Boxes for packaging water quality meters and standard solutions (left: former design, right: new design)
Amidst growing concern about environmental issues and the need for companies to address sustainability, product packaging materials were renewed materials as part of our project to consider environmentally friendly manufacturing.
In 2023, this project took on the challenge of improving the boxes for packaging LAQUAtwin compact water quality meters. The LAQUAtwin series is HORIBA’s most widely shipped water quality meter, selling more than 30,000 meters per year in Japan and abroad. Our Japan and overseas project members involved in development, design, and sales went through processes of trial and error with the aim of creating boxes that would lessen the burden of sorting and disposal on customers using the products, while minimizing environmental impact.
After a year of deliberation, a new, compact packaging box was completed, that reduced the use of paper, plastic resources and printing ink.
Boxes for packaging water quality meters and standard solutions (left: former design, right: new design)
The new packaging boxes have reduced the total size of the shipped water quality meters by approximately 30% and the standard solutions by about 20%. In addition, printing was changed from multicolor to two-color, and the plastic window eliminated, making it 100% paper. These improvements are expected to reduce paper resources by 1.7 tons and CO2 emissions by 600 kgs per year.
The new packaging boxes are also designed for easy handling even after the product has been delivered to the customer.
One major improvement is the elimination of the inner box used for the water quality meters and sensors. This eliminates the need to transfer the contents from the inner box to a carrying case when unpacking, and the size has also become more compact. The elimination of the plastic window also eliminates the need to separate paper and plastic when disposing.
Box contents (left: former design, right: new design)
Going forward, we will continue to pursue manufacturing so that products are easy for customers to use and environmentally friendly. We will work towards the realization of a sustainable society throughout the entire product life cycle.
Developer
Even if we can reduce the amount of resources used for packaging boxes, we must ensure the safety of our products. This was my first time involved in improving packaging boxes as a part of development. Although there were many difficulties to get through, such as drop tests, I'm glad that we were able to give it shape through trial and error. We will use this experience to examine more ways to make our products environmentally friendly.
Designer
Aiming to create environmentally friendly packaging boxes while maintaining an attractive appearance and after a number of trial productions, we were finally able to come up with a design that we were satisfied with. I am confident that we are capable of contributing to the reduction of waste after our products delivered to our customers.
Sales Representative
With the total ban of disposable plastics and other environmental regulations tightening in Europe in recent years, we wondered if there was anything the HORIBA could do to address this issue. This awareness led us to our present activities. Improving the design was not an easy task, but we were able to create packaging boxes that we were satisfied with.
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> LAQUAtwin Compact Water Quality Meter
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