DANBURY, Conn.  Sealed Air introduced its first package design and development center in 1967. Forty years later, this has grown into a network of 35 facilities worldwide, the only global network of its kind. The centers provide comprehensive offerings in packaging design, testing, prototyping and tooling. The network of package design and development centers offers practical solutions for the most demanding packaging challenges with 77 full-time packaging design professionals who complete more than 10,000 designs each year.

Sealed Air spends twice the industry average on research and development, states Bill Armstrong, technical development manager for Sealed Air Corporation. This shows the commitment we have to constantly developing and improving packaging products and designs to better protect our customers products.

Certified packaging professionals work directly with packaging and shipping personnel from current and prospective customers to create customized solutions that endure the rigors of shipping and ensure products arrive safely. Nearly every center has in-house tooling capabilities, allowing Sealed Air engineers to create custom solutions to fit a customers packaging needs.

The testing centers are fully equipped to perform a wide range of standard package tests, including ISTA, ASTM, ISO and NMFC testing, atmospheric conditioning and testing, and cold chain distribution testing.

Sealed Airs packaging professionals also can develop a package prototype to meet protection and shipping requirements. The prototype process includes per package cost estimates, package value analysis development, and verification and validation. Upon completion of the design and testing, Sealed Air provides a detailed report covering all technical documentation, including performance data and specifications.

A resulting package could be designed to use packaging materials such as Instapak foams, Korrvu suspension or retention package designs, Bubble Wrap cushioning material or Cryovac industrial shrink film. These packaging options can increase protection, reduce packaging costs, reduce packaging materials and decrease the amount of labor needed to create the package.

The extensive network of package design and development centers includes 11 locations throughout North America. Three of these labs specialize in specific types of package design, while the remaining eight facilities can provide package design assistance for all interior protective packaging products and systems. Nine of the North American centers are certified by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA). This certification provides added assurance that packages are developed and tested using widely accepted testing and evaluation standards.

The global reach of our network of package design and development centers is a great asset to our customers worldwide, states Armstrong. It allows Sealed Air engineers to seamlessly implement solutions and duplicate support for customers with multiple locations around the world.

For more information on Sealed Airs package design and development centers, call 1-800-568-6636 or visit http://www.sacpackdesign.com/.