June 2024
Many of us are understandably concerned about the environment. We all see images of rubbish polluting waterways and ending up in oceans, even entering food chains. It’s nasty. This is a good news story about an initiative at FPG which aimed to eliminate plastic from our packaging.
Before
Before the initiative, cabinets and spare parts were wrapped in bubble wrap and taped with plastic packing tape. They were pack into custom wood crates, using polystyrene packers to provide cushioning, and fitted with plastic pallet feet.
The Initiative
In conjunction with Double ECO, a leading designer and manufacturer of cardboard pallets based in Wellington, New Zealand, we developed a three part double laminate cardboard boxing system including strong back and pallet bearers to protect cabinets in transit.
The Benefits
So what outcomes were achieved?
- The cardboard system now covers over 90% of the cabinets we make. Only large cabinets are packaged in custom wood crates. On average, 1500 sheets of 12mm custom wood have been removed from the process. The cardboard system is also more efficient. One person can handle most of the packaging requirements at FPG instead of multiple staff who are needed to make the custom wood crates.
- Double ECO can manufacture short runs of cardboard packaging on demand. This means FPG doesn’t need to store large stocks of packaging materials.
- Polystyrene has been completely removed, replaced with shredded cardboard and cardboard packers.
- Paper packing tape has replaced plastic packaging tape.
- The 7,000 metres of bubble wrap which we used annually has been replaced with kraft paper and shredded cardboard.
- The 9000 plastic pallet feet which we used annually have been completely replaced by cardboard bearers.
- The 54,000 metres of plastic packaging tape which we used annually has been completely replaced by paper packaging tape.
- The cardboard crate weighs half the weight of a custom wood crate - a big bonus when air freighting.
- Crates can be unpacked on site with just a sharp knife – no special tools are needed.
- Before, the installers would have arranged delivery of a skip bin to site to remove all the plastic and board. Now, all packaging can go into the site’s recycle bin.
The best result
Jared Vaugan, Group General Manager sums it up. “There have been so many wins from this change. For me, the best outcome has been the amount of eliminated plastic and landfill waste. Every bit we can do helps."
