In general, dunnage can be constructed from a variety (or combination) of products used to load and secure cargo during transportation.

Usually, the term dunnage refers to an interior placed in an outer container, which can be an expendable carton, standard straight wall stock tote, a custom plastic corrugated tote, etc.

In this article, we're going to explore three examples of dunnage-types that are currently available to our clients.

Kit Packs

Kit packs, or component packs, are often created to hold all parts for a specific application — either for staging, or so all components are kept organized and are ready for an operator to easily assemble. Kit packs tend to improve efficiency by cutting down on the number of large totes holding each individual part.

Custom Dunnage

We can design custom plastic dunnage to create and modify a wide variety of packaging. Corrugated plastic can be die cut and assembled to make a partition set, which creates separate cells. The plastic can be either be a basic corrugated plastic or you can opt to add laminations to the core, which creates further protects the contents of the cell.

We can cut Plastic Corrugated Pads from stock sheets that have a brushed polyester lamination to help protect high-end parts, or have a spun bond lamination (for parts that do not require as much protection).

Brush- and polyspun-laminated corrugated plastics both offer a softer cell wall and added protection during loading or unloading. This 'added protection' also helps prevent scratching or scuffing your product during shipping.

For additional shock absorbtion, we can add foam pads to the bottom of a package. Water-jet or die cut foam blocks can be added in the cell to provide even more support within the packaging.

Multi-Material Dunnage

Here at Universal, we use wide bredth of materials to create out interior dunnage solutions, depending on the part and the desired end result of the client — materials such as plastic, corrugated plastic, cardboard, metal, wood, and foam.

Our ability to integrate multiple materials allows us to create truly tailored designs that work for nearly any packaging application in any industry. We can design for returnable racks, overseas shipping containers, back up expendables, totes and containers, to name a few.

The part weight, level of protection, type of handling, storage time, and environment are all factors when designing dunnage and deciding what materials need to be used to protect your products.

That depends.

Even the best, most innovative product won't sell if you can’t deliver it to the end user without damage.

There are varying degrees of protective packaging, but it isn't necessary in every case. Packaging professionals can help you gauge your project's requirements based on your application, product specifications and goals.

What Is Protective Packaging?

Protective packaging is used in a wide variety of different industries including Automotive, Appliance, Aerospace, Electronics, and Pharmaceuticals. It refers to the use of various packaging materials to safeguard and shield a core product from damages during transportation or storage. In broad terms, protective packaging can be created out of anything from corrugated paper cartons to the most complex die cut assembled into a steel rack.

Protective packaging can be used either as a primary packaging or secondary packaging material depending upon the products’ end-use application. It can be designed for all types of applications, but the end goal is the same — for a product to come out of the package looking (and functioning) the same as when it went in.

Protective Packaging For Any Product

Protective packaging can be constructed from many different types of materials or combinations of materials. Here at Universal, we use everything from plain, plastic corrugated layer pads, to very complex foam plastic dunnage assemblies in order to create the best option for the product we are designing around.

Working with a company that can design packaging using multiple materials is beneficial in that the potential packaging solutions and material combinations for a single project are limitless.

Over the years, Universal has built relationships with a number of suppliers to offer a wide breadth of packaging material options. The variety of materials and ideas we can come up with to take care of our customers is pretty exciting. We've packaged everything from large metal gear parts, to the most delicate of electronic components, as well as high gloss paint and chrome automotive grills and gun barrels.

What’s It Going To Cost?

With any type of packaging, price will vary depending on the product being shipped. The value of the product usually determines the price needed to create the appropriate amount of protective packaging. For instance, a $12.00 container with interiors isn’t feasible for a product valued at $2.00.

If Apple had thrown the first shipments of iPhones into a box with no protective packaging, do you think they would now be releasing the iPhone 8? Without protective packaging, a product will almost certainly arrive to the end-user damaged. And while protective packaging does not prevent all damage, it can greatly reduce it.

Why run the risk of having to reproduce damaged products, when you can take protective measures during the packaging process?