Monoflo International has launched the Automation Stack Only 6545-325 Tote, the newest addition to the SO tote line, that is designed for automated storage systems and high-speed conveyor systems. This Generation II model is available in both COPP and HDPE material, with double wall rounded corners and multiple interface points and allow for smooth handling and conveyer positioning.
The new 65” x 45” footprint has optional sidewall drain holes, that are designed and tested to comply with FM Global Fire Risk Management October 2020 Standards. Customized options allow for flat, ribbed, hybrid, or welded bottom, plus optional divider or Mini Tote System (MTS) slots options for various configurations. Made entirely of plastic, this product can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, helping end user’s reach their sustainability goals. For more information on this Stack Only Tote, call 540-771-3077 or complete a contact form to speak with a sales team member.
About Monoflo International, Inc. Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products including bulk, foldable and food containers and pallets, bakery trays and dollies, and dairy crates. Monoflo leverages its decades of experience to provide innovative and cost-effective reusable packaging solutions to the general merchandise and food distribution, automotive and manufacturing, and specialty custom retail industries.
Monoflo International has launched a new 48” x 40” Collapsible Bulk Container. This new bulk container’s 48” x 40” footprint makes it ideal for food processing and general distribution applications. This high-pressure injection molded bulk container is manufactured for strength and durability with smooth surfaces. Optional ventholes promote airflow, maintain desired temperature, and facility sprinkler evacuation for automated warehouse systems.
The collapsible design of the BC 4840 improves storage and backhaul efficiency, fitting 240 units on a 53’ truck. Optional ventholes promote airflow, maintain desired temperature, and facility sprinkler evacuation for automated warehouse systems. Designed to meet the needs of various supply chains, this bulk container is available it 2 height options (34” or 39”) and with optional side doors on the 48” or 40” sides.
Made entirely of plastic, this product can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, helping end user’s reach their sustainability goals. For more information on this Bulk Container, call 540-771-3077 or complete a contact form to speak with a sales team member.
About Monoflo International, Inc. Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products including bulk, foldable and food containers and pallets, bakery trays and dollies, and dairy crates. Monoflo leverages its decades of experience to provide innovative and cost-effective reusable packaging solutions to the general merchandise and food distribution, automotive and manufacturing, and specialty custom retail industries.
February 2021 – Winchester, VA
Monoflo International is launching a new Nestable 30” x 42” Distribution Pallet this quarter. This pallet’s compact footprint makes it ideal for direct store delivery applications, facilitating maneuverability in tight spaces including doorways and narrow aisles and reducing the touches and labor needed resulting in faster, more efficient deliveries. This high-pressure injection molded pallet is manufactured for strength and durability, and the impact resistant foot design of this pallet reduces damage from fork tines, offering extended product life.
The space-saving nestable design of the NP 3042-6-IM pallet improves storage and backhaul efficiency, while key design features facilitate easier denesting with a forklift. Additionally, the lightweight design and strategically placed ergonomic handholds of this pallet enable manual operators to denest and grip the pallet safely and efficiently.
Additionally, large diameter drain holes in the feet of the pallet facilitate cleaning and sanitizing processes, and prevent water collection. Made entirely of plastic, this product can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, helping end user’s reach their sustainability goals. For more information on this pallet, call 540-771-3077 or complete a contact form to speak with a sales team member.
About Monoflo International, Inc. Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products including bulk, foldable and food containers and pallets, bakery trays and dollies, and dairy crates. Monoflo leverages its decades of experience to provide innovative and cost-effective reusable packaging solutions to the general merchandise and food distribution, automotive and manufacturing, and specialty custom retail industries.
February 2021 – Winchester, VA
Monoflo International launched a new Rackable 48” x 40” Pallet this month, designed for the food, beverage, and pharmaceutical industries.
