Corrugated of Course

This blog article will have a particularly citrusy flavour as it concerns the increasingly popular persimmons (also known as Kaki) and clementines.  Although these fruits are traditionally seen late in the year (Christmas), we couldn’t resist sharing this packaging story filled with vitamin C.

The persimmon market has been steadily growing over the last few years, particularly in Spain where it is reaching an annual production of 50,000 MT.  Likewise, the production of clementines is also strengthening.  Continuing on the Spanish developments mentioned in “You say Zucchini, I say Courgette”, Spanish sellers have also been looking for packaging alternatives to wooden crates which have traditionally been used to transport citrus fruits.

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Inspiration is a state of mind. You don’t need to travel to the other side of the world to see things differently, there are opportunities for inspiration all around us, all the time. Take Bin Xu for example; while he was studying to be an architect he was also working in a supermarket, opening and disposing of thousands of boxes as he refilled the supermarket shelves. While opening yet another box, the Chinese student was caught by the strong character of corrugated board, “It is low cost and you can find it everywhere”.

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IKEA’s move to use paper pallets to deliver goods to their retail outlets has been widely reported, but just in case you missed it, here it is again.  Pop quiz: Can you remember how many trucks were taken off the road due to this change?  If your answer is below 5digits, you have to read this.

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Last February 2011, an earthquake hit New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch, reaching 6.3 on the Richter scale and devastating many of city’s buildings.

One of the many structures to be critically damaged was Christchurch’s 131-year-old Anglican cathedral which stood proudly on the city’s central square.  Unfortunately, any chance of rebuilding this historic monument was crushed by a series of strong aftershocks and it will have to be demolished.

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If Caine’s arcade means nothing to you then you really have to see the movie below.  It is about a 9 year old boy in East LA who built a variety of games entirely from cardboard boxes and his struggle to get customers, until…

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Hermes Fulfilment, a warehouse operator for many companies is switching from plastic containers to corrugated storage boxes.  This comes after routine testing of their processes revealed that the move to corrugated would enable them to optimize their use of space, reduce costs and become more sustainable.

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Advertising is all around us.  Every day, on our way to work, we see billboards, posters, bus stop adverts, adverts on the side of the bus, adverts on lamp posts and even on building facades.

However, we have become so accustomed to them that we hardly notice them anymore.  They have just become part of the daily background.  (Unless you are waiting in traffic or for your bus and find their witty statements a welcome distraction.)

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Readers may want to postpone reading this until lunch as it will conjure up images of the Mediterranean and delicious grilled vegetables.  The subject concerns Spanish vegetables and how they travel from sun-bathed fields to your local restaurant or dinner table.

Traditionally, farmers in Spain have sold their peppers, tomatoes and zucchinis at auction using 10kg plastic crates.  After the sale, the vegetables are frequently repackaged into generic unbranded 5kg plastic boxes ready for shipment to the point of sale.  This transfer increases damages to the produce, increases costs, and delays the transition from farm to fork. 

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We welcome the European Commission’s (EC) communication on “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: a Bioeconomy for Europe”, aiming to shift the European economy towards greater and more sustainable use of renewable resources.

The strategy recognises packaging’s significant role in ensuring food safety, enhancing shelf-life, preserving taste, protecting goods, providing information to consumers and providing convenient portion sizes.

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Juan Marin, chairman of Pro-export, the Murcia fruit and vegetable growers-exporters’ association in Spain, has stated that the costs to growers of using plastic crates are significantly higher than those of using corrugated packaging.

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