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Product Innovations

Credible, usable, continual – Setting up an Environmental Management System that works for you

We are helping more and more companies throughout New Zealand and Australia as they negotiate both public demand and regulatory requirements for higher environmental standards. Meeting these standards and improving everyday efficiency often involves the formation of an Environmental Management System (EMS).

A good EMS should help reduce the environmental impact of your operation while maintaining efficiency and cutting waste. It will help your business set and then work towards environmental targets and, in doing so, ensure the operation achieves greater medium and long-term cost savings.

However, some companies see an EMS as a box-ticking exercise, while others see it as a valuable tool. They’re leaning into the work here and, as a result, are maximising opportunities today and future-proofing their operations for the changes of tomorrow.

For such businesses this means taking a closer look at packaging. Our R&D team is constantly assessing new packaging and processes that meet the changing needs of our clients. A strong, useable EMS can be of huge value when it comes to scoping improvements and tracking changes.

Here are a few quick tips for EMS enhancement:

1. Measure once. Measure twice.

Before you go about making changes, it’s important to know where you stand. It could be that your company’s environmental performance in some areas is already great, while in others it needs serious help. Analysing the current state of things is your first step, along with reviewing your company’s existing environmental goals and seeing how they measure up both in the present and for the future.

2. Think big (and small).

Once you have your data on hand look at where impact is being made here and now – and where further impact can be made in the future when recommended steps are followed. This involves an understanding of how both the legislative landscape and the natural environment are changing, and how effective your changes can be.

3. Set your goals.

To keep a clear picture of what you hope to achieve, look to create high level environmental objectives and targets within your EMS. This then gives you a starting point from which to establish practices and protocols to help achieve your goals. Many hands make light work. Keeping all employees aware of the wider picture here will help with compliance and ultimately make your targets easier to reach.

4. Get help from others.

Once you’ve got an effective plan, it’s important that data is regularly inputted. This doesn’t need to be a big job. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be done in-house. Good packaging and logistics companies should be able to supply clear records of what is being used. Not getting the data you need from suppliers? Then demand it. At Smart Pack we can provide this information to clients – and we’re always ready to discuss the requirements of your EMS and how we can help you meet the targets.

5. Assess, refine, evolve.

No EMS can live in a vacuum – it should be a malleable system built to react to a changing world. Through careful analysis and auditing, it should be possible not only to keep up with the standards but to surpass goals and targets. Doing so generally results in greater cost savings, waste minimisation, and community goodwill.

At Smart Pack we are committed to meeting ISO 14001 for Environmental Management through our own rigorous EMS. We see such a system as an essential asset for future focused businesses – and so we are dedicated to helping our clients to meet their commitments.

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Product Innovations

Packaging food for thought – 4 recent innovations helping NZ’s onion and potato growers

As Kiwi growers embrace change with greater enthusiasm it’s safe to say “the way things have always been done” ethos is now a thing of the past. With an approach that’s equal parts common sense and uncommon innovation, they are now securing, sending, and selling their produce with a future-forward mindset.

In the world of onions and potatoes, where tradition often reigns supreme, we have noticed a real appetite for change recently.

Backed by our focus on research and development, this demand has allowed us to introduce and implement efficiencies that are now transforming the way produce is packaged and presented. As a result they’re celebrating important gains in packing efficiency, range adaptability, and packaging durability.

Here are four new approaches that have helped the onion and potato industry send their best product forward:

1. Bigger (and smaller) is better: An expanded size range for onion bags.

At Smart Pack we recognised the traditional limitations of onion bag sizes, and so got to developing further options to cater to the industry’s diverse needs. Whether it’s petite shallots or hefty onions, we can provide the perfect bag size to suit what’s needed.

2. Starting at the bottom (now we’re here): Block-Bottom potato bags.

The pioneering design of the new potato bags facilitate better stacking, enhanced in-store display, and increased space for brand messaging. With these block-bottom potato bags, products stand tall and proud, commanding attention on the shelves.

3. There’s something in the air: Introduction of Leno Bags for potatoes.

Responding to regional preferences, we’ve introduced a novel packaging solution tailored to local markets. Our Leno bags combine functionality with style, offering a unique packaging solution that has resonated with target audiences. This novel packaging solution has been a winner with our customers, the lightweight yet sturdy mesh fabric, reducing the overall weight and ensuring exporters can ship more bags per container.

4. In the eye of the bag-holder: Tailored design and marketing support.

Thanks to the collaborative support of our in-house design team, Kiwi growers are enjoying the ease with which packaging design can align and advance their brand identity. Whether it’s a rustic, artisanal look or a sleek, modern aesthetic, we can create packaging that reflects your brand values and resonates with your audience.

