Author: dev@samuel

The three Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle – is a simple, yet incredibly effective strategy used in counteracting the effects on the environment that we create from energy consumption, the materials we use, and our sustainability.

At Samuel Grant Packaging we take action to help minimise our impact on the future of our planet.

REDUCE

Working with our clients to reduce packaging consumption, we developed the Samson Nano.

Devised specifically to work with 33 layer stretch film, the automated pallet wrapper works to set gears to be able to use and waste as little film as possible, whilst maintaining a superior wrap to minimise broken pallets and goods.

Alongside developing the Samson Nano, Samuel Grant Packaging offer packaging audits to all clients. Analysing the entire production and distribution process, we’re able to reduce the volume of packaging, as well as the amount of virgin materials used. Find out more about a packaging audit, and how we can help you, here.

REUSE

Bespoke built plastic pallets ensure that our clients are involved in closing the loop in the packaging industry. Encouraging customers to reuse pallets saves on both money and waste.

As well as bespoke pallets, we have designed a multidrop plywood case which can be used by engineers of a large OEM to swap components. The outer has a multi drop capacity and the inserts, when worn, can be changed.

RECYCLE

An important step in becoming a more environmentally friendly company is ensuring a maximum volume of recycled content within the products that we sell.

Our sister company, Marmax Recycled Products, recently celebrated saving a billion HDPE bottles from landfill by turning them into sustainable plastic furniture and outdoor goods. Find out more about Marmax Products on their website.

As well as this, when delivering a Samson Nano machine we will always remove a client’s old machine to be recycled through the Recycling Lives scheme.

To learn more about our products and services that we offer please visit our websites samuelgrant.co.uk samsonnano.co.uk marmaxproduct.co.uk

Last week Samuel Grant Packaging Managing Directors, Andrew and Matthew Grant, took a trip to Barcelona to meet with European counterparts of the PackSynergy network.

PackSynergy is Europe’s biggest association of leading providers of products, processes and services linked to packaging and shipping. Established in 1998, PackSynergy currently has 17 member companies with more than 30 facilities in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

After individual company presentations to introduce each member, Andrew and Matthew enjoyed a guided tour of Embamat, a Spanish member of PackSynergy, who showed the guests their customised packaging solutions and engineering abilities.

Discussions then took place on Strategic Procurement, Sharing Knowledge and Brand Awareness and allowed members to look in depth into the opportunities of the £300 M turnover network of PackSynergy.

As a key member of PackSynergy, and the UK arm of the network, Samuel Grant are eager to see what the future holds for this linked group of packaging and shipping businesses, working together, sharing and learning as we go!

Samuel Grant Packaging, in conjunction with Braiform, are proud to have made the shortlist in the Supply Chain Excellence Awards for Environmental Improvement.

Shortlisted amongst blue chip giants such as Kraft Heinz, Primark and Sainsburys, the two companies have been recognised for their outstanding work in minimising waste and increasing sustainability in major retailers and garment manufacturers.

Both companies are passionate about creating cost-effective, innovative and greener operations during their long-term collaboration, utilising the Queen’s Award-winning Samson Nano, alongside Braiform’s world-first closed loop hanger solution.

In 2018, Braiform installed a Samson Nano machine and over 11 months have subsequently saved 4.8 tonnes in wrap consumption, taking their CO2 emission savings to 29 tonnes by reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Please visit our case study to read more about their collaboration.

“It’s a great recognition for the collaboration of both our Yorkshire-based businesses,” said Julia Allen, Managing Director of Samuel Grant Sheffield. “Working together to create a greener, safer, pallet wrapping solution for Braiform, and also achieving a huge reduction in CO2. We are very proud to be included in their ‘the best of the best’ accolade.”

The team are all very proud and are looking forward to the award ceremony celebrations in London on 5th November. Fingers crossed!

Corner crushing. A term in the packaging industry that literally means what it says on the tin – corners, getting crushed. The term may sound simple, but it’s an issue that is very common in the industry amongst small and large businesses, with a solution that may not be so straightforward.

Commonly, when a pallet falls over, an operator will automatically begin to increase the pallet wrapping tension in order to fix the issue. A tighter wrap means a more stable load, thereby less wasted product… right?

