The Flexible Packaging Blog

Reviews, trends, and tips covering all things flexible packaging to protect your products and your bottom line.

Blog Feature

The Business of Packaging | Supply Chain Services/ Contract Packaging | Plant Performance | Fulfillment | Warehousing

By: Nathan Dube
June 16th, 2022

Are you a large company (500+ employees, $100,000,000 in annual revenue), a publicly-traded business, or a fortune 500 looking for a contract packaging company? If so, WE are YOUR copacker! If you are a large company, you have a lot to think about. If I had to guess, your number one priority is your brand(s). You want to stay focused on new product development, building your customer base, engaging your audience, and staying one step ahead of your competitors. You are focused on generating massive revenue, cutting costs, and improving all of your product lines. While you may or may not be doing your packaging in-house, one thing is clear. You are looking to either find a new copacker or outsource your packaging for the first time. And, you want to make sure that you choose the best copacker in the country. So, we are absolutely honored to have your presence on our website today. But, you are probably wondering, why should you trust Industrial Packaging to be your copacker? Outsourcing your internationally known brand is a big deal. You don't want to partner with just anyone. You have incredibly high standards, and you only want the best. And more important than that, you want to choose the safest copacker in the industry—someone you can trust to keep your people, products, and brands safe throughout the supply chain. Furthermore, you want a copacker that is already helping their large company clients to navigate current and future global supply chain disruptions. Well, you have come to the right place. This article will explain why other large companies trust Industrial Packaging with their contract packaging needs. And, we will explain why you can trust us as well!

Blog Feature

Plant Performance

By: Nathan Dube
June 14th, 2022

Are you interested in leveraging RFID for warehousing? You're not alone! In today's ever-changing, fast-paced modern world, companies everywhere are looking for ways to improve performance. They want their warehouse to run better, faster, leaner, and more efficiently. Quality warehousing logistics could be the thing that sets you apart from your competitors. And while many businesses are trying to do this through process optimization that largely rests upon changes to human behavior, others are turning to RFID technology. RFID technology can transform a warehouse into a smooth-running machine that speeds up processes while generating more revenue faster when appropriately implemented. But what exactly does that look like? How can leveraging RFID technology in your warehouse help you to run a tighter ship? And more importantly, is RFID technology suitable for your warehouse? Today, we will review what RFID warehousing entails and help you understand what it's all about.

Blog Feature

Equipment | Packaging Materials | Plant Performance | Investment | Packaging Design | Food Packaging | Warehousing

By: Nathan Dube
May 3rd, 2022

You are beyond excited as you take your last sip of coffee, gently placing the cup on your desk. You have packaging materials and machinery on your mind. And you are ready. Before you, a flat-screen LCD monitor glows, projecting that beautiful blue light upon your face. You can feel the caffeine coursing through your veins. You type away at the keyboard; the excitement rises with each click and clack of the keys beneath your fingers. You hit enter. Now, you stare at the home page of your chosen packaging materials and machinery vendor. You have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Today is the day, you think to yourself! You are finally ready to purchase packaging materials or machinery, and you are about to hit that buy button. You hear a gentle whisper as if a voice was calling to you from another realm. And suddenly, you freeze. Your finger hovers over the enter button. Wait, says the voice. Wait? You think to yourself. No, I want to do this; I am ready to buy, you exclaim to no one in particular! Again, you attempt to hit the buy button. And again, your finger stops as it just barely scratches the surface of the enter button on your keyboard. Wait, says the voice, now louder, as if from a person standing in the room with you. Whom could that be, you ask yourself silently? As you read these words here today, we answer you. It is us, Industrial Packaging! You are probably wondering why it seems as if we do not want you to buy packaging machinery and materials. We do. We genuinely do; however, you may not be ready yet. It would help if you answered several essential questions first, and we are here to go over those questions with you. Once you have taken care of the items in this article, you will be ready to make a packaging purchase.

