Returnable packaging for refrigerator doors: custom securing and zero waste versus EPS
The customer's challenge
A household appliance manufacturer needed a system to package refrigerator doors that would keep them fixed and protected inside the box throughout transport.
The doors, due to their size and surface fragility, are especially sensitive to impacts, scratches and displacement inside the packaging. Until then they were protected with EPS (expanded polystyrene) parts that cushioned, but did not guarantee precise fixation: the door could move inside the box during the journey.
Critical factor: EPS is a single-use, fragile material that generates bulky waste at destination and degrades after few cycles. Each shipment meant a new packaging cost and a waste problem for the end customer
CTE's solution
CTE developed a thermoformed part designed to fit the door, which embraces it and fixes it precisely inside the box throughout the transport cycle.
The part adapts to the exact door geometry, eliminating play and ensuring complete immobilization. Being manufactured in PE-HD of 2 mm, it withstands multiple round-trip cycles without losing properties, turning the packaging into a returnable asset instead of a consumable.
The result: returnable packaging with more than 50 useful life cycles, which reduces the cost per door transported by around 60% and eliminates packaging waste at destination
Advantages delivered
01
Custom securing: the part embraces the door and immobilizes it inside the box, eliminating movements and impacts.
02
Protection superior to EPS: the exact fit to the product geometry eliminates scratches and surface marks.
03
Returnable and reusable: reduces cost per cycle and eliminates packaging waste at destination.
04
Lightweight: does not significantly increase package weight or transport cost.
05
Recyclable and durable: maintains its properties after multiple uses and is recycled at the end of its life.
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