Basic HTML Version
The partnership with B+ highlights
Sealed Air’s ambition to improve and
enhance the technology element of
the business. “We are looking for
that disruptive differential technology
and we believe that B+ equipment
represents this, it is a perfect example
of a disruptive technology,” claims Ken
Chrisman, President of Product Care.
From day one, Sealed Air has been
out to help its customer’s package
more efficiently, reduce damage and
help limit waste and its carbon foot
print. Not as easy as one would think,
but this drive supports the company’s
strategy “to become a market shaper
not just a market leaders, influencing
cost competitiveness, sustainability and
performance,” highlighted by Jerome
Peribere, CEO.
The company’s focus on markets is
transforming the way Sealed Air thinks
about its business, the way it thinks
about how they organise solutions and
the way they go about how to innovate
investments going forward.
Following on from the company’s
focus on markets and customer base,
Chrisman highlighted the selling aspect
to Sealed Air and what this allows
them to offer new customers. “We may
invoice materials but that’s not what
we sell, we sell four distinct attributes
of the solutions we develop which are
damage reduction, cube optimisation,
fulfilment velocity, and customer
experience.”
Seal and Deliver
Can packaging revolutionise e-fulfilment, and e-commerce? It’s certainly a question which
remains a hot topic of discussion as customer demands and market sustainability remain key to
manufacturers. With Sealed Air and B+ equipment joining forces, it provided
Alex Cottard
with the
opportunity to see how this new partnership was planning to innovate the packaging world.
“Sealed Air has made over the years a
tremendous investment in packaging
design; we have 29 packaging
application centres across the globe,
with over 85 packaging engineers
manning these application centres.”
This investment into their packaging
application centres over the past 18
months happens to add up to more
than had been previously invested over
the past 20 years cumulative.
But with investment comes the
expectation of results, chiefly, in
innovating products. Sealed Air
recognises that in order to be
innovative, it isn’t solely about the
products; it is about how they are
applied and how they are designed.
3 products were on show during
the visit, highlighting the innovative
thinking behind closed doors within
Sealed Air. The I-Pack is the 100%
corrugated automated packaging
solution, which is able to measure the
height of the products within the box
and reduce the box size accordingly.
Folding and gluing increases the box
strength then a lid is automatically
sealed on the box.
This solution is ideal for e-commerce,
order selling and 3rd party logistics.
The e-Cube solution is a void reduction
packaging machine, ideal for order
fulfilment and e-commerce. This
innovation measures the height of the
contents within the box before folding
and gluing the upper flaps.
Lastly, the Korrvu LoK
solution was put through
its paces. This machine
creates an attractive, 100%
recyclable package that
showcases the item you
have purchased while
providing superior protection
against damage and theft.
This is achieved through
compression packaging,
using a single Korrvu insert
to effectively pack.
But these packaging solutions are
not all the innovations that Sealed
Air has to offer. Chrisman was proud
to announce the ability to use 3D
scanning, “We are able take the
form of an item and design a specific
solution to address the packaging
requirements for that item.” But the
element that is truly impressive is the
simulation testing.
“We are in the process right now
of being able to virtually drop test
products, giving us the benefit of
guaranteeing the outcome. That then
allows us to go to our customers and
say that we have an idea of how well
the product will hold up, and therefore
permits us to guarantee that this
package will arrive undamaged.”
Naturally, as the customer, we are not
overly concerned with the solution;
it is the outcome drives us to crave
reassurance. Sealed Air believes they
have the technology that allows them
to do this in a way that is scalable
and cost effective. For Chrisman,
“there is nothing more sustainable
that ensuring that an item arrives
undamaged.”
64
Logistics Business Magazine | November 2015
PACKAGING AUTOMATION