By Peter Maple, Managing Director: Moulded Products Kaysersberg Plastics, Kaysersberg Plastics
SubscribeThe Automotive Industry takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and has made great strides in its efforts to become a waste packaging free environment, it has pioneered the use of Returnable Transit Packaging, (RTP) probably more so than any other industry, for its in-bound component delivery loops from 1st and 2nd tier suppliers.
By rationalising to a single RTP system, motor manufacturers are able to improve the effectiveness of in-bound loops and improve the efficiency of internal storage and handling systems, saving money in the process.
Kaysersberg Plastics, part of DS Smith Plastics, has played a significant role in the development of plastic packaging for these closed loop systems, working alongside many motor manufacturers, to design and provide a range of returnable solutions that includes:
- Small load containers and carriers
- Unit load containers
- Internal fittings and dunnage
- Plastic layer pads
- Plastic pallets
Uni-Pak®
One such bespoke solution, the Uni-Pak®, has achieved great popularity with motor manufacturers and component suppliers alike. Uni-Pak® is the range of 3 piece, sleeve-pack type, custom transit containers that has set the standards by which others are judged. Uni-Pak essentially comprises a long life, durable twin sheet thermoformed pallet base and twin sheet thermoformed lid, both made from High Density Polyethylene, along with a sleeve that can be manufactured from plastic, wood or fibreboard. The Automotive Industry has largely embraced the plastic sleeve option as it makes the entire pack 100% recyclable.
Uni-Pak… setting the standard for lightweight custom transit containers
Available in no less than six footprint sizes: 800 x 600mm; 1000 x 600mm; 1200 x 800mm; 1200 x 1000mm; 1500 x 1200mm and 1600 x 1200mm, the Uni-Pak has a sleeve manufactured to meet customers’ specific height requirements, optimising the volume efficiency of the pack.
Suitable for carrying light to medium weight loads, the Uni-Pak is itself extremely lightweight, the base and lid of the 1000 x 600mm variant weighing merely 8 kg. This is essential for safe manual handling of empty packaging and also reduces overall transport costs. With a carrying capacity of up to 500kg and long life expectancy, Uni-Pak is playing a vital role in achieving a ‘packaging waste free’ environment.
Volume efficient
Uni-Pak is undoubtedly one of the most volume efficient custom transit containers available, with its thin walled sleeve forming a near perfect cube. This sleeve is tailored in height to the goods it will contain, thereby optimising the use of storage and transport volume. Thanks to its cube form, bespoke height and thin section sleeve, the Uni-Pak can be as much as 25% more space/volume efficient than other pallet box systems.
Flexible sleeve configurations
Sleeves are manufactured in a variety of configurations to suit the specific application. The standard four-walled sleeve is the most popular but sleeves with removable sides and folding door flaps provide improved accessibility and have solved a multitude of line-side problems. Kaysersberg applications engineers are adept at designing sleeves to meet specific stacking needs and ergonomic performance requirements.
Two part sleeve eases line side picking
Lightweight plastic sleeves, manufactured from Kaysersberg Plastics’ own Akylux or Correx, are available in a multitude of colours and the Company also offers a simple print service for sleeves… decorating them to meet customer specific identification requirements.
Unique locking feature
One of the particular strengths of the Uni-Pak is the unique slidelock mechanism that secures the sleeve to the base and the lid to the sleeve. There are four slidelocks in the base and a further four in the lid each throws a bolt through an aperture in the sleeve to ensure pack integrity… simplicity itself to operate yet highly effective.
Consolidation of empty returns
For economical, empty returns, the Uni-Pak is easy to dismantle and will flat-pack at a ratio of 6:1. For those requiring a container that flat-packs as a self-contained unit, the Company provides optional shipping collars that allow the folded sleeves to be packed between the lid and the base; the whole pack being secured with the slide locks. Shipping collars are available for each footprint size.
