Automotive/industrial packaging solution results in prevention of dunnage, improved load density and improved return ratio and zero part damage
Ultratainer Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of returnable packaging such as collapsible and rigid wire mesh containers with a service center in Querétaro, Mexico. It was commissioned by an automotive company to devise a new way to package torsion, stabilizer, roll or sway bars. The company was experiencing high costs of expendable packaging and high manpower time to package their torsion bar.
Previously, all the different models of torsion bars were individually wrapped and randomly put into multiple cardboard boxes before being strapped on a wood skid before being shipped to different subcontractors located 14 hours away. Even with careful care and extra time allowances, damage occurred. It was a bitter experience.
The Ultratainer solution offered:
- Dedicated and integrated dunnage for each torsion bar model.
- A uniform footprint for all the containers across the fleet.
- 5 to 1 return ratio (with dunnage inside)
- 200x increase in density
- Zero damage on A-class part
- 50% decrease in manual material handling
Lowering the overall handling is a huge benefit. Also, value is added since the parts are only manipulated once and are protected at the same time. And since the dunnage stays inside the container even when the container is knocked down, the process is simplified, and the sorting or loss of internal dunnage is a thing of the past.
The use of stackable Ultratainers created much-needed space in transportation, storage, and line side while boosting the bottom line.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
