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Boxes with Inner Partitions

Industry: Industrial and Automotive
Scenario:
Company in the automotive industry comes to Bates Container in order to find cost savings and reduce inventory. After reviewing the items purchased and usages, Bates decided to focus its initial efforts on a high volume package which was a RSC (Regular Slotted Container) coupled with a 12 Cell inner partition. The following was observed when analyzing the existing packaging. Observations:

1. RSC - 200# C Flute, 21 ¾ x 17 ¾ x 6 7/8
2. Partition - 200# B/C Flute, 21 x 17 ½ x 6 ½
3. There is a 2 ½ buffer between top of product (E-4 valve) and top inside of box
4. There is a ¾" gap between Length Partition (LPartition) and inside of box
5. There is a ¼" gap between Width Partition (WPartition) and inside of box
6. There is a 3/8" gap between Depth Partition (DPartition) and inside of box
7. Corrugation direction on partition is horizontal or parallel to the ground
8. According to client, box is often shipped half full

Statistical Data:
A compression test was done on the existing box with partitions and results show that the box and partitions were working independently of each other. Maximum stacking strength is 1114 lbs which is primarily being supported by the partitions.

Hypotheses:

1. By eliminating or minimizing the gap between the top of box and the DPartition, box and partition will work together and compression strength (i.e. stacking strength) will greatly be increased.
2. Changing the corrugation direction of the partitions will greatly increase compression strength.
3. Eliminating the gap between the E-4 Valve and the top inside of the box will reduce board usage and, therefore, cost.

Testing:

Conclusion:
By adjusting the size of the master RSC and the partitions to closely fit the E-4 Valve and changing the corrugation direction of the inner partitions, we were able to achieve much higher stacking strengths. Because of the increased stacking strength that the better fit package provides, we can change the material of the RSC to ECT 32 C which is typically a less expensive board. Additionally, because of the reduction in depth, we can save about 28% in board usage and are able to fit 30% more filled packages on a truck. By making only the above changes the customer can expect to see 25-35% cost savings on these two items. Just this change would represent in excess of 5% savings on their total corrugated buy.