Manufacturers have many different packaging options, but custom thermoform plastic packaging can be the best option for many products. At Indepak, we can design and produce any type of rigid plastic packaging you might need, and here’s why we believe using a thermoformer might be your best option.
1. Plastics Are Affordable
Packaging costs can comprise a large portion of your yearly budget but using thermoform plastic materials can help you reduce costs. Plastics are more affordable than many other packaging options. Additionally, because of their light weight, plastic materials also can reduce your transportation costs.
2. Plastics Are Impact-Resistant
Few other packaging materials are as protective as thermoform plastic. If your product is surrounded by glass, the container could break easily. Aluminum can be dented, and dented cans rarely are selected by consumers for purchase. Cardboard and paperboard can be damaged easily and tampered with easily.
Plastics especially sealed packaging such as clamshells are highly tamper-proof, which can prevent theft. If a product encased in plastic packaging is jostled during transport or falls off a store shelf, the product inside usually is well-protected, and you won’t notice the damage to the packaging. We can provide you with heat sealing, RF welding and other types of sealing options.
3. Plastics Are Moisture-Resistant
While moisture and exposure to oxygen can cause foods to spoil quickly, moisture and mold can damage many other products, including many retail products, electronic items and personal care products. Plastics are moisture-resistant and can protect your products as they rest on a store shelf, even in humid climates.
4. Plastics Can Be A Sustainable Option
At Indepak, we can create your plastic packaging using recyclable thermoform materials or create your packaging using materials with recycled content. This can be a package created entirely from recycled materials or partially from recycled content, depending on your needs and budget. Additionally, for some projects, we may be able to use starch-based biomaterials. These bioplastics are created using renewable resources, such as corn starch.
However, using these types of more eco-friendly materials is not the only way that plastics can serve as a sustainable packaging option. Because plastic weighs far less than other packaging materials – cardboard, glass, aluminum – the amount of energy needed to transport your items is far less.
Additionally, when it comes to custom food packaging, plastic materials substantially reduce food waste. Plastic materials, especially when used as modified atmosphere packaging, can extend the life of many fresh foods, including meat, poultry, fish, cheese, deli items and much more. You can extend your market and keep foods fresh for longer than ever before with plastic MAP packaging. We often design food packaging for MAP applications and can work with your lidding supplier to ensure material compatibility.
5. Plastics Are Versatile
Plastics can be molded into just about any shape you might need. As a thermoformer with more than 50 years of experience, we can create any type of custom plastic packaging you might need in just about any shape or size. This includes:
• Blister Packaging (trap blisters, face seal blisters & more)
• Clamshell Packaging
• Thermoformed Trays
• Plastic tubs (with or without lids)
• Unique Custom Designs
• Thermoform Parts (not everything we make is a package!)
At Indepak, we can provide custom packaging to a wide range of industries, and we specialize in designing and creating packaging for the following industries:
• Specialty Foods (we have earned FSSC 22000 certification)
• Personal Care
• Medical & Pharmaceutical (for non-sterile and downstream sterilization applications)
• Electronics (we work with many materials suitable for static-sensitive products)
• Agricultural
• Retail (office supplies, tools, toys, etc.)
We also can create industrial business-to-business tote trays that fit into your processes seamlessly. As an expert thermoformer, we can work with a myriad of rigid plastic materials ranging from .008” to .080” inches. Our facility includes a variety of thermoforming equipment allowing us to use many plastic materials, including PET, PETG, ABS, PVC, HIPS, OPS, HDPE, PP and those aforementioned starch-based biomaterials.
We keep costs down by keeping everything in-house, including design, prototyping and production. We also offer several additional services including package fulfillment and inventory management. We have 50,000 feet of warehouse space and we can manage your inventory levels in a variety of ways ranging from a simple minimum/maximum system to more sophisticated customer-based web portals.
In addition to our FSSC 22000 certification as a quality food packaging supplier, we also have earned ISO 9001:2015 certifications, which reflects our commitment to quality. Our team is committed to sustainability and goes well beyond ISO 140001:2015 requirements. We are a low-waste operation in every part of our company and continuously strive to minimize the impact of our activities on the environment.
