Reducing CO2 and waste with customised packaging

Bremerhaven logistics student develops modular packaging solution

Anyone who orders goods online is probably familiar with the surprise when opening the parcel: The outer packaging is often far too large and the contents are protected by large amounts of filling material. This is not particularly sustainable. Tim Stadtlander, a logistics graduate from Bremerhaven, addressed this problem in his bachelor's thesis. He has developed a packaging solution for SIKO GmbH that is optimised for the product range. According to forecasts, this could lead to a significant improvement in the company's carbon footprint.

SIKO GmbH's product diversity was a challenge for the company's packaging concept. There were many different cardboard boxes that could not be easily combined. Not only did this mean that several parcels often had to be sent for one order, but the stock of different sizes was also very large. In order to solve the packaging problem, the company approached the Transport/Logistics degree programme. Student Tim Stadtlander found the task exciting and made it the subject of his bachelor's thesis. He worked together with the company and the university's laboratories to develop a new and directly usable concept for SIKO GmbH.

Tim Stadtlander thought about his packaging solutions from the inside out - in other words, he first developed the inner packaging. To do this, he categorised the products according to shape and size and thus created different size categories. These formed the basis for the decision on how the die-cuts of the new packaging should look. ‘The new packaging concept includes eight different variants, all of which fit into the same two outer packs. This has led to a significant reduction in the variety of packaging materials by 62 per cent. In addition, several parcels often had to be sent in the past because not all the parts ordered fitted into one box. The new packaging also solves this problem,’ explains Stadtlander. This and the low weight of the inlay also significantly improve the company's predicted carbon footprint.

Functionality and protective behaviour are important when developing new packaging. Among other things, this involves the influence of moisture on the cardboard packaging during storage and mechanical influences during transport. Tim Stadtlander tested both in the packaging laboratory at Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences. The packaging was stored for a week in a climate chamber that can maintain constant climate conditions of 90 per cent humidity and 20 degrees Celsius. Cardboard packaging was also stored at room temperature. For the impact test, both the moist and the dry packaging were each dropped ten times from a height of one metre. The load was measured and compared with the maximum permitted values. ‘The comparison shows that the maximum accelerations are below the product's limit value. This allows us to conclude that the protective behaviour of the packaging is sufficient,’ says Stadtlander.

The second test carried out is the so-called stack compression test. This involves applying pressure to the packaging using a press. Based on the values at which the cardboard deforms, conclusions can be drawn about the behaviour during storage and transport. ‘Two series of tests were carried out for dry and moist cardboard packaging. I calculated an average value from these two measurements. For visualisation purposes, I converted this into the number of pallets corresponding to the measured pressure. This value illustrates the difference in the resistance behaviour of moist and dry cardboard packaging in the static case. Due to the high risk of moist cardboard packaging during transport, it was decided to switch from single wall to double wall corrugated cardboard,’ explains Stadtlander. He is very grateful that he was able to use the university's infrastructure for his experiments. ‘Prof Dr Dieter Heimann supported me very well as my examiner. And I was also very well prepared for my task through my studies,’ he says.

One of the biggest challenges was convincing the various interest groups of the new packaging. ‘There were many stakeholders with whom I had to coordinate. It was difficult to find the point where everyone could live with the solution,’ says Stadtlander. The final version has not disappeared as an idea paper in a drawer at SIKO GmbH, but has been in use since September. ‘It goes to America every Friday,’ says the graduate happily. And because the modular solution means that fewer parcels have to be packed, even the biggest sceptics have been won over by the new packaging.
Tim Stadtlander no longer lives in Bremerhaven. He is doing his Master's degree at Münster University of Applied Sciences. He is currently planning an excursion there with fellow students that will take him back to the seaside city: Together with other Master's students, he will visit logistics companies - and perhaps attract some skilled workers to the region.

The application phase for the 2025 summer semester runs until 15 February, and the university's logistics degree programmes are also accepting new students. Further information can be found at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/study.