The Liberty Packaging Blog

Over 110 million Americans tuned in to watch the Super Bowl in 2012, and for three straight years the Super Bowl has broken its own viewer record, priming this years’ (2013) to be, again, the most viewed television event in history (even before the official numbers come out). There is the typical build up and fanfare surrounding the event, and why not; it is the quintessential BIG American event. This year was different. The story lines set this one apart: two young coaches who are brothers (who probably have the fiercest rivalry and adoration for each other), an all-time great retiring, a mid-season second year backup quarterback turned sensation, and the list goes on. My favorite story line, albeit a quiet one, had to do with Joe Flacco.

News about athletes has been trending in the wrong direction over the past few years, more and more negative things, and we forgive them because they can jump high, run fast, or throw hard. Joe (yes we are on a first name basis) has kept his nose clean. He seems calm and collected at all times. Even during crunch time of the biggest games it looks like his pulse might peak at 75 beats per minute. His own father has even described him as dull. To ESPN “Joe is dull… As dull as he is portrayed in the media, he’s that dull. He is dull.” His father, not to beat the point to death, even speculated that some of Joe’s funny wedding pictures couldn’t have been his idea, because they were too funny. “I guarantee none of it was Joe’s idea.”

Here's an excerpt from a fascinating article on the "Bored Panda" blog, self-proclaimed as "the only magazine for pandas." I've always thought of great packaging as art, in it's own way, but this is extraordinary.

As my gift to you, I present the Triquetra, the Celtic Trinity Knot.

New Product Release

How refreshing! Hartford's Mayor, Pedro E. Segarra, told our group: “Hartford is fun.” Fun! He wasn’t complaining about the state of budgets and economic affairs within our glorious country, which is all that seems to be trumpeted today. It wasn’t “despite the economic shortfalls of federal allocation to states and cities...blah, blah, blah"; instead he proudly spoke of Hartford’s great and diverse restaurants rivaling the cuisine of other nearby cities like Boston, New York, and Providence. Hartford, CT, welcomes visitors with museums, luxury hotels, parks (Bushnell Park pictured), city walks, theaters, historical sites, free city transports, and “trained advisors” (essentially “security forces”), all within a short distance of the fairly new Connecticut Conference Center. “We will welcome you and your guest. All will feel safe and have fun enjoying our city... after a couple of days at the show, the local business owners will know your name,” claimed Mayor Segarra.

When manufacturers first learn of the benefits of Intercept Technology™ Packaging, they have questions about which form of Intercept will work best in their manufacturing or storage facility, or for shipping their parts or products.

Packaging is the third largest industry in the U.S. Packaging is a $100+ billion a year industry and growing as technology continues to develop new materials and processes based on consumer demand for quality, safety and more earth-friendly applications.

Because Liberty Packaging is in the industrial packaging business, when information comes out regarding exporting, we pay attention.  The big picture in this fragile economy requires U.S. manufacturers to export more and Liberty Packaging wants to do our part to help.  For our economy to grow and come out of this unemployment slump, we can’t depend upon our government or U.S. consumers to drive sales; there is not enough demand here for the type of high value manufactured goods that our country produces.  As most every informed citizen knows, a great quantity of the manufacturing of low end consumer goods has left our shores to be produced in economies with less expensive labor.

The U.S. government understands this need to export and has been reaching out to the private sector with “how to” education and the establishment of lofty goals. In Presidents Obama’s January 2011 State of the Union Address he stated, “We need to export more of our goods. Because the more products we make and sell to other countries, the more jobs we support right here in America. So tonight, we set a new goal: We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America."  Just this month (April 2011), the Obama Administration reached an agreement with Colombia that will open the door to Congressional approval of trade pact agreements, with South Korea and Panama next in line for similar agreements.

Of course, many American companies have already been exporting and understand that managing the supply chain to maintain product reliability isn’t always easy.  The atmosphere to which U.S. companies ship overseas may not be as clean as desired.  Along with being hot and humid, some of those emerging markets may not have the climate controls to which we're accustomed. During shipment overseas, products can be damaged from corrosion (rust, oxidation), physical damage, and other types of degradation.  That is where packaging becomes so important; it makes sense to create a durable packaging “skin” to protect your products when exporting.

Another hurdle is legislation; other governments don’t want our packaging trash and the disposal problems affiliated with packaging waste.  As a good business friend once said: “It makes no sense at all to ship materials that are going to create problems for someone else on the other side of the planet”. 

For two consecutive deliveries, Peapod's service provided my $150+ grocery order in so many plastic handle grocery bags, it was astonishing. In fact, the nice young delivery man seemed embarrassed by the glut of plastic bags. Many bags held only one container of yogurt (I ordered six yogurts, which arrived in three separate plastic bags) or two bananas, or half a pound of cheese. I realize items come from different departments in the store or warehouse, but there must be a better way. The driver kindly offered to recycle the bags for me; I quickly emptied as many as possible so he could do that. Smart man - good customer service.

Two servicemen showed up at 10 a.m. and opened the three large boxes of washing machine replacement parts that had been decorating our living room for a week. The protective packaging consisted of a corrugated three foot cube box - no inner packing materials; some loose corrugated supports - no bubble wrap, no newspaper, no packing peanuts, no air pillows - nothing to cushion the item inside. Evidently, a simple corrugated carton could not withstand whatever treatment it received in the warehouse and during shipment. The rigid nylon bearing tub part, essential to the job, was cracked on two sides - not usable.

The servicemen wisely inspected the delivered parts before tackling the washing machine repair project. Unfortunately, due to the bad packaging, the new bearing was broken - it was evident that the carton had been compromised on two sides. Our intrepid servicemen were now required to call around for any local supplier that might have a famous brand front-loader spare bearing tub on hand. After 30 minutes on the phone, one was located.  These conscientious workers then drove an hour, rearranged appointments (likely an inconvenience for those customers), and sent more defective parts into the landfill. The not-useful packaging needed to be discarded also; now twice!

We’re grateful we had the presence of mind to extend the service contract on this four-year-old washing machine, as this job required $800 worth of parts, plus the labor of these two gentlemen not including the drive to retrieve the replacement for the broken replacement part. They were back by noon and had the washer operating smoothly in just over two hours (good guys, Fred and Arnie from A&E Repair).

This seems a classic example of a manufacturer creating more waste by using less packaging or incorrect packaging. And it affects product reliability in ways we may not even notice. What if the part was only lightly damaged and the servicemen were unaware of that and installed it into the washer today, only to encounter a defect that would affect the whole life of the machine down the road?