Consider the number of times you deal with a corrugated box in the course of a day. From the produce you bring home from the supermarket, to the fridge in which you store it, every product that travels from a manufacturer to a customer has, in all likelihood, been shipped in a corrugated box or container.
Corrugated Boxes are Essential in Business
You would be hard pressed to find a company that does not use a corrugated (pleated) box to ship its products. At least half of world’s manufactured goods are packed, stored, shipped or sold in corrugated packaging. Boxes created using corrugated machinery have many advantages:
* They are versatile and simplify the shipping process.
* They can be stacked for more efficient use of space in shipping and storage.
* They are lightweight, yet durable.
* They provide structured support for the goods within them.
* Products in a corrugated box have less chance of becoming damaged or lost.
* They offer protection against cold and humid conditions.
Understanding the Basics of the Corrugating Process
* Corrugated boxes are produced using a corrugator — a high-precision machine that uses hot steam to soften different grades of kraft paper.
* Several layers of the paper are crimped and glued together to form boards.
* The boards are dried by heating them with hotplates from beneath.
* The pressure is applied to the top of the board while it is being heated from the bottom. The result is fiberboard or cardboard.
* To create corrugated boards, special wheels on the corrugator are used to create a fluted pattern. This fluted board is then attached to liner boards with a starch based adhesive. Some boxes have a single linerboard while others have two liner boards with the fluted board sandwiched within the two. This is called a single wall. Some boxes feature double or triple walls.
* A continuous sheet of cardboard runs through the corrugated machinery where it is then cut into box blanks that are ready to be cut to the proper size, printed and glued.
The corrugating process determines the quality and strength of the finished product. Thousands of businesses in every industry around the globe rely on the expertise of corrugated machinery operators for all of their packaging needs.
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