20 years of strenght: large carriers that last

Since 2003, an electronics manufacturer has been relying

on reusable packaging from ORBIS Europe, a field report.

In the fast-paced logistics industry, two decades are half an eternity. This makes it all the more remarkable when transport packaging remains in use over this period without losing any of its functionality. This is precisely what a use case for our transport packaging demonstrates: a global customer has been using our reusable plastic packaging since 2003, showing how economic efficiency and sustainability can be combined. Since then, the robust containers have survived thousands of cycles, withstood the stresses of production and logistics, and at the same time helped to reduce CO2 emissions and costs.

The requirement: robust and durable transport packaging

In electronics logistics, the demands placed on load carriers are high: the components to be transported are often sensitive and need protection from moisture and vibration. In addition, they are transported over long distances, not only within Europe but also on overseas routes. Despite the low weight of the components, the packaging must therefore be very stable in order to protect the products reliably and at the same time be easy to handle.

Another important criterion is sustainability. The customer was already using plastic packaging because it generates less waste than disposable alternatives and incurs lower costs for disposal and the purchase of new products. However, due to the long transport distances, a more stable solution was required. With this requirement in mind, the user decided to rely on load carriers from ORBIS Europe.

The solution: recyclable reusable load carriers from ORBIS Europe

The company primarily manufactures electrical components, which it supplies directly to OEMs. To transport its products in the low to medium duty range with a maximum weight of 400 kg, the user opted for the ORBIS HDB BulkPak family. These large load carriers are particularly robust and durable thanks to the special low-pressure injection molding manufacturing process. The load carriers can be folded up for return transport, generating a corresponding logistical benefit. This reduces the space required for transport on the one hand and allows the previous transport boxes to continue to be used until the end of their service life on the other.

The ORBIS OceanPak® is used for overseas transport. Unlike in European transport, the customer used disposable packaging here. The external dimensions of 1190 x 1135 x 840 mm ensure optimal use of space in overseas containers. Thanks to its stackability, up to 60 containers fit into a 40-foot container. When folded, up to 160 OceanPak containers can be transported – the optimized utilization reduces costs and CO2 emissions compared to the disposable packaging previously used.

*Photo of the old ORBIS container, sent in by a customer

“An absolute success story! We are proud that our customer has been using the BulkPak family for so long. This allows us to live up to our claim of producing durable and innovative packaging solutions for a sustainable future.”

Christian Crüsemann, Sales Manager EMEA and responsible account manager

The result: an innovative packaging solution that pays off

Users benefit from both ecological and economic advantages – even beyond the product’s service life: Used reusable transport packaging is 100 percent recyclable. ORBIS Europe buys back the containers at the current raw material price and recycles the plastic for the production of new packaging. This creates a virtually closed raw material cycle that conserves primary raw materials and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. By using up to 90 percent recycled material, ORBIS Europe already saves 60 to 70 kilograms of CO2 per container in production.

Today, the customer’s fleet comprises around 35,000 HDB containers and 15,000 OceanPak® containers. Since their introduction, the number of repairs and replacements has fallen significantly. This is because HDB large load carriers can be repaired quickly on site in just a few simple steps if necessary. They are also easy to clean and weather-resistant. This results in less damage to both containers and products.

What began as an optimization project more than twenty years ago is now a success story for sustainability and economic efficiency in practice – cycle after cycle.

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*Photo of the old ORBIS container, sent in by a customer

Kontakt

    +49 2233 619 2072

   europe@orbiscorporation.com