Not necessarily. Increasing wrapping tension can increase load stability, but can also lead to crushed goods, and corner crushing. This can result in damaged goods, damaged boxes, and loss of brand reputation when customers receive untidy looking product. There are then the costs of reworking the goods, returning the product, and even potentially losing the customer if bad quality is repeated.

The solution? Samson Nano allows operators to achieve optimal load containment tensions without causing crush.

The semi automatic system has the added safety functionality which means that pre-set gears cannot be bypassed, so all loads are wrapped safely to a superior quality, with ideal load containment requirements every time. The real-time report allow you to track stretch film usage and cycle time, which allows us to invoice to a price per wrapped pallet.

With Samson Nano, our expert packaging advisors can work with your business to find the ideal pre-set gears to ensure your products are wrapped to a high standard and avoid corner crushing issues. Get in touch with our experts to find out more.

Samuel Grant are delighted to have joined PackSynergy at FachPack 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany.
PackSynergy, Europe’s biggest association for packaging and logistics solutions, will take advantage of the upcoming FachPack 2019 to show automated systems, a selection of standard packaging materials and machinery, solutions for e-commerce and sustainable options for high-volume consumables. The PackSynergy network booth can be found in Hall 6, Stands 209 and 211.

PackSynergy CEO Thomas A. Baur will head the “strongest PackSynergy network ever” at FachPack 2019: “In the meantime, our association consists of 18 strong, regional market leaders for packaging and logistics solutions, representing 14 European countries with a total turnover of around 350 million euros”.

At FachPack 2019, these mid-market wholesalers and single-source suppliers will once again be hosting a joint booth that will also integrate exhibits by partners Horna Verpackungen, Papier Liebl, Servisbal Obaly and Wepa Verpackungen. “We will be casting a spotlight on innovative, automated systems, a selection of standard packaging materials and machinery, solutions for e-commerce and sustainable alternatives for high-volume packaging materials and supplies”, says Baur.

Automation

According to Thomas Nöjd, proprietor and Managing Director of PackSynergy’s Swedish partner CHRISTER NÖJD, the importance of automation in the world of packaging, shipping and logistics can scarcely be underestimated. “Today’s single-source suppliers must be in a position to offer their customers automation solutions too. If the necessary expertise is lacking and there are no suitable products in your portfolio, you’ll find it difficult in future to hold onto your existing clients and win new ones.” Nöjd sees e-commerce as an important driver influencing the increased use of automation solutions: “More and more customers are reporting rapidly expanding parcel volumes. Automated solutions consequently more attractive – and as the number of shipments continues to rise, they’re fast becoming indispensable. We recognized that trend early on and we’re now Sweden’s leading wholesaler for e-commerce.”

Custom-made for e-commerce

PriorityPak® from Sealed Air is an innovative, automated packaging system which PackSynergy will be introducing at this year’s FachPack. Dirk Dietzel, owner and Managing Director of PackSynergy partner WEPA Verpackungen, is delighted to have “a high-speed solution that custom-packs products automatically ready for shipping. Our output is five times what it would be if we packed those items manually.” Dietzel explains that the system encases the products in a Cold Seal® cohesive-coated protective package: “That locks the items in place to minimise shifting during transit and provides superior product protection.” Dietzel also cites a few other advantages: “The system automatically weighs and scans each product, then applies a shipping label to the parcel. It’s very simple either to use at pack stations or to integrate seamlessly into existing packaging lines. What’s more, the material is recyclable Rigid Board.”

Greenline

A sustainable, closed circle economy is in any case increasingly a top priority for the PackSynergy network. Thomas A. Baur: “To an ever greater degree the focus is on group suppliers offering eco-innovative products, to whom we provide marketing assistance”. For example, on the subject of high-volume packaging materials, PackSynergy will be showing recyclable shipping document pouches made from recycled plastic or FSC-certified paper, packaging chips manufactured from one-hundred-percent organic and biodegradable material and TigerStretch Xtreme film, which has only half the thickness of conventional stretch wrap without any reduction in quality or restraint forces. “That saves valuable resources – from material costs through energy use to the ecological balance when the products are transported”, Baur comments. The CEO underlines the association’s intention to move more in the direction of eco-innovative solutions together with its suppliers. A separate “Greenline” within the PackSynergy brand is also being considered.

