveyors. The pad molding process begins when the SpeedyPacker® system delivers a bag of expanding Instapak® foam into the pad-forming conveyors. While traveling between the top and bottom conveyor belts, the foam within the bag continues to rise and forms a size-consistent, flat pad with a preset thickness. The thickness of the flat pads can be easily adjusted from ? inch to 3 inches thick; Robert Rothschild Farm uses 1? inches thick pad sizes which are made in advance and stored for later use.
The pre-made Instapak® foam pads are placed in the bottom of the cartons before the orders are filled each morning. A smaller carton, containing the glass jars full of gourmet food products, is placed on top of the pre-made foam pad, lying inside a larger carton. The larger carton travels on the conveyor to the packaging station where the packaging operator uses the SpeedyPacker® system to produce expanding Instapak® foam cushions to secure the top of the box. Next the carton travels down the conveyor to the automatic case sealer to be sealed and is then picked up for distribution.
Prior to purchasing the new packaging system, Robert Rothschild Farm tested the packages at Sealed Air Corporation´s certified package testing facility to ensure the Instapak® foam would provide adequate protection. After the packages passed the ISTA1-A and other standard drop tests, Robert Rothschild Farm began distribution performance tests using cartons packaged with Instapak® foam and cartons packaged with peanuts. All of the cartons used for the tests weighed up to 70 pounds and contained eight to 12 jars. According to Neiswander, the distribution performance tests showed the damage rate with Instapak® foam-in-bag packaging was only 0.5 percent - compared to 13 percent with peanuts. When Robert Rothschild Farm added pre-made Instapak® cushions produced by the Pad Molder, the damage rate to the cartons was further reduced to 0.3 percent.
While testing, the company also determined that using Instapak® foam-in-bag packaging could reduce the carton sizes used. The Instapak® foam takes up less space than peanuts allowing smaller cartons to hold more jars. This reduced the number of cartons needed to fill orders.
In addition to reducing damage and carton sizes, the new package enables the packaging operators to process orders faster. The SpeedyPacker® system and Instapak® Pad Molding system helped reduce the packing time of an average carton to one minute. Productivity also improved because the operators no longer need to clean up messy peanuts from their work areas two to three times a day.
The easy-to-use systems eliminated the guessing with regards to how much packaging material to use, unlike what the operators experienced with peanuts. The preset size of the bottom Instapak® pad and easy-to-read charts posted in the packaging area, which explain the size of foam bags needed for each carton configuration, help operators complete packaging more efficiently.
"Before the SpeedyPacker® system, packaging operators would average 30 boxes per hour," Barr stated. "With the SpeedyPacker® system we are able to increase this amount to more than 60 boxes per hour, thereby increasing our overall efficiency. In turn, we can continue to fill orders faster and keep our customers happy by upholding our 24- to 48-hour shipment guarantee."
Not only do Robert Rothschild Farm´s customers receive their orders on time, they also receive them intact.
"Since we started using Instapak® foam-in-bag packaging, we no longer worry about our customers receiving broken jars of gourmet food products," Robin Coffey, marketing manager of Robert Rothschild Farm stated. "We are extremely pleased with Sealed Air´s packaging solutions because they protect our products, save us time and help Robert Rothschild Farm uphold its core value of customer satisfaction."
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