Manufactured using FDA-approved material and a USDA-approved design, the new Rackable 48” x 40” Pallet is available in both PP (polypropylene) and PE (polyethylene) to provide flexibility to perform in any application. This high-pressure injection molded pallet is designed to perform in supported and unsupported edge racking applications, maximizing floor storage space. The one-piece flow through design facilitates cleaning and sanitation processes to maintain hygienic properties.
For downstream distribution applications, this pallet is equipped with snap-in RFID slots that can be loaded at the time of manufacturing, or by the end user after manufacturing and delivery. The pallet can also accommodate external RFID labels, designed with deep recessed areas to keep tracking labels from getting skimmed off during transit.
And because this pallet is made using no metal inserts, it can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life, helping end user’s reach their sustainability goals. For more information on this pallet, call 540-771-3077 or complete a contact form to speak with a sales team member.
Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products including bulk, foldable and food containers and pallets, bakery trays and dollies, and dairy crates. Monoflo leverages its decades of experience to provide innovative and cost-effective reusable packaging solutions to the general merchandise and food distribution, automotive and manufacturing, and specialty custom retail industries.
September 2020 – Winchester, VA
Monoflo International has launched its new Nestable 48 x 40 Pallet, the newest product in its next generation pallet line. Designed for one of the toughest applications, downstream grocery distribution, the NP 4840-6-IM-W G2 offers many features to deliver exceptional performance and extended product life.
This high-pressure injection molded pallet features a two-piece welded design, welded not only around the perimeter of the pallet but also throughout the pallet ribs, creating 35 in2 of welded surface area, offering superior performance with heavier loads while maintaining a low tare weight.
Understanding that it is common for forklifts to hit pallet feet causing them to shear off and be rendered useless, Monoflo engineers focused heavily on the foot design of this pallet, developing a patent pending Flex Foot that can bend to deflect impact rather than sheer off.
While nestable pallets offer desirable space saving storage and backhaul efficiency, many pallets can be challenging to denest when nesting deck to deck. This pallet’s recessed handholds enable manual operators to denest and grip the pallet with one manipulation, rather than first having to denest the pallet and then grab it to handle.
In an environment as fast paced as wholesale grocery distribution, it was important to consider load stability from initial loading and lifting to transporting under various types of acceleration. To address this, the NP 4840-6-IM-W design includes a specialized texture pattern across the pallet deck to reduce slippage. Optional features include additional texture around the perimeter of the top deck to increase main deck friction, top deck grommets, and deck lips to minimize load shifting.
Additionally, flow through drain holes in the feet of the pallet facilitate cleaning and sanitizing processes to ensure the pallet maintains its sanitary properties throughout its life. Made entirely from high-density polyethylene (HPDE), this product can be easily recycled at the end of its useful life. For more information on this pallet, call 540-771-3077 or complete a contact form to speak with a sales team member.
About Monoflo International, Inc.
Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products including bulk, foldable and food containers and pallets, bakery trays and dollies, and dairy crates. Monoflo leverages its decades of experience to provide innovative and cost-effective reusable packaging solutions to the general merchandise and food distribution, automotive and manufacturing, and specialty custom retail industries.
How Monoflo International redesigned the Bulk Container to offer a better product with significant cost savings to the automotive and manufacturing industry.
Challenge: Design a more durable Bulk Container and drive down costs.
Monoflo International, Inc. is a premier manufacturer of superior quality injection molded plastic products and one of the first transport packaging manufacturer in the United States to make a bulk container using high-pressure injection molding. Monoflo believed that the high-pressure injection molded product line offered its customers better strength, durability, and price. Though it was outperforming the competition, Monoflo knew its first generation “G1” bulk box had room for improvement in three main areas:
» Packout Efficiency
Companies in the durable goods manufacturing industry work with a variety of vendors and suppliers, so members in that supply chain follow recommendations and best practices set by the AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) to standardize processes and materials, like bulk container footprints. The AIAG determined that the optimum bulk container size to accommodate the needs of the automotive industry is a 48”x45”footprint. However, when loaded on a 53’ trailer, the standard bulk container footprint could leave over 290 cubic feet of unutilized space.
