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Void-fill to order

Dart Warehouse’s giant fulfillment operation uses a wide variety of void fillers to match what its customers want.

The first of two machines that dispense crumpled kraft paper to fill voids was added to meet the needs of an educational publish
The first of two machines that dispense crumpled kraft paper to fill voids was added to meet the needs of an educational publish

When you warehouse and ship for blue-chip customers, you need to be ready to meet their needs not only in timing, but also in the form of packaging. That’s what Dart Warehouse does from its 721ꯠ-sq’ facility in the Chicago suburb of Naperville.

Dart is a national company, and its Naperville facility, build in 1999, is one of its newest. When completed, it more than doubled the space of its previous rented warehouse of 300ꯠ sq’. In terms of the package protection it offers, this Dart facility’s management is a big believer in FP Intl. void-fill products. That includes Flo-Pak expanded polystyrene “peanuts.”

“I’ve been using Flo-Pak since 1995,” says Herb Duggan, general manager of the Naperville facility. “When we built this warehouse, we added a newer, larger Flo-Pak system with four Bulk Air storage hoppers that feed individual dispensers suspended above packing lines. It’s our primary packaging and our first choice. It’s economical, it’s fast, and it provides excellent protection. When you ship as many parcels as we do, we need packaging we can rely on.”

The facility provides third-party logistics services for accounts like Sears, Kellogg’s, and ubid.com. During peak periods, this warehouse will ship as many as 45ꯠ parcels each day.

While it’s used the Flo-Pak EPS peanuts since it opened, Dart’s warehouse added one of FP Intl.’s Cell-O air cushion makers two years ago. And early last year, the facility installed the first of its FP Intl. FastTrack machines for producing crumpled paper cushioning. The Cell-O air cushion system is installed in a satellite, secure, locked storage area where jewelry, watches and other high-value small goods are packed. Unless, of course, if a customer decides to use air cushioning; the machine can then be moved into the main warehouse area.

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