Blog Feature

Equipment | Plant Performance

By: Nathan Dube
October 28th, 2021

As a company running an in-house packaging line, you’ve got to admit that it has been a complicated couple of years. Between months of unexpected downtime due to the COVID pandemic, the labor shortage of 2021, the ever given container ship debacle, and now the great resignation, running an in-house packaging line has been anything but easy. It seems that your supply chain has been taking hit after hit, month after month, for some time now. As we head closer to 2022, you want to make sure that you make the best choices for your in-house packaging line as we dive deeper into this new world and the significant changes that have come with it. In many ways, business will never be the same again. But, for a company with an in-house packaging line, things are even harder to predict when choosing which actions should be taken to keep your production running. But what exactly does that look like? Should you hire more line workers? Or would it be better to partially automate your packaging line? With the ever-looming complexities of COVID variants and the possibility of other unexpected black swan events, perhaps it makes more sense to fully automate. But is automation right for your business? Truth be told, there are no simple answers to these questions. Each of the options mentioned above has its pros and cons. And those variables will undoubtedly change from one scenario to the next. How can you be sure that you are making the right choices for the safety of your employees, clients, and business partners? Navigating a semi-post-pandemic ecosystem may seem like an insurmountable challenge, but life and business must go on. While we can’t predict the future, we can look back on recent events and make educated guesses about the best course of action. With over six decades in the packaging industry, Industrial Packaging has traversed the stormy seas of change within this ecosystem to great success. And we can help your business to do the same. This article will review your options for running an in-house packaging line in 2022 and beyond. With the information in this article, you will be able to select the best options for the safety and success of your people, products, and brands.

Blog Feature

Equipment | Plant Performance | Investment

By: Nathan Dube
March 11th, 2021

If you are currently running a successful in-house packaging line, chances are you take some pride in this. You are running quality equipment and materials, have highly trained operators, and are diligently tracking your KPIs. You refuse to use contract packaging services and will never be outsourcing your packaging because you know you can produce better packaging solutions yourself. You are part of a company that is proud to package its product in-house. You have a flawless product line and you prefer to package your products on your own. You properly manage your own primary packaging, general packaging, filling machines, packaging machines, and various other types of packaging equipment and processes. You have a long-term plan to package-specific products at a level of quality your competitors cannot match. Maybe you've even implemented a regular preventative maintenance program and rarely experience any extended periods of downtime. You are keeping track of your monthly goals, consistently collecting data, and have detailed reports to keep track of your performance. Your boss and your boss's boss are happy with the progress you are continually making and tell you to keep up the excellent work! First of all, if this describes you, I would like to congratulate you on your diligence, focus, hard work, and dedication to ensuring that your line runs safely, efficiently, and at a high level of production. Next, I would like to make a suggestion. Bring in a packaging expert to analyze your packaging line to see where improvements can be made. WHAT!? I can practically hear you yell at your computer screen. Why on earth would I suggest such a thing to you? I mean, after all, you run a tight ship! No one in your industry has a superior line to you. This article will show you several benefits that an analysis of your in-house packaging line could have to help you run a better, faster, and less costly production.

Blog Feature

Equipment | Plant Performance | Investment

By: Nathan Dube
February 18th, 2021

If you buy shrink packaging machinery or upgrade older equipment, your mind probably goes to one of two places. Shrink tunnels or sealers. Those are the two pieces of shrink packaging machinery that come to mind for most buyers. This is a common starting point when beginning the buying process for shrink packaging machinery. But, there is another important element to consider, conveyors. As for which type of conveyor is right for your packaging line, well, that all depends on various factors, the size, weight, and shape of your products will all play a part in determining this. The Industrial Packaging crew has been working with shrink packaging machinery for generations. Along the way, we have learned a lot about shrink machinery. And conveyors are no exception to the rule. This article will explore the different types of conveyors currently available. We will discuss the applications for this type of packaging equipment.