Invest Time and Money in Packaging

The decision to invest in packaging equipment can often be exhausting and time consuming. As a new or existing business owner the overall goal is to facilitate the required packaging needs for the right price. Often referred to as obtaining the most bang for your buck!

We encourage anyone considering new materials or machines to wisely and methodically determine which option is best. Making a wise packaging investment can save money in the long run for a variety of reasons. Below are five of many reasons a wise packaging investment can pay off in the long run.

1. The Right Machines Can Increase Production

When looking to purchase a packaging machine, production efficiency is normally factored into the cost of the machine. The higher efficiency cost can often deter buyers. We typically recommend companies to try and forecast possible production levels for the next year to three years. This will help determine if the higher costing, more efficient machine will be needed within a reasonable time frame.

If reliable production forecasts are pointing to the need of the more efficient machine within 1 to 3 years, the investment may be worth it. A great example is our shrink wrap machines. Prices for the machines are based on production efficiency and size. If someone is beginning to shrink wrap small numbers of products daily, but forecasts to be wrapping substantially more the following year a more efficient sealer may be recommended. This will reduce the need to buy the lesser capable machine and then buy a more capable machine within a year. It also allows production levels to grow into the efficiency of the machine.

2. Proper Machines and Materials Can Protect Products

The right materials and machines can protect products and reduce product loss. This can be found in everything from industrial packaging to retail packaging. A great example for industrial packaging is often found in stretch film. Companies can have a tendency to purchase lower quality film and experience product damage during shipping. Spending the extra couple of dollars per roll of film can often prevent the damage during shipping.

Not investing in the proper machines and materials for retail packaging can cause product loss by theft and tampering. The lower cost option is often not the lowest overall costing option. We recommend discussing with someone the journey products go from production to the customers' hands. This will enable a variety of different options to be suggested to help reduce product loss.

3. A More Efficient Machine Can Lower Labor Costs

This reason goes hand-in-hand with the first reason explained. A more efficient machine can allow a reduction in labor cost or allow a reallocation of labor to different areas within the company. Faster more efficient machines can reduce the number of required users to meet production demands.

4. Better Materials and Machines Can Lower Overall Material Costs

The higher cost per linear foot of a certain material may offer an overall lower cost in the long run. This applies to many areas of packaging, but one we often see it in is the use of stretch film. A lower costing stretch film is often thinner and does not offer the same amount of stretch a more expensive film does. This means the lower costing film often requires more revolutions to secure the product load. The thicker, more stretchable film requires fewer revolutions and is often cheaper in the long run.

We also often see this in stretch wrap machines. When wrapping products by hand, 95% of the time the full amount of stretch is not obtained. If users do not stretch out a film to maximum capabilities, they are wasting stretch film. Making the initial investment in a stretch wrap machine can ensure film will consistently reach maximum stretchability every wrap. Over time, the machine will pay for itself in reduced material costs. We recommend considering the purchase of a stretch wrap machine if wrapping more than 10-15 pallets per day.

5. Purchasing in Bulk Can Save in the Long Run

Making a bulk material purchase a few times a year can save large amounts of money in the long run. If there is storage space available, the bulk purchase of products can almost always save money. Most packaging suppliers base pricing on quantity.

Our pricing reduces substantially for bulk orders. A business purchasing a pallet of goods can often get free shipping as well as a substantial discount per product.