Rentable packaging. Closed loop.
The same packaging, back and forth, for years. No recurring waste.
Instead of buying and discarding packaging with every shipment, we design it to return. Custom reusable systems in closed supplier-customer loops. And if you want, we retain ownership and manage the cycle.
+98
ROTATIONS PER UNIT 8-14 PER YEAR
7
YEARS OF PACKAGING SERVICE LIFE
9 -18
MONTHS OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Why does your company buy packaging every month?
Almost nobody buys new cars to go to work every day – they reuse them. Almost nobody discards machines after a single use. But packaging remains single-use in most industrial chains. CTE proposes the opposite model.
CURRENT MODEL
Buy new packaging on every shipment
Cardboard, EPS, foams and fillers that end up in the customer’s container when unpacking. Each shipment is a recurring cost and one more waste.
- × Accumulated cost from constant replenishment
- × Bulky waste at every destination
- × Fragile material that degrades easily
- × Variability in each shipment - inconsistent quality
- × Growing cost due to new packaging laws
- × Loss of control over the destination of the material
CTE RETURNABLE MODEL
A technical package that returns
We design a thermoplastic package tailored to your parts. It goes back and forth between supplier and customer hundreds of times over years. If you want, you do not even buy it: you lease it.
- × Cost per rotation, not per unit manufactured
- × Zero waste on every shipment
- × Technical thermoplastic that maintains properties for years
- × Stable and repeatable protection quality
- × Natural compliance with Packaging Law 7/2022
- × Complete cycle traceability and control
According to the level of commitment.
Returnable packaging is not a single product. There are four models according to who owns the packaging, who manages the return and where it is delivered. From simplest to most integrated, all share the same logic: the packaging returns.
01. PATENTADO CTE
Box of Boxes (BoB)
Modular reusable and universal system. A first lid, a second lid and at least one tubular body are assembled to create a container adaptable to almost any dimension. By concatenating tubular bodies you reach the length you need.
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Modular system: lid + lid + concatenable tubular bodies.
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Adaptable: vertical or horizontal orientation, polygonal or circular sections.
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Tool-free assembly: snap fit, manual or robotic assembly.
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Stackable and palletizable: sufficient rigidity for transport and storage.
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Applicable in logistics, transport, storage and domestic sectors.
02. CLIENTE PROPIETARIO
Technical returnable
Solution designed for repetitive logistics loops between supplier and customer. CTE designs and manufactures the system, but the customer owns the packaging. Intended for multiple industrial rotations and structural protection of technical parts.
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Customer owns the asset, CTE as designer and manufacturer.
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Optimized geometries for stacking and space utilization.
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Compatible with europallet and custom logistics containers.
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Special versions: antistatic (electronics), resistant to industrial washing.
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Optional identification by QR, RFID or engraving for traceability.
03. SERVICIO • ALQUILER
EREC • circular economy
Reusable Packaging in Circular Economy. Here we move from a product orientation to a service orientation: CTE owns the packaging, the customer leases it. We design, manufacture, manage the return and recover the material at end of life.
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You don’t buy packaging, you rent it: CTE retains ownership of the asset throughout its useful life.
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Reverse logistics integrated in the service. It is not something you have to coordinate yourself.
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ROl in 9-18 months versus conventional disposable packaging.
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Compliance with Law 7/2022 on waste and packaging. This is already an obligation, not an option.
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Covers the three levels: primary packaging (consumption), secondary (grouping) and tertiary (transport).
04. JUST-IN-TIME
Wall to Wall
Maximum-integration logistics model: returnable packaging is not delivered to the warehouse but directly to the assembly line, in sequenced Just-in-Time format. CTE coordinates supply and reverse logistics, eliminating intermediate inventory.
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Direct supply to line – without intermediate unpacking or additional handling.
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Just-in-Time sequencing according to the real production pace.
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Reduction of intermediate inventory at the customer’s plant.
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Complete management of return, cleaning and replenishment.
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Closed-loop guarantee in high-cadence critical circuits.
Packaging ceases to be a recurring expense. It becomes an asset
The EREC model turns the recurring “use and discard” expense into a controlled and recoverable investment. Comparing a reusable logistics container over 7 years, the numbers are compelling:
Modelo 01
9-18
MONTHS – ROI
The part embraces the door and immobilizes it, movements and impacts.
Modelo 02
+98
ROTATIONS / UNIT
Between 8 and 14 rotations per year during the complete useful life of the packaging.
Modelo 03
7
YEARS OF USEFUL LIFE
Compared to the single-use life of cardboard or EPS – between days and weeks.
Modelo 04
-22%
WEIGHT VS. 2024
Ecodesign applied to reduce material and emissions in transport.
"New packaging laws force producers to take on higher waste management costs. Reuse is the most efficient way to mitigate this increase — and the only one that aligns with circular economy logic."
Returnable EREC
It is common to confuse both terms, but they follow different logics. Returnable packaging is a technical solution. EREC is a complete circular business model. You can start with the first and migrate to the second, or adopt EREC from the outset.
A technical solution
You buy and manage the packaging yourself
A business model
CTE retains ownership and manages everything
Reusable defense
packaging
Returnable packaging finds in defense one of its most demanding and profitable use cases. Drones, onboard electronics, instrumentation, critical spare parts — extremely high-value contents that travel between depot and field cyclically, for years.
The requirements are specific: ESD protection for sensitive electronics, unit-level traceability, modularity to configure the container by mission, compatibility with NATO standards. What thermoforming in technical plastics makes it possible to build to measure.
At CTE we design certifiable ESD returnable packaging under defense specifications: modular inserts reconfigurable by mission, RFID-traceable systems and return packaging for multi-year maintenance and deployment programs.
ESD certificable
REUSABLE ESD PACKAGING
Compatible OTAN
NATO / STANAG SOLUTIONS
Inserts modulares
MISSION-CONFIGURABLE
Trazabilidad RFID
TRACEABLE LOGISTICS
From analysis to running circuit, in four steps
A returnable system is not decided in a meeting. It starts with an analysis of the real logistics flow, continues with a validated design and prototype, and ends with a production pilot before full deployment.
01
Flow analysis
We study your chain: annual rotations, distances, points of use, damage risk and current cost. We identify whether your case is returnable, EREC or Wall to Wall.
02
Design and prototype
We model the packaging in CAD with geometry adapted to your parts. We manufacture a prototype on a resin or aluminum mold for validation with real product.
03
Production pilot
Initial deployment on a specific route or circuit for 2-3 months. We measure real rotations, damage, logistics efficiency and cost per use.
04
Deployment and service
Series production and start-up of the chosen model. If it is EREC or Wall to Wall, we also manage return, traceability and end-of-life recycling.