For many companies, 2020 has been a tough year, primarily due to the struggles that come along with COVID. After weeks or months of unexpected downtime, many companies are unsure about stocking up on supplies or upgrading machinery for their packaging lines. The uncertainty that has come with the phased re-opening of the economy and a blurry future in this new environment can cause a natural hesitation to spending. You have to be hyper-aware of spending when looking out for your company's best interest. You probably feel pressure to purchase just enough to keep running without making any significant investments. And while airing on the side of caution is a good idea in this current climate, the truth is, there is no better time to buy packaging machinery and material than now. Waiting may very well end up costing you a lot of time and money. After decades in the packaging industry and a keen eye to the mechanics of the global supply chain, Industrial Packaging can honestly say that now is the time to purchase your packaging machinery and materials. From our vantage point, we can clearly see the obstacles ahead. We are here to help you avoid stalling on buying decisions that could cost you a lot of time and money and result in serious frustration and headaches down the road. In this article, we will explain the top 4 reasons to buy your packaging materials and make your packaging machinery upgrades or purchases now, before you run into costly issues with the availability of these items.

So, you need to package your food items and you are considering freezing your products. You are aware of the fact that there are multiple types of frozen food packaging, but, you recently heard about IQF or "individually quick frozen" packaging. You want to know what it is, how it works and if it is right for your food packaging applications. Well, fortunately for you, Industrial Packaging has been working with frozen food packaging applications for many years, and, we have all the information about IQF you would possibly want! In the wide world of food packaging, there are many options for preserving foods for extended periods. Everything from traditional and age-old processes such as canning, jarring, and pickling, to salting fish and meats. The preservation of food for storage over extended periods is a classic example of human ingenuity. In the modern world, freezing is perhaps the most popular way to preserve food. When it comes to veggies, not only does freezing preserve the nutritional value of the food, but the flavor is often enhanced by the process (IE: peas and sweet corn). Frozen food gives consumers the ability to keep their chosen goodies for very long periods. When we talk about the cutting edge of technology in frozen food applications, there is perhaps no other greater version of the process than IQF. For those of you who do not know the definition of IQF or "individually quick frozen" here is the meaning to bring you up to speed. IQF is a food freezing tactic that prevents big ice crystals from forming inside of vegetable cells. With IQF, it should be noted that every single piece of produce (literally every pea, corn kernel, etc) is individually frozen to perfection. With IQF, there are no food particles. The result is a final product that is not frozen solid into a brick of ice. Now, there are many different ways to freeze vegetables. Some of these include but are not limited to plate freezing, blast cooling, tunnel freezing, fluid-bed freezing, cryogenics, and dehydro-freezing. As for which method is right for you, well, that depends on the quality you want from your freezing method, depending on factors such as financial limitations and storage dynamics, IQF may or may not be a good choice for your products. This article will take a look at the applications and uses for IQF and help you to decide if it is, in fact, the right form of food freezing for your food packaging needs.

Shipping protection is perhaps one of the most essential variables to consider when fulfilling orders for your customers. Just think how you feel when you order something, and the packaging is damaged. As the internet has made our world a digitally connected global village, you can now have customers anywhere on earth (and pretty soon, perhaps Mars as well). Packages that travel long distances often have journeys that are fraught with problems. Anything from mishandling at warehouses, being dropped on accident by delivery drivers, or moving through geographical areas with extreme heat. The list of potential items that can cause damage to your package can seem nearly endless. So, when it comes to ensuring an excellent unboxing experience for your clients, you need to make sure that their packages arrive in as close to mint condition as possible as it is imperative to building brand loyalty and repeat business. To achieve the proper protections against shipping damages, you need to make sure your packaging process aligns with the best standards. First, getting on board with Amazon's guidelines for SIOC and user-friendly packaging is a good start. Next, use protective packaging materials such as air pillows, cardboard, packaging peanuts, and a whole galaxy of other potential protective packaging material options. Now you are probably thinking, "man, this is more complicated than I was hoping". That may be true, but it's critical to the success of your business. While the global village is making packaging protection during shipping more complicated, Industrial Packaging has decades of experience in this sector. We are here to help you navigate these issues. In this article, you'll gain a better understanding of all of the elements that go into preparing your packages with the appropriate protective packaging materials and protocols. This will help your customers be happy with the condition of their packages, which leads to repeat business.

My guess is that you probably run some type of food packaging business. You have diligently been doing research on the various types of packaging that is appropriate for your food to be packaged in. Regardless of what you're packaging, clearly, you're here because you are either considering flexible pouches or paperboard boxes. OR, maybe you're trying to choose between the two. Industrial Packaging has been selling packaging supplies for decades. We have sold both boxes and pouches for the applications for which they are appropriate. You know that you can package your food products in either container. Both would be a viable option that would appropriately contain your items. But, you are hoping to dig deeper down and find out the subtle differences that make one or the other the BEST choice for your specific needs. Well, luckily for you, in this article, we are going to explain the differences as well as the pros and cons of each of these containers and help you to make the right choice for your packaging line!

So you have come here because you have decided to buy a stretch wrapper. You are not sure if you should buy a pneumatic model or an electric model. You do not want to buy any additional components that you do not need, so you are researching these two options to make the right choice. Industrial Packaging has been selling stretch wrappers for many years. We can educate you on which type of stretch wrapper makes the most sense for your business. In this article, we are going to compare pneumatic stretch wrappers to electric stretch wrappers and help you to choose the machine that is right for your business.

When you think about downtime, I bet a few things come to mind. Lost productivity, your workforce standing around, scrap packaging materials or finished goods, and missing deadlines you have agreed to meet. And while all those are true, there are a few more negative side-effects that carry as much, if not more, weight when it comes to downtime. One of our top priorities is making sure our customers can avoid unexpected downtime on their packaging lines. At Industrial Packaging, we "eat our own dog food" and maintain regularly scheduled maintenance on our packaging machinery. By doing so, we can maintain the supply line for our customers, and we help them do the same in their facilities. We know what it takes to succeed, and we know how to combat unwanted downtime. In the article below, we will explore the real cost of downtime and explain how to prevent it.