Since we introduced the TruMotion testing equipment at the Packaging Solution Center, we’ve had customers from a wide range of industries come in to test with us, many with different reasons for why they needed testing.
CURRENT PACKAGING FAILS
Some customers are having issues with the current state of their packaging. They want to resolve those issues and fix the problems they’re facing, whether that’s load damage, rejection of loads due to leaning, safety issues, or brand perception issues.
Without the level of data collection and lab testing available before we brought TruMotion Load Containment Testing to Charlotte, these customers weren’t able to successfully zero in on the root cause of their issues and have been dealing with load damage and failure simply as a course of doing business.
After working with the team at Atlantic and employing the unit load testing available with the TruMotion Multi-Axis Transportation Simulator and the Braking & Impact Test Sled, customers were able to pinpoint the cause of the issues they’d been having, fix the problems by coming up with proper stretch wrap application, and eliminate future load damage and failure.
Problems they thought were inevitable turned out to be preventable. Our ability to correct current packaging fails is one of the primary reasons that customers come to see us at the Packaging Solution Center.
CHANGES IN PACKAGING
We also have some customers use TruMotion testing because they are making a change to their product and are predicting that they’ll need to adjust or change their packaging to properly protect their new unit loads.
They may be changing bottle size, transitioning to a pouch or carton, or maybe introducing a new product altogether. These customers are trying to get ahead of the game and do the transit testing before they put product into the marketplace.
We embrace the challenge of starting from scratch to find the right stretch wrap application that will work for these changes. There are a lot of factors to consider, including stack patterns, wrap patterns, type of film being used, and equipment settings. We can devise a new packaging strategy from start to finish right here in the Solution Center.
REDUCTIONS IN PACKAGING
Another reason our customers come to us for TruMotion Testing is to find out how they can achieve reduction in packaging while still maintaining unit load integrity. The product and the primary package may be staying the same, but there is a desire to reduce the cost of that total package as well as the packaging footprint. That can mean eliminating cornerboard, strapping, trays, or slip sheets.
The TruMotion testing equipment allows us to test the reduced packaging system in a controlled lab environment. With the results from initial trials and tests, we can then refine, and test again until we verify that the packaging will perform as needed.
Using this system, we’ve had success in reducing the amount of packaging while continuing to deliver unit loads intact and without damage.
Fit2Ship
The team of engineers and technicians we have here at Atlantic along with the TruMotion equipment and the tests that we have in place all help to validate the solutions proposed for each of the packaging scenarios we’ve described here.
If you find yourself with packaging that’s failing, a new product coming down the line, or a challenge to improve the sustainability impact at your company, contact us to schedule a visit to the Packaging Solution Center and see the TruMotion Testing equipment in action.