Rondo extends wood-free heavy-duty box production, commissions Aicomp for SAP configuration model

(All image credits: Linda Herzog)

11 May 2021 --- Family corrugated board packaging firm Rondo Ganahl has added “the first” wood-free alternative to classic transport boxes for heavy goods to its product range in Austria.

The MC-Box has long been manufactured at the company’s site in Langenenslingen, Germany. Rondo has extended manufacturing to its St. Ruprecht, Styrian site in southern Austria.

The heavy-duty packaging consists of corrugated cardboard and honeycomb panels glued and wet-strengthened in a unique process called “multicross.”

High stability is achieved due to the counter-rotating corrugation directions and plug-in modules made of metal or plastic, forming solid corner joints. The MC-Box is suitable for transporting “almost any” heavy goods.

Ursula Strauss, marketing and corporate communications for Rondo, tells PackagingInsights the biggest challenge was matching the stability of heavy-duty boxes with a more environmentally sustainable material composition.

“The challenge was to develop a quality that achieves the same or better stability and guarantee a simple assembling and dismantling process.”

“We are able to offer various solutions, for example, wooden pallets, corrugated board pallets, pallets with OSB runners or corrugated board runners.”

Customization capabilities
Depending on the requirements, the Mc-Box stands on a load carrier made of OSB boards with skids, INKA presswood pallets or wooden pallets.

Moreover, the solution can be customized by formats, printing and interior and manufactured from one piece of board.

The box’s panel size is variable and can be produced up to a maximum of 2.2 x 6 meters. It is loadable up to five tons statically and between two to three tons dynamically.

“The substructure can be selected according to the respective requirements,” explains Ernst Kogler, key account and category manager at Rondo. The heavy-duty packaging consists of corrugated cardboard and honeycomb panels glued and wet-strengthened.

“The interior can be designed freely according to the customer's wishes, for example, with compartments for storage or inserts according to the respective goods' transport requirements.”

“Here we work closely with the customers. Our development department makes 3D designs, produces samples into which the product is fitted.”

“And we are also extremely flexible when it comes to customer requirements for the exterior design: we can print the MC-Box on all sides using the digital printing process.”

The MC-Box as non-wood packaging brings some advantages compared to the classic wooden transport boxes, especially for export markets.

In contrast to wooden packaging, there are no restrictions on deliveries to the EU, Canada, the US, Mexico and Asia, the supplier highlights.

Moreover, the box’s low dead weight saves costs compared to wood as the cardboard layer boards achieve weight savings of up to 40 percent.

Furthermore, the solution can be used several times and missing or damaged modules can be easily replaced due to the modular plug-in design.

Aicomp maps MC-Box in SAP
Rondo commissioned Aicomp to create and implement a suitable configuration model for its SAP (Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing) system.

Since Rondo already uses Aicomp’s variant configurator VCPowerPack, the focus was on a detailed mapping of all production-relevant material and labor in SAP ERP, as normal with VCPowerPack customers.

“The implementation of a new product into the SAP system basically runs in six steps,” Sebastian Mezger, senior developer at Aicomp, tells PackagingInsights:

1. Product features
2. Dependencies
3. Production steps
4. Machine customizing
5. Configuration model
6. Specification interface

“Aicomp experts hold discussions with stakeholders from all relevant areas, including development, production, logistics, purchasing and sales, to develop the best possible understanding of the product.”Rondo commissioned Aicomp to create a suitable configuration model for its SAP system.

“In the process, relevant product features and their characteristics are worked out based on which variants can be described.”

“In the specific example of the MC-Box, these included MC grade (composed of honeycomb design and corrugated grade), dimensions, substructure (pallets, skids and feet), print, and delivery method (assembled or kit).”

The system enables customers to benefit from a fast, error-free and accurate quote calculation reflecting the detailed design options of the MC-Box.

Several operations are necessary to produce an MC-Box, which must also be recorded in detail in the system to enable valid costing.

“The MC-Box needs a flexible system for configuration,” adds Jörg Helmreich, partner and general manager at Aicomp Germany.

“The box itself already offers numerous factors that are mapped by the system. However, our aim is to map as many relevant resource and cost centers as possible that can arise during production.”

“This starts with the various versions of procurement, through different machine routings, to delivery options at the end customer. Ultimately, this means that each of our customers has an individual configuration setup that enables them to create the most precise product configurations and calculations as early as the customer inquiry stage.”

Second use for sawing waste
During the cutting process, the finished MC material still has to be cut according to the order. Rondo offers sawing or cutting machines for this purpose.

The Mc-Box is “the first” wood-free alternative to classic transport boxes for heavy goods.The machines’ individual performance and tolerance parameters and the respective waste are taken into account in the configuration model. Cutting and sawing waste can subsequently be used in other applications, for example, MC feet.

“Sawing waste is used for inlays or used if box sets are stacked on pallets to stabilize the boxes for transport,” explains Strauss.

For the substructure production, the work efforts and optimization specifications of the sawing-machine and the necessary steps in manual work are recorded.

The MC-Box can be supplied assembled or disassembled as a kit. The assembly is shown as a manual process. A catalog of different activities is created, each with a time value depending on complexity and area/size.

The total time required to erect an MC-Box is then calculated from the sum of the individual activities.

If the box is delivered disassembled, the materials are folded to save space. Palletizing is optional, and various packaging materials are included in the calculation.

By Joshua Poole

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