Produce containers — single-use and reusable — and the pallets on which they’re stacked play an important role in the packaging industry, and some major providers say they’re making strides as they evolve to meet their customers’ needs.
Tampa, Fla.-based IFCO Systems U.S. and Alpharetta, Ga.-based CHEP U.S., for example, are expanding their role on the automation scene, while San Diego-based Mex Forest Products is enhancing its wirebound crate capacity as sustainability becomes a top priority in the produce industry.
IFCO Systems
Automation is a trend the retail grocery and produce industries have adopted as they seek ways to reduce costs and streamline their operations, said Nate Klingler, director of strategic marketing for IFCO.
Klingler said IFCO’s reusable packaging containers help growers reduce handling and facilitate automated processes across the entire supply chain. He offered a primer on how that’s happening.
“First, pallets stacked high with IFCO RPCs containing fresh produce arrive at the distribution center from growers,” he said. “The pallets then enter the infeed, where automated systems scan the RPCs’ embedded RFID or bar code.”
Each sales unit is recorded and checked to ensure that it is in the correct delivery.
“Automated high-bay shelves and automatic order-picking systems in logistics centers work best with standardized containers, such as IFCO RPCs,” said Michael Pooley, IFCO’s CEO.
RPCs are advantageous since they’re usually stored in refrigerated warehouses under cold, humid conditions that are uncomfortable for workers to endure for hours at a time, Klingler said.
Cold, damp conditions also may be too extreme for single-use packaging that can absorb moisture and lose its shape, he said. Or its dimensions might change slightly when stacked.
That’s problematic, since automated systems scan containers at various points during handling and storage and may not recognize a single-use unit that was identified earlier.
“IFCO RPCs maintain their shape because they are made of durable, moisture-resistant polypropylene,” Klingler said.
RPCs are sent to specific storage locations in the warehouse, and sales units are identified by the date they enter the system and by where they are stored.
“From there, picking orders and transporting individual sales units in IFCO RPCs to the outfeed becomes fast, cost-efficient and precise,” he said.
CHEP U.S.
Automation also is a trend that CHEP U.S. has observed, said Jason Adlam, vice president of new business development, who works out of the company’s Orlando, Fla., location.
There are many technical specifications to consider when it comes to integrating pallets into automated systems, he said. But collaboration with customers before installation also is important to avoid costly retrofits.
“This proactive support and expertise should not be overlooked and is something CHEP’s automation engineers are able to collaborate with our customers on to ensure all factors are considered and included in the solution, like pallet and unit load interactions,” he said.
CHEP has invested $200 million in automating its facilities over the past five years, he added.
Sustainability is another industry trend CHEP is into.
“When our partners mention their sustainability goals, it’s an easy conversation, as CHEP positively contributes to their goals through our circular business model of shared, repaired and reused platforms,” Adlam said.
“We’re able to calculate our customers’ environmental savings of choosing CHEP over single-use alternatives with third-party validated data, which is often integrated into their sustainability reports,” he said.
CHEP also works with customers to come up with solutions to eliminate waste, eradicate empty miles and cut out inefficiencies across their supply networks, he added.
Adlam said he also has observed that companies today are looking at their supply chains more holistically to understand how their pallet program fits into their larger network.
“What this means in the packaging world is that suppliers and their customers are becoming more partnership-focused and less transactional,” he said.
“At CHEP, we have a team dedicated to solutions like supply chain mapping and transportation collaboration, [and] we continue to challenge ourselves to find new ways to collaboratively approach industry problems together with our customers,” he added.
Mex Forest Products
Mex Forest Products plans to open a factory in Chihuahua, Mexico, by the end of June, where it’s setting up a new production line for its wirebound crate operation, said Adalberto Bustamante, president.
The company is moving equipment from an existing plant and will be able to produce 18,000 wirebound crates per week, he said.
Wirebound crates, fixtures from produce vendors of the past, are gaining new popularity even though they’re slightly more expensive than plastic alternatives, Bustamante said.
Wirebound crates are cheaper than plastic boxes and cost about $1 more than cardboard, Bustamante said. Final assembly of the crates is completed by the buyers.
Wirebound crates are water resistant, recyclable and sustainable, he said. They’re a good fit for produce that requires hydrocooling, like greens, celery, corn and beans.
The firm’s crates, which hold 20-40 pounds of product typically destined for foodservice operators, are made from thin, wooden slats bound by galvanized wire. Gaps of varying widths in the slats allow for controlled ventilation.
Bustamante said the Chihuahua location is the only facility in the West that makes wirebound crates, and that can offer an advantage when it comes to transportation costs.
Mex Forest Products and its sister company, Tres G Materials SA de CV, also make low-cost wooden pallets from mixed-grade lumber obtained from wholesalers across the U.S. and Canada.
Lumber comes from sources such as construction project leftover, unsold lumber in mills and slightly damaged lumber.
The pallets are manufactured in a factory in Tijuana, Mexico, distributed to growers throughout Mexico and exported to produce buyers in the U.S. The facility has a sawmill and can provide standard size pallets as well as custom pallets, Bustamante said.
Some of those pallets are sold directly to buyers, mostly in Southern California.
