Closing, opening, and reclosing boxes with Box Latches saves time, money and the environment

PEWAUKEE, WI, USA, June 8, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- When Joe Blanke took over as plant manager at Green Bay’s Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. injection molding company he said, "I never thought closing boxes without tape could produce the environmental and financial savings we have seen over the past few years. Whoever invented this gadget should be on Shark Tank."

The inefficient use of corrugated boxes costs businesses millions of dollars every year and produces a colossal carbon footprint. As illustrated at WPI, it doesn’t have to be that way. Expensive plastic totes can be replaced with inexpensive collapsible, reusable corrugate boxes to stimulate closed loop box reuse.

Reusing corrugated boxes freed up sufficient floor space to house an additional, highly productive assembly cell instead of dozens of plastic totes filled with air.

WPI purchased custom end-closing boxes to transport the long arms molded in one building to the cells where the products are assembled in an adjacent facility. After cartons are closed using BoxLatches with anchors, they are collapsed and transported in pallet boxes holding over 200. Upon arrival, they are loaded onto the top shelf from the back side of the workspace without disrupting the workflow, as occurs when replacing plastic totes from the front.

The world is changing and players in the injection molding industry need to reconsider the processes and systems they have been using for ages. The compounded monetary and sustainability efficiencies gained by implementing this idea has turned out to be an innovative and successful effort.

BoxLatches™ come in multiple sizes. Most users insert them only on the top flaps with bottoms still taped. However, the reuse of boxes and reduction in tape is magnified when used on tops and bottoms or on both ends as illustrated here.

The value of latches with anchors is that they stay attached to the boxes, so they don’t get lost during transport or need to be stored in a separate container. Inserting two anchors on each BoxLatch™ helps prevent flaps from “tenting” after they are closed.

According to plant manager, Joe Blanke, WPI has not reordered these end-closing boxes since he arrived two years ago. A careful calculation indicates that because of the reuse of boxes, WPI is saving at least 10,648 boxes per year from landfills or recycling. This means the boxes are being reused dozens of times.

Summary

Increasing profits and doing what’s right for the environment do not have to be exclusive. It is possible to have both if businesses simply rethink their packaging and logistics systems, staff training and focus. At Wisconsin Plastics, Inc. BoxLatches have become part of that thinking. The mulit-layered value they offer includes reduced labor costs, remarkable savings on boxes, decreased costs to transport parts from one building to another, freed up floor space, improved staff safety and enhanced morale.

James Wilson
Eco Latch Systems, LLC
+1 570-359-2580
email us here
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How to Use Box Latches