Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

Container a clear success

Blueberry farm turns to new container to help six high-speed production/packaging lines run more smoothly.

This new container is constructed of a material that helps provide strength, hinge flexibility, and clarity.
This new container is constructed of a material that helps provide strength, hinge flexibility, and clarity.

Since its founding more than 20 years ago, Ivanhoe, NC-based Sweet Berry Farms has succeeded in providing the freshest blueberries by ensuring that the fruit is transported from the field into stores in just two days. Because time is of the essence, the company can’t afford downtime on any of its six high-speed packaging lines.

“I can have the best crews picking the berries,” says Chester Barnhill, owner of Sweet Berry Farms, “and the plumpest berries, but if the containers don’t work on our lines, we’re in for trouble.”

Originally, Sweet Berry Farms was using a clear, oriented polystyrene clamshell for its one-pint size. But every tenth container or so would crack when a pinch roller closed the lid over the blueberry container; the containers are conveyed single file down the length of the packaging line.

“Our previous containers had a horrible failure rate,” admits Joey Benton, plant manager at Sweet Berry Farms. “They would crack under the pressure of the pinch roller. That would jam the unit, stopping sorting and filling operations. Many of the original containers got damaged on the truck and would be rejected by the supermarkets.”

To reduce container damage, Sweet Berry Farms turned to Fabri-Kal (Kalamazoo, MI) to develop a one-pint clamshell with a snap-fit lid. Although the blueberry grower packs different-sized containers, the one-pint container is the only one supplied by Fabri-Kal with the K-Resin® material component. The container and lid are formulated of crystal polystyrene (XPS) blended with K-Resin styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) from Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. (Houston, TX).

Annual Outlook Report: Workforce
Hiring remains a major challenge in packaging, with 78% struggling to fill unskilled roles and 84% lacking experienced workers. As automation grows, companies must rethink hiring and training. Download the full report for key insights.
Download Now
Annual Outlook Report: Workforce
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?
Discover which palletizing technology—robotic, conventional, or hybrid—will maximize your packaging line efficiency while minimizing long-term costs in this comprehensive analysis.
Read More
Is your palletizing solution leaving money on the floor?