The PackSynergy network will exhibit at FachPack in Hall 6, Stands 209 and 211.

Samuel Grant Sheffield hosted a Samson Nano Demonstration day, to showcase the range of machines available from Samson Nano. Since its launch in 2013, Samson Nano has put innovation at the forefront and has revolutionized the way in which pallet wrapping is both undertaken and charged for. The Demonstration day was an opportunity for Samuel Grant reps to learn about all the new features and benefits which can be discussed on the PPMA Total Show stand (1st – 3rd October).

The full Samson Nano range was showcased including; 18mm turntable height low profile, forklift truck loading, rotating arm and larger turntable and heavier load capability machines. Options demonstrated included built in weight scales and integrated print portals, heat sealing bars and cutters to avoid tails, larger film roll carriage sizes for speedier wrapping cycles, various roping options and variable stretch machines.

Also showcased was the new style Ferret, which includes even more safety features, including a unique footplate safety mat to avoid foot crush. Samuel Grant believe this to be the first mobile wrapper to be fitted with such a safety device.

Being able to physically see the next generation of models in action ensure that Samson Nano reps are equipped with all knowledge on improving operational efficiencies and environmental targets, in addition to the importance of safer pallet wrapping.

Samson Nano has always been proactive in innovation, whilst always adhering to EUMOS safety standard. To learn more about the new machines and innovations, please visit stand G100 at PPMA Total Show.

The future of pallet wrapping is 30% recycled – but not today

News of the Government’s forthcoming Plastic Packaging Tax has attracted criticism and praise in equal measure. While some – including Samuel Grant – see it as a commendable move towards more sustainable practices, it’s important not to overlook the bigger picture.

A good example is Stretchfilm – a wrapping plastic used to stabilise pallets for logistics. Samuel Grant specialises in recommending the most environmentally sustainable wrapping materials for clients, such as Samson Nano film.

This is a high-performance film designed to reduce overall plastic consumption and reduce the carbon footprint.

However this material does not contain the 30% recycled plastic required to avoid the new Plastic Tax and we need to explain why this remains the most environmental and cost effective way to wrap pallets.

High performance stretchfilms are manufactured using only the highest performance extrusion equipment, with the highest grades of virgin polymer. Unfortunately even the purest recycled material available today could not be processed by this machinery without causing damage.

This means that in order to include recycled material into stretchfilm you must use lower performance machinery that can cope with the contamination in the recycled polymer.

The end result is a stretchfilm containing 30% recycled material and 70% virgin polymer that has 50% lower performance than our Samson Nano film.

In other words, in order to use the 30% recycled material to wrap pallets you will not only consume more plastic but you will even consume more virgin plastic.

By using extra virgin polymer and valuable recycled polymer in greater quantities the increased costs are far more than the £200 saved by avoiding the tax.

So with such a negative message about recycled stretchfilm why do Samuel Grant Group strongly support the Plastic Packaging Tax?

1. Firstly the tax and the resultant increase in the value of waste plastic will take waste from landfill and introduce it into the recycling stream.

2. We are adding many plastic based products into our range that do benefit from the inclusion of recycled polymer such as polythene bags, pallet covers, polythene sheeting, recycled strapping and many more.

3. Most importantly, the demand for high grade recycled polymer is creating a whole new industry – the chemical recycling industry.

The majority of plastic recycling is currently done by mechanical recycling in the form of sorting, chopping up, washing, pelletising.

The new chemical recycling industry uses various innovative methods to reduce mixed plastic waste into the precursors for polymerisation – it turns plastic back into an equivalent to Oil.

The BBC have a good article on this here:-

The world’s first ‘infinite’ plastic – BBC Future

A good example of this is the new Recycling Technologies plant in Perth.

Innovate UK invests £1.2 million in chemical recycling technology | Resource Magazine

For now, the optimum environmental choice is to take advantage of high performance virgin films to reduce the amount of plastic used, resulting in minimum CO2 emissions and of course recycling the waste film into other plastic products.

When the plastic chemical recycling industry is working at scale Samuel Grant will be the first to bring 100% recycled high performance films to the market.

In the meantime our advisers are on hand to give the best possible advice to continue to get goods to their destination in perfect condition, using options that focus on performance, the least possible environmental impact, as well as advising on the best way to recycle virgin materials.