Speeding along: Boise Cascade’s SPLOX is a new paper delivery system that is designed to be faster and easier to use
The is the most advanced paper delivery system to date, the company says. Boise’s product development manager had the idea to make the entire paper handling process easier to carry and store, says Christy Zukowski, Boise Paper Solutions marketing communications manager.
While technology and equipment have continued to change over the years, the way paper was packaged stayed the same. What has emerged from research, development and testing is an advanced paper delivery system.
“It wasn’t easy–we went through a lot of different things to achieve the goal. We really had to work to develop the ergonomic design to reduce overall physical demands on the body,” Zukowski says.
The initial process came from an external design firm and the company’s Corrugated Division. The company worked closely with customers, ranking their needs and wants for the package. The package needed to hold five reams, have the ability to be recycled and needed to be easy to lift, move and use. It also needed to be compact and easy to store.
Then, Korber Paperlink designed a machine to take a single piece of heavier-gauge corrugated board to wrap around a ream of paper. The sheets are printed and diecut before the handles are applied. The board then is shipped flat to the paper plant to be run through the Korber Paperlink machine.
There is moisture protection built into the box in the form of a coating. The board really need to be strong enough to hold 2,500 sheets, or the equivalent of five reams, of paper yet not be too heavy because the entire box only weighs 25 pounds.
The SPLOX has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of employees’ musculoskeletal injuries, improve the speed at which workers can access, transport and load office paper into equipment. SPLOX also protects the contents from shipping damage, moisture and dust without the need for individual ream wrapping.
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