“Every customer will immediately understand that this is a sustainable solution. You can see it and feel it and customers with an eye for details might recognise the PAP21 logo implemented in the tray,” says Oliver Seidensticker, Product Manager Packaging for Wiper systems at Bosch.
Bosch has replaced the plastic packaging component in their wiper blade packaging to become more sustainable. From now on, this part is made out of PureFiber™ by Stora Enso; produced in Sweden with wood fibers from sustainably managed forests, using 100% bio energy. This generation of formed fiber can produce almost any shape where conventional PE, PET and other plastics are being used.
Bosch sells the wiper blades (so called flat blades) in a packaging with two parts, an outer carton box and an inner tray. The inner tray holds, stretches and protects the wiper blades. The material used for this has been a PET plastic blister. In accordance with the ambition to lower the absolute CO2 emissions and listening to customer requests, Bosch decided to replace this part of the wiper blade packaging.
The new packaging concept will be used in European Bosch production plants, the packed Aerotwin Wiper blades will be available worldwide and the change will save more than 350 tonnes of plastic waste yearly.
Bosch chose formed fiber as it is recyclable in the paper stream and it has a lower CO2 impact than the plastic solution. A close collaboration between Stora Enso and Bosch developed the new packaging tray that is tailormade for Bosch, giving them their first wiper blade packaging that is 100% plastic-free for Bosch Aerotwin Set and Single wiper blades.
“They had high requirements and were very engaged, pushing us to make the absolute best product possible,” says Yujia Zhang, Senior Product Manager at Stora Enso.
Same protection but more sustainable
The outcome of the collaboration is a packaging insert with almost the same shape and weight as before, this was necessary for it to work with Bosch’s packaging automation line. Another crucial must-have was the protection and the performance of the tray. The wiper blade has a “rubber lip” that needs protection and the blades have to be stretched in the packaging.
“Luckily, it has been proven by our internal packaging test that the formed fiber tray protects and performs in the same way as the former plastic solution. The difference is that it’s much more sustainable and our customers like it,” Oliver Seidensticker ends.
