What are the packaging needs for the furniture industry?
How is the furniture sector going, and what specific solutions does it require?
In June took place the 60th edition of Salone del Mobile in Milan. After two complicated years, the first 'real' edition of the post-covid Salone brought the spotlight back on the furniture and design sector, recording numbers 'beyond all expectations', as Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
This is a good sign for the furniture sector, which after two years of great growth, also due to the changes brought about by the pandemic, continues to record excellent numbers. The signals brought by Salone del Mobile place the accent on the choices of style and design in furnishings, furniture, doors and windows, which increasingly require specific packaging solutions. This is a sector where companies, also driven by end customers, are increasingly demanding.
How is the furniture sector going?
Let’s try to understand the “state of health” of the sector, also in the light of the results of Salone del Mobile. How did Salone del Mobile go? Pretty well, one might say: over 262,000 visitors in six days from 173 countries. There were 2,175 exhibiting brands, 27% of which came from abroad, while the number of foreign visitors reached the 60%. It is the sign of a sector with a marked international appeal. A sign of renewed – or perhaps continued - interest on the part of end consumers and therefore vigor on the part of manufacturers.
As Business 24 TV also reports, "the Italian furniture system is growing. In 2022, medium-sized companies estimate an increase in sales of 8.5% and exports at +8.1%". Growth in the sector, greater demand and increased end-customer attention to the design and quality of the products - this leads manufacturers to pay more and more attention to the packaging systems.
The packaging needs in the furniture industry
Salone del Mobile is obviously a product exhibition, linked to the world of furniture, furnishings and fittings, and does not deal specifically with packaging or handling machinery. However, it is important to understand the market trends and how manufacturers are growing and producing furniture that needs special packaging and specific solutions.
What are the packaging needs for the furniture industry? Considering furniture, but also doors and windows, this has specific needs based on the nature of the products it produces. Take a sofa for example: it is a bulky, heavy, irregularly shaped and often very delicate object.
Traditionally, manufacturers packed their furniture in plastic packages or boxes larger than the product, filling the surrounding space with additional packaging material, such as bubble wrap. A simple solution but often ineffective in guaranteeing the integrity of the content.
Nowadays, technology makes it possible to change this reality, creating packages that adapt to the furniture itself, follow its shape better and provide greater protection. In some cases, such as the packaging of sofas, the human eye remains crucial to identify those areas where plastic and bubble wrap are not enough and some reinforcement is needed. Packaging machines, such as those produced by Dolphin Pack, also serve this purpose: not only do they improve the efficiency of packing delicate, heavy and bulky products, and ensure greater strength and quality: they also serve to improve the operator's working conditions and automate a process that is often labor-intensive.
Automation comes to the aid of companies and operators, thus reducing errors and improving the performance when packing particularly complex products. Packaging and handling machines integrate in an Industry 4.0 perspective by improving human-machine interaction for better quality control, improved supply chain management and thus improved management of the end result.
Dolphin Pack solutions for the furniture industry
Dolphin Pack also designs and manufactures tailor-made machines for the packaging and handling of products in the furniture sector - items that require maximum protection. Some examples?
- Mistral 3B Serie S, the ideal solution for packing sofas and armchairs, thanks also to the automatic size reading system for automatic adjustment of the side sealing bars. Sofas, which can be of industrial production or high craftsmanship, often require an additional level of protection to the simple plastic film and are in fact prearranged for the packaging in bubble wrap, which further reduces the risk of damage. In addition to the packaging line, this machine can be configured with different handling systems and stations for the operators to perform manual operations, according to the customer's production requirements.
There are also several specific packaging solutions designed by Dolphin Pack for the furniture sector:
- Mistral 3B MT Double which, with its flexible automatic width adjustment system, is the perfect machine for packaging various types of products in the bedding sector, such as bed bases, headboards and storage boxes
- Mistral 3B MT + Tunnel, which allows complete automatic packaging of the product and, with the addition of a shrinkage tunnel, ensures stronger and more durable adherent packaging
- Scirocco NT + Tunnel, which allows products such as bed nets to be packed professionally and adhesively thanks to the shrinkage tunnel.
What about doors and windows?
Related to the furniture sector is the window and door sector - doors, windows and more. Even in this case, the choice of the right packaging, and the best machinery to produce it, is fundamental. Also because they are very delicate, due to the materials they are made of, such as glass. In addition, the presence of sharp edges makes certain areas of the packaging subject to more intense forces. Durability and safety are paramount.
Many of the packaging machines designed by Dolphin Pack for the furniture and furnishings sector are also perfect for creating strong, customised, quality packaging for doors and windows. In fact, the Mistral and Scirocco series machines are ideal for strong, secure packaging with the right reinforcements to ensure the product safety.
Digital Marketing