Packaging Fulfillment (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
been making the boxes for Ford’s glass windshields for several years now. “Our client mix has evolved from small distributors and mom and pop shops when I first started to more corporate customers, some of the big guys,” Mondelli said. And like the big guys — integrated companies like West Rock and Georgia Pacific – Mondelli considers his compa- ny an integrated distributor as well. “We do four things, and we do them pretty well,” he said. "Corrugated Sheet Plant, Slit/Rewind and Sheet Pa- per, Packaging Supplies and Fulfillment Services." Mondelli first bought equipment with sheeting and re- winding capabilities. Then in 2006, he bought the com- pany’s first corrugated piece of equipment. Considered a small sheet plant at this point, the company moved into the integrated world after opening a packaging fulfillment
center. They were no longer limited to just making boxes and selling them as a contract packager, they would also be devoted to fulfilling the needs of large auto- motive components. The 'monster' of the machine lineup at Packaging Fulfillment is the Emba 240 flexo folder gluer.
By doing this, the large boxes are nailed to a skid, filled with the specific dunnage required, capped and shipped to their customers ready to go. Packaging Fulfillment’s dunnage capabil- ities make it unique. Often the packing material is die cut and glued together to make the build- up. To cut correctly, they determine how each product is situated in a box, where the flanges are located, and the distancing requirements between the box and the flange. “No two boxes are the same — everything inside it is different,” Mondelli said. Passing The Shake Test Many of Packaging Fulfillment’s clients are Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). In addition to Ford Glass, they box Tesla’s drive components, Nissan’s electric batteries, and Mercedes-Benz and BMW components. Often before OEMs agree to order, they conduct a box trial in which testing — including a shake test and a visual test — is performed to ensure the integrity of boxes. A lot rides on protecting the cargo. For Mondelli, the proof is in the boxes. Consider a Ford-150 windshield. It’s curved, considerably weighty, and susceptible to damage, but Pack- aging Fulfillment has a process. They sandwich the windshield between two pieces of dun- nage that meets together in a perfect marriage of sorts around the product. Then instead of skids, they use corrugated runners that are glued to the bottom of the tray. “It’s not a skid, we eliminated their skid and we’re putting corrugated runners under the bottom of this tray,” he said. “The tray is kind of like a shoebox with a top and a bottom, and
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October 24, 2022
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