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Biodegradable foam protects Sandoz's shipments

Cornstarch-based foam within shipping coolers provides insulation properties and environmental benefits at a cost comparable to the EPS material it replaces.

Sandoz
Sandoz

For years, Sandoz had used prevalidated expanded polystyrene cold chain shippers and ice packs to overnight-mail temperature-sensitive injectable liquids to U.S. customers from its Mechanicsburg, PA, distribution center. But when the company changed its outer shipping containers, it also switched to shippers made from Green Cell Foam™ cushioning material supplied by KTM Industries.

The 500,000-sq-ft Mechanicsburg facility serves as a third-party distribution operation for Sandoz products made worldwide. The facility receives boxes on pallets and manually fills product into them.

“We are a global company with operations everywhere, but once product arrives in our warehouse, we put it in a cooler and ship based on orders we receive from pharmacies, hospitals, or distribution centers across the country,” explains Mark Kuhl, packaging development and sustainability manager for Sandoz. “That’s when we have to break pallets down and ship individual cases out overnight to the point of use. These coolers keep product at the correct temperature range for 24 to 48 hours.”

Kuhl says the move to Green Cell containers, “was driven by the need to accommodate new products and to save money by doing our own validation, rather than pay for cold shippers validated by others.”

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