As we see a larger number of light weight component parts for all vehicles due to the rapid increase in electric vehicle and hybrid launches, it is important to address the issues around using heavy metal packaging in the automotive supply chain.

With sustainability at the top of the agenda for OEMs and Tier Suppliers, returnable plastic packaging can no longer be ignored.

How can it make sense to ship component parts in HEAVY steel stillages that weigh out the truck and cause more fuel usage, more CO2 emissions and low truck capacity?

Introducing foldable plastic packaging such as the EuroBin, weighing only 52kgs with a weight capacity of 900kgs, will significantly reduce the weight of each truck load. On average you can remove 5,000-10,000 kilos from each journey when shipping component parts using foldable plastic bins, this will immediately reduce the cost and environmental impact of the fuel consumed as well as tyre ware.

Move more for Less
If this is cascaded throughout the entire supply chain, OEMs will be saving tens of millions of Euros per annum in conjunction with transforming the sustainability of inbound and outbound logistics.

Another key consideration is that the focus on electric vehicles is not just the environmental impact when they are on the road. The CO2 created in production and manufacturing of a vehicle is also an important consideration for OEMs. So, the less weight used in the plant all leads to a more sustainable future.

Increasing quantities by using lighter weight packaging and better pack density further enhances the business case as you are able to ship more for less. Leading to less trips per year, removing unnecessary journeys.

If you replicate this through the lifetime of producing a vehicle, you are making significant financial savings in comparison to using heavy steel packaging. The financial savings help to improve the profitability of the vehicle whilst being better for the planet too.

Remove waste from Outbound Logistics
Foldable, stackable bins allow 260 bins to be returned following their use in an OEMs plant, unlike the same amount of metal packaging being shipped per return journey.

260 EuroBins empty weighs 13,500 kgs per trailer or 260 steel stillages empty weighs 23,500 kgs per trailer. Therefore, by using plastic containers there are significant savings on fuel usage, emissions, and tyre wear.

Return, Recycle and Reuse
Today all packaging used in the automotive supply chain should be returned and recycled before being reused by Tier Suppliers and OEMs.

It makes both financial and environmental sense to adopt returnable plastic packaging to eliminate single use materials, waste disposal and create unnecessary carbon emissions throughout the supply chain.

You now have the ability to recycle and reuse packaging at the end of its lifecycle, ready to be used for future vehicle launches. This further delivers environmental benefits and cost savings in comparison to other packaging solutions.

All Eurobins are 100% recyclable and all the parts can be replaced. So after vehicle life is NOT after Eurobin life as the old bins are repaired and made ready for the new Vehicle launch.

All this makes preparing a new business case to change from steel to Plastic worthwhile.