Keeping fruit fresher for longer with Macro Plastic bins

In an age when customers want the freshest fruit and vegetables possible all year round, growers are required to step up to these demands which the market dictates to them.

As with all areas of business, when demands change you need to keep with the market and to do that your practises and tools need to evolve over time.

In order to, provide customers with fresher apples that have a longer shelf life Crane & Crane are now using plastic bins throughout their growing process instead of wood.

Ventilation is key to keeping the fruit fresher forlonger.  The fruit cools more rapidly in storage in plastic, producing a better piece of fruit in terms of appearance and taste. Crucially, this enhances its shelf life which in turn reduces waste and costs.

As opposed to wood, that Crane & Crane were using previously, the plastic containers have ventilation holes throughout. Ventilation and the cooling process are vital for Crane & Crane in America due to the climate. There is an increased need for the quick cooling methods in the orchards and farms across southern Europe and Asia too due to the warm climate all year round. These slight adjustments from wood to plastic can benefit the bottom line of the business by reducing costs.

In order for Crane & Crane to supply apples globally all year round they have the world largest cooling facility. Storage is a key area of their operation and the plastic bins play a large role in this process.

The plastic bins stack and store a lot better than wooden bins. Crane & Crane are impressed with the interlocking design as the bins can be stacked higher than wooden and are a lot safer. This improves the handling process and productivity whilst storing the apples, reducing the time the forklift drivers need when ensuring bins are stacked correctly. All they have to do is line them up, send them down and the bins lock into place in a straight stack.

Crane & Crane have invested money in this as they saw see a benefit to their consumers and customers which naturally benefited their business.

Everything comes back to quality which has never changed over the decades they have been producing apples. What has changed is how they deliver that quality. One of these changes has been the move to Macro Plastics’ bin. 

When it comes to food quality and safety it has to be plastic bins over wood!

Crane & Crane continuously strive to make improvements to the safety and quality standards they have on their 1000 acre farm in Washington. As a global supplier of over 7 million apples per year, need to ensure that they get the right produce to the customers globally all year round.

In order to improve their safety and quality standards, they have moved the whole farm from old wooden bins that have been used for decades to Macro Plastics’ bin. This has transformed their operations from the orchard to the warehouse through to storage.

You can see in the video how moving to 100% plastic has instantly helped improve the quality of their fresh produce.

With fresh produce now being required all year round on a global scale food safety is taken very seriously throughout the system. Plastic bins offer far better safety standards that wooden bins cannot provide.

The bins are non-porous meaning that they can be cleaned and sanitised a lot easier than wood. They won’t harbour pathogenic or spoilage organisms.

The plastic bins flex less than wooden bins that Crane & Crane have used previously. This gives the content more protection when they are being transported around the farm the orchards and into storage. This considerably reduces the risk of bruising, improving quality levels and reducing waste. 

One trip returnables – why don’t you just have a go?

The one thing that strikes me about the automotive supplychain is the reluctance to try something new for the first time.

There is a lot of talk around where logistics and the supply chain will move with technology and how savings are made. This was a topic of discussion at the Automotive Logistics Conference in Bonn last week, looking to what lies ahead and how they can improve.

It is all well and good talking about it but it is actions that will help the industry realise how they need to move forward in an expanding market.

This is where I encourage the automotive tier suppliers and OEMs to look at where they would like to go with returnable packaging and commit to doing a free trial.

A lot of people are put off when looking to make the shift from expendable to returnable solutions. There is the impression that you have to make your decision and stick to it. Stop using expendable one day and begin using returnable’s the next. This is far from the truth as you trial new returnable methods alongside the existing ones to give you a real flavour of the benefits of using returnable packaging.

One trip solutions are a great benefit of using returnable packaging. Irrespective of where you require your products all you have to do is rent the packaging, it is delivered to your desired destination and you don’t have to worry about the return journey. Then pooling companies arrange for the containers to be picked up after you have finished with them helping to reduce packaging costs. How easy it that?

