How to reduce economic costs and environmental impact with polyurethane packaging machines.

How much does compressing and packaging polyurethane help the environment and the bottom line?

The global logistics and transportation situation has been going through a critical situation for a long time, first due to the suspension for the pandemic, and then due to the post-pandemic recovery, for which logistics was not yet ready. But what kind of impact does this logistics problem have on the polyurethane industry and its related industries? And how can packaging machines help companies obviate, or at least limit, this problem?

Plus, what environmental, as well as economic, benefits would optimizing shipping bring? Let's see it together.

The logistics situation (for polyurethane, but not only)

World trade and the shipping and logistics sector have been in difficulty for some time. The situation is slowly improving, but problems remain, driven by the prolonged pandemic and geopolitical instability we are experiencing. Let's look at the first issue.

The post-pandemic recovery

As Sleep Tech Magazine also reports, we are in a period of crisis in finding shipping containers. A problem that affects all sectors of world trade and is particularly felt by industries like mattresses and polyurethane processing - which in fact import the raw material and export the manufactured goods.

What is this "container shortage" due to? To the blockage due to the pandemic and the subsequent recovery. During the first pandemic period, due to lockdowns, when countries closed their borders, ports and airports, there were problems in production and supply. With commercial traffic reduced, the number of containers in circulation was also reduced, and even today it is difficult to find enough.

As an Italian article with an interview to Luigi Merlo, president of Federlogistica, underlines, "last autumn recorded a real traffic jam of the seas: ports closed in some areas of China for outbreaks of Covid, long-term repercussions of the blockage of the Suez Canal in spring due to the grounding of the ship Evergiven, explosion of the demand for containers due to the post-pandemic economic recovery". The consequence? An enormous increase in the cost of container freight - Merlo gives the example of containers that have gone from €500 to €20,000 per trip on the Mediterranean Sea-Asia route.

The big problem is therefore that containers are less available, their cost has increased, they always allow limited storage space, which must be optimized as much as possible.

The second problem - instability

In addition to the problem of the difficulty in finding containers, and at an ever-increasing cost, due to the post-pandemic recovery, there is also the instability generated by the current geopolitical situation, whose consequences, especially in the long term, have yet to be determined. Both the problem of raw materials and the cost of fuel which, combined with the lack of drivers, has further increased the cost of land transport.

Since the space available, both on containers and trucks, is always the same, this translates into a higher cost for those who transport their goods, who can always store the same number of items, but pay more on transport. This problem is then reflected in not being able to offer their product at a competitive price.

Let's consider the polyurethane sector.

An example: how much does a truck "cost"?

We have made a small calculation, as example:

a standard truck measures 13.6x2.4x2.6 and has a capacity of 85m3
a 40' container measures 12.02x2.35x2.68 and has a capacity of 76 m3
a polyurethane block measuring 2x2x1.2 m has a volume of 4.8 m3 in its original size.

This means that on a truck it is possible to load 12-13 uncompressed blocks, while on a container 12.

Of course, the cost of a single truck and container depends on the route and distance. We will see in a moment how convenient it can be, percentagewise, to try to optimize the space for one's shipments by reducing the number of trucks or containers needed.

From an environmental point of view, we should remember that, as the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper points out, "a diesel truck weighing over 3.5 tons quietly emits 6-700 grams of CO2 per kilometer travelled. A large truck, loaded at 55%, exceeds one kilogram of CO2 per kilometer". Considering a truck loaded with about 12 blocks of polyurethane (about 2 tons) we can calculate 700 g/km.

This means that an expedition of 1000 km, with a truck, involves, on average, the release of 700 kg of CO2. This is a truly significant amount, with a heavy impact on the planet - which can, however, be reduced.

As we have told you, we have been talking about the concept of reduction for some time: of energy consumption, of space, of production and transport costs, of waste. The polyurethane industry has faced major changes to facilitate transportation, reduce shipping costs and the environmental impact of logistics. In such a complex period, from an economic, logistic, and environmental point of view, optimizing shipments becomes crucial.

Which solutions does Dolphin Pack propose?

One of the most interesting aspects of flexible polyurethane is its flexibility. The cells from which it is formed are close together are full of air; this makes it elastic, not rigid, so its volume can be reduced through mechanical compression. This operation allows to increase the number of items shipped, reduce transport costs and pollution (more blocks per shipment, less trucks in circulation). Therefore manufacturing companies are increasingly turning to packaging and compression machines.

Dolphin Pack develops and produces several machines for packing polyurethane blocks. Here are the main lines in production and the type of compression they can offer on an "example" block of 2x2x1.2 m, volume 4.8 m3, density 30 kg /m3 and kPa 3.5*:

Peler, designed to pack and compress flat and vacuum using 100 micron barrier film. It reduces the block to 2x2x0.3, so we go to a volume of 1.2 m3 (-75%*). On the example truck seen before, we can therefore load 40/42 blocks, instead of 12
Levante, for the compression of blocks and rolls in the form of a roll using PE film LD 100-120 micron. It reduces the block to a roll of 2.2 x 0.7 diameter, so we go to a volume of 0.9 m3 (-81%*). On the example balance seen before, we can then load 50/55 blocks
Burian, the latest arrival, developed to compress first in flat with a 35 micron PE LD and then in roll using a 40 micron stretch. This reduces packaging costs. It reduces the block to a 2.2 x 0.8 diameter roll, so we go to a volume of 1 m3 (-79%*). We can load 46/48 blocks on the truck.

*The compression range depends on the technical characteristics of the polyurethane and its quality. The compression % is configurable by recipe and must be evaluated case by case.

Tangible savings

On a "sample shipment" of 45 blocks of polyurethane, on a truck, for 1000 km, we go from having to use 4 trucks to using only 1, with a possible economic saving of 70-75%, and CO2 savings of more than 2 tons on average.

Greater efficiency and sustainability

Dolphin Pack's packaging machines are an investment that, as we have seen, results in significant savings in the cost of transporting polyurethane blocks, both in economic and environmental terms - less expense to transport the same number of items, and fewer tons of CO2 released into the environment.

They are a solution to logistical problems and increased transportation costs.

They offer an opportunity to increase production capacity because they can ensure that more shipments can be made to customers, at a more competitive end cost. On an environmental level, as we were saying, savings of over 70% in CO2 consumption, which allows us to present ourselves on the market in a different, more environmentally friendly way. Also, thanks to the additional fact that the machines work with recyclable or already recycled film.

A solution to logistic problems

These machines, therefore, make it possible to reduce the volume of polyurethane blocks, to increase the number of products for each shipment (truck or container), improving logistical efficiency, reducing transport and production costs and, at the same time, reducing the environmental impact of the supply chain.

Companies must respond to contingent logistics problems by opting for increasingly innovative and high-tech solutions, as Dolphin Pack does with packaging solutions that allow for greater automation and efficiency, space and cost savings, and lower environmental impact. To the benefit of all.