Packaging challenges in the beverage industry

Have your ever seen those images of hundreds of bottles of beer (or soft drinks for that matter) lying around the highway after a traffic incident? So have we!

Every now and then those traffic and load security incidents will not only hit the pavement but also the news. A truck loaded with bottles of beer needs to make an emergency stop, with the result of plenty of bottles flying around and ending up on the highway, the ditch or even worse colliding into passing traffic. Is the fact the driver needs to make an emergency stop the actual root cause of the issue? No, it’s not. The actual issue is the fact that the cargo in the truck is not secured correctly and sufficiently. Unfortunately we still see this happening too often. Just Google “Truck incident beverage” and you will see some stunning pictures and videos…

Support in achieving pallet stability

What we do is to support organisations with their pallet stability and load security. For 50 years and counting we produce our own (high-end) stretch film. Our stretch film gives companies peace of mind where we help companies avoid risks, limit incidents, standardize and optimize processes and where we help to reduce the amount of materials used. Plus, we support companies in their quest to reach their sustainability goals (e.g. 100% recycling of materials used, usage of BIO-based materials and more).

Our company operates in many industries where Beverage is a very important one for us. We work with global players that have a global footprint and thus presence in various countries. The Beverage market can be divided in several sub segments. For example the water industry, soft drink producers, liquors & spirits, bottlers, wineries & vineyards, coffee & tea producers, breweries, energy drink producers and fruit juice producers.

Some figures on the beverage market

The entire #Beverage market is “Huge”! here some dazzling figures:

• In 2017, the global beer production amounted to about 1.95 billion hectolitres.
• Revenue in the Bottled Water segment amounts to US$184,915m in 2019. The market is expected to grow annually by 5.8% (CAGR 2019-2023).
• Revenue in the Non-Alcoholic Drinks market amounts to US$699,537m in 2019. The market is expected to grow annually by 4.9% (CAGR 2019-2023).
• The market’s largest segment is the segment Soft Drinks with a market volume of US$448,214m in 2019*.

Unbelievable figures, aren’t they? Imagine all the bottles, cans, cartons and containers that are produced and transported daily. As load security and pallet stability specialists we are fortunate to see many Beverage companies from the inside. We are involved in the packaging process where we are asked to give our professional opinion and feedback. With our experience we are able to give a clear view of where improvements can be made. No matter if we are dealing with a brewery or for example a water bottler, we do see a general process that can be described as follows:

1. The beverage is produced within the facility and is put in boxes (as bottle, can, carton, etc.).
2. The boxes are then placed on pallets where they are internally transported to the packaging area.
3. At the packaging area the boxes on the pallets (containing the beverages) are automatically wrapped with (high-end) stretch film wrappers.
4. The pallets are then placed in a truck.
5. The truck leaves the facility and is on its’ way to the final destination (the retailer in most cases).
6. The pallets are loaded off at the customers’ site and the boxes are unpacked.
7. The beverages are stacked in the retailers supermarket where they find their way to the consumer.

Zero incidents

During this entire process we all want to have zero-incidents, peace of mind and absolutely no fear, uncertainty or doubt rather or not we will be facing any damages. Therefore the quality of stretch film is vital. Stretch film that is developed and produced with specific conditions and characteristics of the beverage industry. Meaning, we need to avoid corner crushing, pallet stability is key and we want to reduce the amount of materials used. If you are using the wrong kind of stretch film you could witness pallets that are damaged because of the holding force of the stretch film; the film actually crushes the corners of the boxes with your precious cargo inside. This is what you’ll need to avoid. Also, your pallets will move and will tilt during transportation no matter what. What you want to do is to limit the effect this tilting will have on your products. For that reason we always look for the ideal combination of your pallet wrapper, your product and our film. It’s that combination that makes us different; we have general and standard films for the Beverage market that we optimize to your unique specifications. Doing all this, we help companies to save money. We help you to standardize and optimize your load security process where on average we achieve a 30% savings! Here the entire palletizing process is reviewed and enhanced. By doing so we improve the total cost of ownership (TCO) of your packaging unit at your plant(s). Assisting you to save material usage, labour costs, maintenance & repair costs, time and in the end quite some money as well.

Reduce the amount of stretch film used

And last but not least, we will help your company reduce the amount of packaging materials used. We provide thinner films and we continuously develop film that shoulders this trend. We also invest heavily in R&D and innovation. Resulting in the first #BIO-Based high-end stretch film. This Award winning stretch film contains 50% sugarcane and has 300% stretch capabilities.

In all fairness we could say we are experts of load security and pallet stability in the Beverage market. However, I believe it’s better that our global customers say that. It would be my pleasure to get in touch with you and share some best practices with you! What to think of a global and green brewery with its’ iconic name and logo? Or a soft drink giant that has been around for more than a century?

Do you want to learn what we can do for your company? Or are you interested in some of our Best Practices? Please feel free to reach out to me via beverage@afpfilm.com

I look forward to hear from you!

Best regards,
Sandor Willems

#Beverage #Sustainability #Innovation #PalletStability #LoadSecurity #TCO #ZeroTolerance

*Source: www.statista.com