All that is asked of the automotive industry who are looking to make the switch from expendable to returnable is to look into a free trial now so that you can experience the benefits first hand.

I encourage anyone who is looking into this or have any questions in how I can help to improve your supply chain to talk to me.

Communication is key, if I am where of your problems at the outset I can help you resolve them quicker, saving you time and money.

Do away with your Cardboard Boxes

Where is the fresh produce market going in terms of packaging?

The two key questions that contribute to this are along the lines of – what do they require to grow and how you do you deliver on these requirements and make savings?

As a grower of fresh produce, how would you feel if you could transport your goods with using cardboard?

Cardboard is an age old packaging material that has been used to transport a whole manner of goods in all shapes and sizes.  Have you looked at alternative solutions that you could move to for the same costs but improve all round efficiency and quality?

Fresh produce are a delicate yet heave good to pack and transport. The durability of cardboard is an issue when weight is concerned.

The other concern with cardboard and its durability is when it is stacked or becomes damp. This then has a direct impact on the products it contains. These disadvantages can become quite costly both financially and to a company’s reputation.

An additional issue is freshness and quality that is essential for the customer. If the packaging is susceptible to collapsing or deforming when in transportation there is going to be a negative impact on the quality of the product as a result of damage which incurs costs. As cardboard boxes wither have solid surfaces or slight perforation at best and then an open top, therefore there is a restriction to the air flow which has a knock on effect in reducing the freshness.

At Macro Plastics we have an affordable one trip plastic merchandising box which goes straight onto the shelves of supermarkets. This is a direct alternative to the cardboard packaging, which is exactly what the supermarkets are looking for.

With the solution that we provide also fits in with the supermarkets desires of limited contact in the supply chain process. The application ensures that the produce is only touched once in the supply chain which is the grower before being purchased by the consumer. This removes the whole process of handling, which saves costs and reduces the chances of damage. A perfect alternative to cardboard.

Macro Plastics are continuously looking at how efficiency and quality can be improved, looking towards new plastic alternatives is continuously on the agenda.

Plastic is the packaging material of choice for the coming period of logistics. How would you like a packaging solution that provides the following elements?

·         Ensuring your produce is fresh for up to three days

·         Cooling produce 60% quicker than cardboard

·         Stop the crushing of products on the bottom layers

·         Zero contamination

·         Option for 100% recycle of reuse

·         Direct merchandising solution

Is the automotive industry the sign of growth for 2014?

Can the automotive manufacturing lead the way for other industries towards financial growth? Or is it just a self contained green shoot for the coming year?

However it turns out, the growth figures from the end of last year for the industry make good reading for the manufacturers and good reading for returnable packaging.

Going into a New Year there are always predictions for the coming twelve months, over the last few years these predictions have increased in importance due to the economic downturn.

Keith Barnes, who is Packaging Advisor to Mintel Group, was quoted in the Materials World magazine saying that the packaging industry is “among the first to see an upturn as companies stock up again and look to product development”.

After the period of downturn where manufacturers made cut backs and cost savings they are going to want to capitalise on the predicted growth whilst also making efficiency savings by developing their methods and manufacturing processes. One area that can aid them in becoming more cost effective is returnable packaging.

Having a packaging solution that helps to reduce cost and increases capacity as well as being environmentally friendly is one way of improving the supply chain in the coming twelve months.

Integrating a reusable packing system is also a step in the right direction for years to come.  It provides greater value for money as there isn't a continuous expense of packing materials that are then thrown away. A manufacturer will see increases in efficiency in terms of better use of weight and capacity restrictions and fewer damages. Another efficiency saving is being able to remove unnecessary operations if the packaging solution is able to go straight to the assembly line. This saves on time and money.

Looking to make improvements now can aid the manufacturing process for years to come and returnable packaging is amongst those improvements. This area is increasing in importance due to the continued shift to international business models for the automotive industry.