Packaging solution butter industry

Author: Peter West
1st April 2017

Packaging is not always given the importance it deserves, whereas Maia Global considers packaging as a fundamental pillar of the supply chain.

We have worked in close cooperation with our business partners and demonstrated how to drive efficiencies throughout the supply chain by using our ORCA 1000 BD returnable packaging solution in the butter industry.

Challenges

The most common bulk packaging solution used by butter producers is the 25kg carton box. There are a combination of risks associated with using cardboard such as dust residues entering in contact with the product or even mold when stored inappropriately.

The relatively small size of the boxes requires time consuming and repetitive handling. However, it has remained the preferred packaging option due to the requirements for melting butter quickly at the receivers. Other bigger packaging units are in use and require the use of heating pads which are often awkward to handle and must be placed inside the packaging prior to the filling process.

After filling, the heater pads may show failure from time to time, which requires factories to perform a lot of hassle for the solid blocks of butter to be melted down. After discharging, factories are left with either big piles of waste cardboard or huge storage of empty non-foldable packaging.

Solutions

Our ORCA 1000 BD (Bottom Discharge) container was designed for the food industry and promises to protect the integrity of your product throughout the supply chain. Using ORCA results in:

1. Improved hygiene

The ORCA has a capacity of 1,000L and can be fitted with most types of liners, being the corresponding alternative to the iron-cage IBC. Engineered with 100% polypropylene, the ORCA is the most hygienic solution for your butters, fats, oils and other dairy products. The bottom discharge option enable the unit to be emptied quickly and minimizes the risk of waste and spillage. The inner liner can be removed and disposed of, immediately after the emptying process without the need to clean the ORCA.

2. Reduced handling and storage

Other than the obvious additional handling needed in packaging butter in 25kg boxes, most bigger packaging units require heating pads which extra handling and bring a bigger risk. We have developed a heating plate, which is in line with our philosophy to keep all auxiliary equipment outside of the packaging. The thick bottom layers of polypropylene let the heat go through to melt up the butter from frozen to liquid in less than 48 hours. Factories that are equipped with heating rooms will experience a faster melting process than other packaging due to the easy permeable characteristics of the ORCA. In addition, the ORCA is light weight and can be setup and handled by one man. After discharging, the ORCA can be folded down up to 12 pieces/pallet, which saves factories on empty storage.

3. Returnable solution

Our packaging is available as part of a returnable rental program removing the hassle of maintaining, disposing and cleaning packaging.

MAIA works closely with customers to realise savings throughout their supply chain and offers solutions suited to the needs of each individual business. Our team works jointly with business partners to continuously design our solutions and products to their specific supply chain.

Results

Our ORCA and rental programs have enabled our customers to reduced their handling costs and remove inefficiencies throughout their supply chain. Maia Global is an integrated supply chain provider that is specialized in temperature sensitive supply chains. For more information, please contact the team at Maia Global on info@maia-global.com to see what we can do to help your business.