IFCO Green Box - reducing costs and increasing convenience
For IFCO, a global pooling organisation, Schoeller Arca Systems developed a highly innovative range of foldable boxes for transporting fruit and vegetables over long-distances. The boxes are light in weight and folded empties have an 80% lower volume. The so-called “IFCO Green Box” comes in 11 different sizes in order to cater for all kinds of fresh produce. All are designed for stable and safe stacking, and are compatible with ISO and European pallets.
The IFCO Green Box forms the core of the company’s global logistics services. Over 70 million units are currently in circulation in Europe, South Africa, Japan and Latin America. This is hardly surprising, since compared with one-way transport packaging, the Green Box solution offers clear advantages:
- Notably fewer produce damages
- Improved cooling properties
- Doubles up as an attractive retail display unit
In order to gain market share and to develop its business in the United States, IFCO needs to offer its customers the latest technology. That is why, following the introduction of a new standard for Reusable Plastic Containers, the company decided to introduce a new range of foldable containers in the United States.
Schoeller Arca Systems developed and produced this new range using water-assisted moulding technology – a production method which combines shorter cycle times with low warpage, excellent product stability, and enables a soft shape crate design. Using this new production technology, production has speeded up with 30%, which means a huge improvement of the cost efficiency.
