Reinventing ventilation packing

The challenge

Together with our customer ebm-papst Mulfingen, a global leader in innovative air and drive technology, our task was to develop a new, economic and efficient solution specifically for packaging ventilation systems. In keeping with the ambition “Let’s never stop improving”, ebm-papst Mulfingen and Mondi are continuously discussing how to improve existing solutions, in particular against the backdrop of ever-changing production and end-user requirements and a constantly shifting competitive landscape. For precisely this reason, ebm-papst Mulfingen approached Mondi Wellpappe Ansbach to look into the optimisation potential of a two-piece stacking corner solution for packaging axial flow fans, with a focus on improved material efficiency and handling. An additional assignment was to ensure compliance with the top load requirements for international truck and container shipping.

The solution

When transporting industrial ventilation systems, up to 6 units are stacked and stretch-wrapped for shipping. In order to achieve better handling efficiency and material usage, the new stacking corners are made from a single piece of cardboard. As a result, the customer achieved a 30% reduction in material usage: 1.2 square metres of cardboard is saved per fan. On top of that, the new corners take 48% less time to assemble than the previous solution, which guarantees ebm-papst Mulfingen a time saving of 17 hours per 1,000 packaged fans. Mondi Wellpappe Ansbach performed thorough stress tests at its in-house laboratory to ensure that the required top load values were achieved from the outset.

Gerald Dörzbach, Sales and Marketing Director at Mondi Wellpappe Ansbach, noted, “By paying careful attention to our customer’s needs, we made sure the new solution would be a perfect fit – right from the start. We carried out a thorough pilot testing phase in close cooperation with ebm-papst Mulfingen in order to verify that the one-piece solution prototypes met the production line and transport requirements. No changes to the prototypes were necessary, and the benefits of the new solution were immediately apparent. We met the client’s expectations and resolved the challenge with a new value-added concept – while fulfilling our ambition to never stop improving.”

Benefits in a nutshell:

• 1.2 sqm less material per fan
• Faster assembly: 17 hours saved per 1,000 fans