If you’d like to know more about how Smart Pack’s onion and potato packaging innovation can help you, get in touch with our team today.

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Product Innovations

Billboards are out, BOPP Bulk Bags are in!

Your business may use Bulk Bags as a part of your operation, but what you didn’t know, until now, is that they can be a seriously powerful marketing tool.

Our new BOPP Full-Graphic Print Bulk bags are made with a BOPP laminate film which allows them to be full-graphic printed, giving you the opportunity to use your bags as a B2B or even B2C marketing medium.

Construction, Landscaping, Grain & Seed, Horticulture and Stockfeed are just a few of the industries that can benefit from utilizing their Bulk packaging for communications. Imagine, a busy job site on a main street and there it is, a Bulk Bag with your brand, in front of 100s if not 1000s of people who drive past. No need to pay for costly Signage or Billboards when you can use what’s already available on-site, your Bulk Bags!

Here are 3 ways to utilize BOPP printed Bulk Bags for Marketing:

  1. During an advertising campaign:

Running a campaign? One of the more commonly used outdoor marketing tools are billboards. Although Billboards get great visibility, they are a costly and can take up a lot of your advertising budget. The average cost of a billboard in NZ is between $1,900 to $3,600 per month which is budget that could be used elsewhere within your business or even saved!

  1. To create brand awareness:

The more people that see your brand the more they will remember it and the more they will bring it up in conversation (referrals). Your Bulk Bags have a multitude of potential touch points on it’s journey from supplier to logistics, to reseller, to customer, to job site and beyond. Most of these touch points involve people, people who will see and remember your brand. So when you have packaging that is eye-catching, carries a message and illustrates what you do all in one place you can see how they are an extremely under-utilized branding tool.

  1. Brand/Product differentiation and identification:

Packaging design is holding more importance in industries such as Stockfeed and especially for brands that have multiple products and ranges. Larger product result in difficulty identifying different products. Choosing your colours, imagery and design layout will be the difference between saving time, avoiding mistakes with logistics and making identification easier for customers when selling through retail stores.

Having the contents in full-graphic print on the side of your bulk bags could solve potential identification issues within your operation and can be used to market those products to your chosen target market.

Not sure how your brand will transfer to a Bulk Bag? Our in-house design team understand how best to display your brand on BOPP Bulk Bags and can supply artwork, help with layout and walk you through the design process.

Your Bulk Bags connect with multiple parts of your business every day, which means you could be missing out on opportunities to utilize your bags for more than transporting or storing your products. BOPP Bulk bags can deliver important messages, build brand awareness, and create custom solutions for your business.

Wanting to know more about our BOPP Bulk Bags? Contact the team today – 06 356 9835 | hello@52.65.95.104

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Product Innovations

Welcome to the future of sustainable bulk bags…

Did you know that 1 million plastic bottles are used around the world every minute? Far too many of these end up in landfills or the ocean.

Introducing the most environmentally friendly bulk bags on the market. These bulk bags are made from 100% recycled PET and boast some awesome environmental gains compared with using traditional bulk bags.

  1. For every rPET bulk bag produced, we stop the plastic used to make the bag from ending up somewhere it shouldn’t or landfill.
  2. We’re stopping new (virgin) plastic from entering our eco-system.
  3. PET as a resin holds its molecular structure much better than other resins do through the recycling process, allowing us to maintain quality whilst holding significant weights as bulk bags are required to do. For example – it would not be possible to make a quality bulk bag from recycled PP.
  4. Up to 25% less CO² emissions compared to that of a traditional bulk bag.

These bulk bags are tested and certified to international standards, and have integral UV stability to ensure performance in harsh environmental conditions. They are also fully customisable to suit your requirements, including SWL (safe weight loading), size, filling and discharge spouts, and printing, with up to 4 colours available.

Here is some more on the process:

Reducing the global plastic waste crisis one bag at a time. Join the movement!
Learn more about this product innovation.
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Product Innovations

Introducing Fusion, a true stitchless Bulk Bag

At Smart Pack, it is our job to make your packaging look good, but when it comes to product innovation, this one makes us look good!

