It was like receiving a gold watch in a paper bag: No one doubted the quality of the product, but the packaging left something to be desired. So Plymouth Tube Co. USA, a Salisbury, MD-based producer of specialty tubing, set out to make a change. Plymouth ships high-quality stainless steel tubing in lengths to 25' for mechanical, pressure and aircraft hydraulic applications. Prior to packaging, each length of tube is straightened, tested, cut, deburred, cleaned, re-measured and inspected. "When I came here in 1989, I found a plant that was producing quality products and putting them in 'questionable' shipping containers," says Tom Maternowski, general manager at Plymouth. "Cardboard tubes, corrugated boxes and wood crates-we tried them all." Today, the company has switched to Reddi-Crate(TM) boxes from Reddi-Pac (Bridgeport, PA). Made from layers of laminated paperboard formed into U-shaped segments, the boxes are sealed with wood or paper end plugs. An exterior white clay coating on the containers provides an excellent surface for one-color printing. This quickly conveys a strong, quality image.
Laminated paperboard cures distribution headaches
Wooden crates couldn't consistently protect Plymouth Tube's costly containers of stainless steel tubing. New paperboard packs protect both product and company image.
Jan 31, 1995
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