Top Packaging Trend to Watch in 2017 – Flexible Pouches

Flexible pouches aren’t new – they have been used for products such as beef jerky and dog food for decades. However, design and material advancements have led to an evolution of the product in recent years, creating a packaging option with a variety of uses, that can be molded and printed to meet marketing needs. Flexible plastic pouches have a number of inherent advantages over other packaging methods, such as:

·         Durability: Plastic flexible pouches don’t crack when frozen, don’t break when dropped, and can be twisted, bent, and contorted – and will still be a viable container. These also help them to be more resistant to contamination, and the inclusion of UV-resistant factors can prevent deterioration by light exposure.

·         Reusability: With easy-to-seal tops that help maintain freshness, the pouches can be refilled and reused as needed. It is an added value to the customer, and reduces landfill waste at the same time.

·         Efficiency: Flexible plastic packaging requires limited resources to make the packaging. As highlighted in this article, a pound of peanuts requires ten times more material when contained in glass versus a flexible plastic pouch.

·         Environmental Responsibility: Flexible plastic pouches require less energy to create – and because of their flexibility and light weight structure, Fres-co estimates that flexible pouches create 50% less volume in landfills, while requiring 88% less fossil fuel to produce.

·         Easy and Cheap to Ship: One truckload of flexible packaging can hold enough packages to contain what you would need 26 truckloads of glass packaging – which is 25 less truckloads, and 25 less tanks of fuel, needed to ship. When full, more flexible pouches can be fit into a truck’s weight limit, again reducing the numbers of truckloads needed and again saving fuel.

Easier to ship, safer to use, environmentally- and budget-friendly, the flexible plastic pouch looks to be the responsible packaging choice into the future. Here at Stamar, we like to stay on the cutting edge of the latest packaging technology, and we are interested to see how flexible plastic pouches evolve over the next few years. Contact us to see what we can do for your packaging needs to see what trends we can work into your packaging solution!

The Showcase of Packaging Innovations at PACK EXPO to Feature Award-Winning Packaging Designs

ACK EXPO International (Nov. 6–9, 2016; McCormick Place, Chicago), according to PACK EXPO producer, PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies. The showcase will display the latest innovations and award-winning designs in packaging.

“Packaging has evolved over the years into vessels that not only protect the products inside but enhance them,” says Chuck Yuska, president and CEO, PMMI, “The Showcase of Packaging Innovations at PACK EXPO International spotlights the innovations and inspires future breakthroughs in design and technology.”

The packages featured in the showcase are winning entries from competitions all around the world.

“We are proud to have been involved with the Showcase of Packaging Innovations since its inception at PACK EXPO 13 years ago,” says Karen S. Carter, commercial vice president for Dow’s North America Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. “The cutting-edge packaging designs presented in the Showcase over the years have made a major contribution to moving the industry forward, and we are eager to continue that legacy at the show.”

National Safety Council Says Forklift-Related Safety Hazards Are Among The Most Common Workplace Safety Hazards

The importance of safety at work is always on our minds here at Stamar Packaging. But, with June being National Safety Month, it’s a good time to reinforce safety practices and to ensure that all of our employees understand the hazards of operating and working around forklifts, since forklifts are in operation in our warehouses every day. For us, and for everyone, every month of the year is always a good time to review safety practices in order to avoid workplace injuries.

The National Safety Council’s Safety+Health magazine says forklift-related safety hazards are among the most common workplace safety hazards, and that the leading cause of forklift-related hazards in the workplace is “when workers feel compelled to work quickly.” The recent Safety+Health article quotes a workplace safety consultant as saying, “What dictates their [employees] activity is production. They’re all under pressure, and when you’re under pressure, they start taking shortcuts.” These shortcuts often result in injury. The report adds, “Shortcuts include driving with too large of a load or driving distracted. The end result may be hitting a rack, damaging a wall or product or even injuring a co-worker.”

Adding to the safety issues related to forklifts is a “lack of maintenance and daily checks of trucks, and failing to segregate vehicles from pedestrians.” The safety consultants recommend that wherever and whenever forklifts are in operation, operators should be properly training and the trucks should be regularly inspected to ensure they’re in proper working order. Employers also should create designated walkways for pedestrians.

A warehouse environment also creates other safety hazards. Employees need to stay alert and avoid distractions, especially when they’re around or operating machinery. Machines with moving parts represent another common workplace hazard. Warning labels on machinery need to be read, and directions should be followed. And, of course, employees operating machinery must be properly trained. Material handling issues also pop up in warehouses when safety practices are overlooked. A common material handling practice is stacking objects on high platforms and shelves. They can’t be stacked too high, and heavy loads must be stacked neatly to avoid a shifting load or cylindrical objects from rolling off the shelves.

At Stamar Packaging, we are committed to following safety practices every day of the year, protecting our employees the best way we can. A safe warehouse is an efficient warehouse, and as we provide packaging, shipping and industrial supplies to our customers, our employees’ safety is always top-of-mind – as it should be!

Sustainability in the Packaging Industry Continues to Play a Vital Role in Business and Manufacturing in 2016

Sustainable practices are essential in business today, and especially in the packaging industry, where packaging manufacturers are required to be innovative in all areas of packaging manufacturing: design, the selection of packaging materials, and in all phases of the packaging production process. By focusing on sustainability, manufacturers are under pressure to reduce their “environmental footprint”.  The dictionary defines as the effect a company “has on the environment, for example, the amount of natural resources that they use and the amount of harmful gases that they produce.” But that definition is taking a big-picture look at sustainability. Let’s take a closer, more specific, look at how sustainability in the packaging industry continues to play a vital role in business and manufacturing in 2016.

Specifically, in the packaging industry, the history of sustainable practices is traced back to the 1970s, according to Packaging Digest. The publication reports, “The basis for sustainable packaging started the environmental movement in the 1970s…” Fast-forward four decades, and Packaging Digest shares the definition of “sustainable packaging” offered by the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC):

Sustainable Packaging ...

• Is beneficial, safe & healthy for individuals and communities throughout its life cycle
• Meets market criteria for performance and cost
• Is sourced, manufactured, transported, and recycled using renewable energy
• Optimizes the use of renewable or recycled source materials
• Is manufactured using clean production technologies and best practices
• Is made from materials healthy throughout the life cycle
• Is physically designed to optimize materials and energy
• Is effectively recovered and utilized in biological and/or industrial closed loop cycles.

According to the SPC’s website, the Coalition is a “working group dedicated to a more robust environmental vision for packaging,” and the organization promotes and supports sustainable packaging practices as an essential part of doing business.

At Stamar Packaging, we’ve been following sustainability trends in business, and how these trends affect the packaging industry, for many years – since we first started our business in 1981. Throughout the past 35 years, we’ve helped many of our customers – all types of businesses and manufacturers – be more sustainable and to reduce their environmental footprint by using some of the many different types of sustainable packaging materials and supplies we distribute. We’d welcome the opportunity to discuss the many sustainable packaging supply options available today. For more information about the packaging solutions and shipping supplies Stamar provides, including those designed with sustainability in mind, visit our website. Or give us a call at 630-282-5400.