Smart Pack are releasing FUSION – a Seamless Bulk Bag based on revolutionary technology. Say goodbye to those issues associated with stitched bulk bags and say hello to FUSION bulk bags. Ideal for food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

  • Food Grade
  • Revolutionary Technology
  • No Seams – Leakproof
  • Zero Risk of Thread Contamination

Learn more about this packaging innovation.
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Product Innovations

Introducing the Smart Release™ Bulk Bag

Bulk Bags have revolutionised the way we transport and store dry goods, but discharging their contents is not without risks. Traditional bulk bag designs require someone to reach under the bag with their entire upper body, to slit the bag open, or to release a dispensing spout. With bulk bags able to hold 1000kg+, Health and Safety is a major consideration.

Until now!!!

We have greatly reduced the risks involved in discharging bulk bags with the introduction of a new, innovative design, the Smart Release™ system.

The Smart Release™ bulk bag has a spout underneath that is controlled by a series of ties, which can be accessed while standing beside the bag (not reaching underneath it).

Developed as a joint venture between Smart Pack and the manufacturer, the Smart Release™ bag is the newest and safest bulk bag on the market in New Zealand.

Not only that, but it comes with cost and time-saving efficiencies.

Why the Smart Release™ bulk bag will tick your boxes:

SAFETY

If you care about the safety of your people… this is the safest Bulk Bag discharge/release system on the market.

EASY TO USE

When you have multiple sites and staff, small inefficiencies can soon add up. The longer a job takes, the more it costs you in the long run. The Smart Release™ bulk bag is quick and easy to use. Its simple but clever design is easy to understand, requiring little training and speeding up the whole process of discharging.

REUSABLE

Before spouts, bulk bags had to be cut open to release their contents, rendering them a single-use product. With its innovative tie system, the spout on the Smart Release™ bulk bag can be easily and securely put back in place after its contents have been emptied. This can be done on the spot, so each bag leaves the yard ready for its next use.

WORKS EVERY TIME

Yes, there are already bulk bags with the spout feature on the market. But they can be difficult to re-tie and when they aren’t tied up properly they don’t work. And then you end up having to cut the bag open anyway. The Smart Release™ system is pretty much fail proof. Release, tie, refill, repeat.

The saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. But we don’t subscribe to this. We won’t change something just for the sake of it, but just because something’s working well, doesn’t mean it can’t be done better.

We are constantly looking for innovative, but practical, solutions to improve on our products.

The Smart Release™ system is clever in its simplicity and, like all good inventions, it will leave you wondering why it wasn’t invented sooner!

Contact us if you’d like to find out more.
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Product Innovations

The new trend in small bag packaging, PP*STAR

Heard about PP*STAR, BOPP pinch bottom bags? The BOPP pinch bottom bag concept unites the best qualities of woven polypropylene tape fabric and printed BOPP film to create a cutting-edge packaging option for dry bulk goods. Perfect for packaging dry pet food or fertilizer, as well as other products such as seeds, flour, sugar, or rice. If you’re looking for strong but lightweight packaging with allover print capability that’s suitable for automatic filling systems and is easy to palletise, this is it.

Advantages of this new design

With all packaging, we’re constantly striving to reduce raw material costs and environmental impact. The challenge then becomes maintaining the important properties such as strength, durability and appearance. Read on to find out how PP*STAR bags measure up.

Light but strong

Single layer PP*STAR bags are strong enough to carry high quantities of content, making multiple-layer packaging no longer a necessity. An average single-layer PP*STAR bag that holds 25 kg of content weighs only 118 g – a weight reduction of more than 55 % compared to a 4-ply paper sack of the same size.

Even stronger than steel!

Woven tape fabric has a high tensile strength. In fact, a piece of polypropylene tape is even stronger than a piece of construction steel of the same size. This is what makes the PP*STAR bag unique. A 15 kg sack of pet food can survive a drop from more than 6 metres because the woven tape fabric combined with the BOPP film provides it with extraordinary stability. And the use of glue ensures that the closure does not burst open even under severe strain.

Perfect shelf display

The use of BOPP film allows allover printing of the bag, including the bottom. The reverse printed BOPP film protects the print against scratching and abrasion during handling and ensures a long-lasting attractive look.

No leaking or humidity intake

The pinch closure is tighter than a sewn closure. There are no stitches where product can leak through. This also makes them more tamper-proof. The BOPP lamination provides a good humidity barrier. This means no polyethylene inner liner is required for sensitive goods.

Easy filling

Existing filling technology such as common open-mouth filling lines can easily be adapted to pinch bottom bags. For closing, modified regular pinch bag closing lines are perfectly suitable. The heat sealing of the pinch top in the course of the filling process is quick and clean and guarantees secure closure against external agents.

So if you’re looking for retail ready packaging, that’s eco-friendly, strong, light and eye-catching PP*STAR bags could be just the ticket.

Learn more about this packaging innovation.
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