One of the largest forestry management companies in the country approached Indepak looking for a seed tray plug that would allow its workers to plant tree seedlings in a much quicker manner. Most of the seedling trays on the agricultural packaging market were molded form extremely thin plastic and featured cavities that were too large and too flimsy.
The Challenge
Our client challenged us to create a seedling tray (or propagation tray) utilizing a relatively small, industry-standard footprint while integrating as many cavities as possible. Next, our client wanted the cavities to feature a tapered design with the end sliced off so seedlings could be easily popped out in the field.
The Overall Design
First, Indepak’s engineers designed a thermoformed tray with virtually no wasted space that included 162 narrow, tapered cavities in a footprint smaller than 11” x 21”. To accomplish this, special tooling was required.
The Cavity Design
Next, Indepak’s engineers and tooling specialists collaborated to design tooling with integrated water channels that could create the uniform wall thickness required to achieve the narrow, tapered cavities with the rigid “sliceable” bottom.
An Environmentally Friendly Result
By increasing the number of cavities without increasing the footprint of the tray, Indepak created a more environmentally package – less material, less cost to transport to the field, etc. Plus, the innovative designs allowed workers to plant new trees more quickly and easily…so it was a win-win-win scenario for Indepak, our client and the environment.
