Austin, MN — Following about 40 packaging reduction projects in 2008 that reduced Hormel Foods' packaging by 5.2 million pounds, the company has announced a range of new projects that are expected to cut it's packaging needs by at least an additional 5.3 million pounds.
A redesign to the shipping box for Hormel pork ribs, butts and bone-in will save 2.4 million pounds of corrugated cardboard while providing a stronger package.
A further 1.2 million pounds of corrugated savings will come from a change to the shipping box for Hormel Compleats microwave meals, which eliminates 23 percent of the corrugate needed.
By no longer putting paper sleeves around Lloyd's barbeque tubs, Hormel has cut out 660,000 pounds of paper fiber a year, and eliminating extra room in Jennie-O Turkey Store burger cartons will reduce paperboard use by 175,000 pounds annually.
Hormel is also eliminating 411,000 pounds of glass a year by reducing the thickness of Hormel bacon bits jars and using 100,000 pounds less of shrink wrap a year by redesigning its party trays. The redesign also allows Hormel to use smaller corrugated cases for the party trays, saving 174,000 pounds of material a year.
The packaging changes have led to even further savings with pallets and shipping. In reducing the overall size of boxes for shipping Hormel pepperoni (which eliminates 49,000 pounds of corrugate annually), the company can fit more products on a pallet, cutting out about 188,000 pounds of wood fiber a year, and ship the product in fewer trailers.
Hormel is also expecting to use 14,573 fewer pallets a year thanks to changes in the shipping of its canned food products, which will also require less plastic film.
Jennie-O product - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjscott69/ / CC BY-SA 2.0