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Newsletter 2004 issue 1 |
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15 Seconds
of Fame—Shred of Evidence
 A
quick look around Stylmark, Minneapolis, and you might find
only a shred of evidence pointing to the company’s corrugated
cardboard paper and box problem. The company had between 800
and 1,200 pounds of cardboard per week on its hands with no
good way to get rid of it.
The manufacturer of extruded aluminum and
stainless steel products had cardboard waste from incoming
supply shipments and scrap corrugated paper and box pieces
from custom-cut boxes for its products.
Stylmark paid a local hauler to pick up
its cardboard weekly. Additional pickups were often required
due to the volume of cardboard waste produced. “Then
the bottom fell out of pricing for cardboard and the hauler
was no longer interested in us, we were too small to be bothered
with,” recalled Warren Prinzing, shipping and assembly
lead at Stylmark. “I found a small, owner/operator hauler,
but it was not able to handle our volume. We were stuck in
the middle.”
While Prinzing looked for a solution to
the cardboard problem, he was also researching ways to cut
product packaging costs. That’s when the idea of shredding
the waste cardboard and using it in-house as packaging material
hit him.
Justifying shredding
Prinzing researched and found a shredding machine to fit Stylmark’s
needs and presented management with justifications, including
a projected eight-month payback for its purchase.
The machine’s footprint is two by three
feet and it stands 45 inches tall. It cost $8,000 and Prinzing
projected it will save Stylmark between $13,000 and $15,000
per year in reduced packaging supplies and recycling hauler
fees. The company didn’t waste any time investing in
the new machine.
Results
“Our savings are two-fold. We purchase fewer packaging
materials and send out less recycling. Our recycling pick-ups
are down from four to six per month to twice per month,”
said Prinzing.
Now the only evidence of the cardboard problem
Stylmark once had is the shredded cardboard readily found
in the product packaging area. “It’s very versatile.
It can be rolled, layered between parts or used in combination
with other packaging supplies for breakables,” said Prinzing.
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