First you must ask yourself if you can reuse the packaging or do you need this container to have a prolonged shelf life? If your answer is answer is yes to either of these questions, then an investment in plastic corrugated may be the answer to all of your needs. The most common application is when plastic corrugated allows the user to extend the life of the container when compared to the alternative of using paper corrugated.
Although your investment in plastic corrugated is more costly than paper corrugated it has proven to outlast the life of paper corrugated products from 30 to as much as 200+ times depending on its usage. With a cost of plastic corrugated that can be as much as 5 times higher your initial cost or investment may be greater to start with but your return on your investment will come quickly and the savings can be tremendous.
If your container will be making trips from one work station to another or from one location to another location plastic corrugated can be a perfect replacement for a fiber corrugated container or box. With customers like Wal-Mart distribution taking a fiber corrugated box that was making a maximum of 3 return trips from distribution centers to their retail stores and back again to the use of a plastic corrugated box that in cases was exceeding 100 trips. The proof is in the performance when it comes to replacing fiber corrugated boxes for the transfer of products from one location to another inside your facility or hundreds or even thousands of miles away.
If your container is being used for long term storage or product containment plastic corrugated is a sensible and sound investment. There are many advantages for plastic corrugated when used for product transfer, containment and storage. In addition plastic corrugated produced in either polyethylene or polypropylene plastic unlike paper corrugated does not leak acids that can cause damage over time to sensitive materials. Plastic corrugated is also unaffected by moisture and most chemicals. So when it comes to storage or product containment your investment in plastic corrugated may just be a permanent one. I have actual customers that have invested in plastic corrugated products that have been in their systems for over 20 years!
There are many other factors that can make plastic corrugated a desirable alternative over paper corrugated. Just a few of these involve material contamination, shipping restrictions, product protection, identification and many others. We will get in to some of these details in future articles.

Author

Tom Stafford

Corrugated Plastic Packaging, Display and Reusable Logistics Expert