Uni-Paks dismantled and consolidated for economical returns
Fitments included
In the area of bespoke fitments, no company has greater expertise than Kaysersberg Plastics whether it be a complex fitment for an individual car seat or a multi-compartment collapsible fitment for headrests to aid product picking on the assembly line, Kaysersberg Plastics development engineers have the expertise to produce ergonomic, made to measure solutions that combine ease of use with high levels of protection.
Divider type fitments are often made in Correx or Akylux but Kaysersberg Plastics is also able to manufacture single sheet thermoformed trays and fitments to accept specific components.
Bentley seats on bespoke thermoformed fitment within a Uni-Pak
Stackable and rackable
Prominent, self-stacking features in the lid mate precisely with recesses in the base feet. This enhances the Uni-Pak’s stability in both transit and storage, making it a safer system to operate. Depending on the load, the Uni-Pak will self-stack up to four high, removing the need for expensive racking and improving space utilisation
For those wishing to use racking, the Uni-Pak is available with an optional full perimeter base that also makes it compatible with both roller and chain conveyors. All variants offer true four-way entry for fork lift and pallet trucks.
Lifting the lid
To ease top access for some of the larger sized Uni-Paks, a piano type hinged lid was made available but proved time consuming to install and therefore costly. Now, Kaysersberg Plastics’ engineers have developed a live hinge that is moulded into the lid during thermoforming. The hinge can be specified in either orientation on both the 1500 x 1200mm & 1600 x 1200 mm lids, and is extremely practical and durable. Most importantly, it no longer attracts at a significant production cost penalty while overcoming the need to remove the lid in many ‘picking’ applications, especially where its use is combined with a folding door flaps in the sleeve.
Uni-Pak twin sheet, thermoformed lid with live hinge and slidelocks
Ease of identification
For easy identification of bases and lids, the company is able to co-extrude coloured polymer into the original sheet material. When thermoformed, this produces striking, permanent, indelible stripes that that will remain for the life of the pack
And for those bigger components…
For carrying and storing large, bulky items, such as exhausts, trim and bumpers etc, Kaysersberg Plastics produces the Combi-Pak® a large scale, made to measure box pallet derived from the Uni-Pak. It is unusual in that it can be tailored to meet just about any size requirement without the need for bespoke tooling and its associated costs.
The base and lid can be fabricated with footprint dimensions up to 3100mm x 1200mm to suit almost every requirement, making the Combi-Pak an extremely versatile proposition. All bases are reinforced with steel to provide the rigidity necessary for mechanical handling. The units are self-stacking and all have true 4-way entry for both forklifts and pallet trucks.
Combi-Pak … cost effective transit packaging for those bulkier components.
Once again, sleeves can be supplied at any height to suit customer requirements and can be made of plastic, fibreboard or plywood, depending on stacking strength requirements.
The ability to tailor the size of Combi-Pak to the specific dimensions of the goods to be carried optimises the use of valuable space in storage, transit and in the assembly area itself.
The return collar enables the sleeve to be flat packed within the dimensions of the base and allows the lid to be then secured to the base, keeping all the components together in a single unit during empty storage and return transportation.
Whatever your requirements…
Kaysersberg Plastics, part of DS Smith Plastics is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of multi-trip packaging. It is vertically integrated, with manufacturing locations in both France and the UK. The Company extrudes its own sheet materials, which it converts into a range of durable made-to-measure containers, boxes and sleeves. Kaysersberg Plastics also has extensive facilities for both single and twin-sheet thermoforming and low-pressure injection moulding capabilities for the production of structural foam pallets. Whatever the size of component … whatever the packing requirement… whatever the storage and transport parameters… you can be assured that Kaysersberg Plastics can provide a bespoke, durable, economical, effective solution.
Kaysersberg Plastics… the name for Returnable Transit Packaging in Europe.
Contact:
Marketing Department
Isabelle Roy-Mangin or Sophie Héry
Tel: 00 33 (0) 3.89.78.38.68
Fax: 00 33 (0) 3.89.47.18.56
Web: www.kaysersberg-plastics.com
Email: sophie.hery@kayplast.com