Innovative Material Selection in Reusable Packaging with Mike Ludka, ORBIS Corporation

Innovation by design: Creative material selection in reusable packaging drives favorable ROIs.

In this installment of “Insights from Experts,” Mike Ludka, MBA, Senior Product Manager at ORBIS Corporation, shares practical insights into the role of materials in the design and longevity of reusable packaging. The conversation spans a range of packaging forms and material choices, from moldable plastics to carbon steel, and touches on how supply, sustainability, and end-use application drive decisions. 

Ludka emphasizes a pragmatic approach to selecting readily available materials like polyethylene and polypropylene to ensure performance, recyclability, and cost-efficiency. He also addresses the limits of additives, challenges with recycled materials, and how evolving automation systems and transport trends are shaping today’s material handling requirements.

Material Selection in Reusable Packaging

According to Ludka, selecting the right material for reusable packaging involves balancing several sometimes competing priorities: cost, durability, availability, recyclability, and suitability for the intended application. 

“The reality is, there is still a capital investment for customers using reusable packaging,” Ludka said. “So, the materials we choose must help support a return on that investment.”

ORBIS focuses primarily on moldable plastics and carbon steel for pallets, bulk containers, totes, racks, and dollies. While other materials such as composites or even paper sometimes make appearances in niche applications, Ludka was clear: “If we’re talking about reusable packaging, I recommend we exclude paper from that definition. Paper might be reused a few times, but it degrades quickly. Reusable means a long life—failure comes from catastrophic damage or loss, not wear.”

The dominant materials used in ORBIS’ reusable packaging systems are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and carbon steel. These materials are widely available, cost-effective, and recyclable. 

“That combination is essential,” Ludka noted. “We want to be able to count on material supply even during environmental disruptions that can cause resin shortages.”

Why Commodity Plastics Still Win

Although there are hundreds of specialized materials on the market, Ludka says the reusable packaging industry largely sticks to a few commodity options—for good reason. 

“Polyethylene and polypropylene hit that trifecta,” he said. “They’re economical, perform well, and are recyclable.” 

The two materials have slightly different performance profiles. PE is more impact-resistant at very low temperatures, making it ideal for refrigerated or frozen environments. PP, on the other hand, offers a quieter interface with conveyor systems—an important feature in automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) where lower decibel levels help reduce fatigue and protect worker hearing. 

“Polypropylene has lower decibel output on roller conveyors,” Ludka said. “That makes a big difference in warehouse environments where noise levels impact worker productivity and hearing safety.”

While the mechanical properties of PP and PE can be similar, Ludka emphasized that their performance also depends on grade and melt flow. ORBIS utilizes resins within a consistent specification range to streamline manufacturing and maintain product performance consistency.

Instead of Engineered Additives: Design for Strength

Additives and engineered plastics are used when the application requires, but Ludka cautioned against relying on them. 

“We try to minimize additives where possible,” he explained. “They can act as contaminates to molding process and end of life recycling. Additives may enhance performance in one measure, but at the cost of another. 

Instead of relying on engineered additives to enhance performance, ORBIS often turns to design and processing strategies such as two-piece welded construction or, in some cases, alternative molding methods like low-pressure or structural foam molding. These techniques allow them to stick with commodity plastics while achieving the necessary strength and durability—avoiding the cost and recyclability challenges that come with specialized resins or fillers.

When and Why Recycled Material Is Used

ORBIS is a leading user of recycled content in the reusable packaging industry, in North America. 

“The first question we always ask with any new product is, ‘Can we use recycled material?'” Ludka said. 

The answer often depends on the product’s expected use and visual color requirements. If it will be subjected to rough handling or low temperatures, the impact resistance of recycled plastics may be a liability. While multiple colors are possible, utilizing recycled material results in primarily black and grey colors.

There are exceptions. FDA regulations prohibit recycled material in applications involving direct food contact. And for high-impact environments, virgin plastic is often needed to maintain durability. 

“Recycled content can affect performance,” Ludka explained. “It becomes more brittle over time, and impact resistance drops. At ORBIS, we rigorously test material to ensure its quality. We thoughtfully blend materials to ensure consistent performance over the life of that packaging product.”

Still, the benefits are compelling. “If the application can handle it, recycled content reduces both cost and environmental impact—two major drivers for converting from expendable to reusable systems.”

Material Decisions in the Real World

Material decisions don’t happen in a vacuum. Ludka emphasized that decisions are driven by real-world use. “We start by asking about the application loop,” he said. “How often will the container or pallet be handled? Is the customer using their own fleet or third-party carriers?”

That last point is critical. Third-party carriers often treat packaging more roughly than in-house fleets. “You can train your own drivers to handle assets properly,” Ludka said. “You can’t train people you don’t know. That makes a difference in how durable your packaging needs to be.”

Material choice also feeds into product design. For demanding applications, ORBIS often designs structural without introducing new, less recyclable materials. Ludka shared: “Rather than go to an engineered composite that might be hard to source or recycle, we ask: Can we change the manufacturing process or design to make polyethylene or polypropylene work?”

That flexibility also applies to market geography. North America’s abundant natural gas supply makes polyethylene more available, while polypropylene is more common in Europe and Asia due to their oil-based feedstocks.

From evolving automation systems to increasing customer demand for recycled content, Ludka sees material selection as central to the future of reusable packaging. “We always come back to:

“Can we develop an excellent product solution with foundational materials? If not, is there an alternative design or manufacturing principal change before adding something exotic.” It’s an approach grounded in operational reality, shaped by decades of engineering and customer feedback. For Ludka and the team at ORBIS, material selection isn’t just a design decision—it’s a strategy for sustainable, scalable, and economic growth in the reusable packaging industry.

See the full overview of ORBIS Corporation’s reusable packaging systems.

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Rick LeBlanc

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.