» Durability
The supply chain can be unforgiving. Regardless of the manufacturer, customers across the industry experienced breakage of the container’s wall hinges as a result of wear and tear and abuse. Broken containers are costly to continually replace, but if left in use, can leave the product they carry vulnerable to damages.
» Manufacturing Efficiency
Resources are finite. Increased inputs of time, energy, labor, and raw materials can collectively drive up production costs. In order to keep costs low and promote sustainability, Monoflo wanted to drive out manufacturing inefficiencies.
Solution: Monoflo’s redesigned “G2” bulk box.
Monoflo set out to reengineer its bulk box design and manufacturing process to better use the real estate in a 53’ trailer packout, improve the durability of the bulk box to withstand the rigors of the supply chain, and increase manufacturing efficiency to reduce costs.
Monoflo understood it was important that the new design maintain the same inside dimensions to be able to accommodate the same dunnage and products without disruption to current users, and needed to be fully compatible with the other containers used in the durable goods manufacturing industry. Through careful calculation and modeling, Monoflo engineers identified a way to move from a 48” x 45” external footprint to a 48” x 44.5” external footprint without impacting the dimensions inside the container or the container’s strength. The team strategically positioned the feet of the second-generation base to ensure the new model would stack with the legacy models. These changes enabled customers to fit two additional container stacks in a 53’ trailer packout.
The redesign also included modifications to improve the strength and durability of the bulk box, and offered a solution to the industry-wide hinge breakage problem. Monoflo engineers created a redesigned “Flex Hinge” without fiberglass or metal for easier assembly and disassembly, and repositioned them towards the center of the sidewall to protect from wear and tear and abuse. This also made the unit more easily repairable, providing customers the option to repair instead of replace damaged containers. The team also established an independent “T-Slot” connection between the bottom and the sidewall, offering a more precise alignment when assembled, and a box-style “Carcass Joint” to better absorb and resist impact. Lastly, using Finite Element Analysis (FEA), Monoflo implemented a “U-Channel” ribbing design down the sidewall load lines to improve both vertical and horizontal deflections and optimize stacking capacity.
Monoflo performed a comprehensive evaluation of the machines it was using to manufacture bulk containers. Deciding it was time for an upgrade, the company made a significant, multi-million dollar investment and hand selected only the best-in-class robotics and machinery to fully automate the manufacturing process of the newly designed “G2” bulk container.
Results:
» Decreasing the external footprint of the container by 1⁄2 inch meant that 252 units could now ship in a single truck, an increase of 20% from the previous capacity of 234 units. For businesses that move thousands of truckloads of product across the country each year, this translated into significant cost savings. Customers not only pay a lower per-unit price on their initial order, but are also able to transport more product with each truckload.
» The improved“G2”Bulk Container with the new “Flex Hinge,” “T-Slot,” and“Carcass Joint” features has the highest strength-to-weight ratio in the industry as well as decreased reports of broken hinges. The “U-channel” ribbing offers improved load distribution, translating into the highest overall load stacking capacity and increased wall rigidity, both when assembled and disassembled. These strategic design optimizations enabled Monoflo to create a stronger, more durable container with improved load distribution while reducing the overall product weight by 20%, meaning less raw materials consumed and lower freight costs throughout the life of the product.
» Monoflo’s technology investment completely automated the bulk box manufacturing process, decreasing cycle times by nearly 6% and creating a manufacturing cell cost savings that Monoflo was able to pass on to customers. The upgraded technology also includes a vision verification system to inspect minute details at critical stages of production, eliminating the risk of misassembled product and guaranteeing consistent, repeatable quality.
Every factor of the redesign, from the increased packout count, to the improved durability and repairability, and the ongoing freight cost savings contributes to a lower total cost of ownership to customers. The new G2 Bulk Container offers a better quality, more durable container for a lower upfront price and freight savings for the life of the product.