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Barton Jones Packaging Ltd
Industry solutions

Packaging for fragile products

Ceramics, glass, instruments and delicate assemblies packed so nothing touches a box wall and nothing depends on how carefully the pack is thrown.

The problem

What usually goes wrong

With fragile goods, the box is rarely what fails. What fails is the gap: the product moves, hits a wall, and the board simply transmits the impact.

Adding more board is the usual reaction, and it is usually the wrong one. Thicker board without suspension just makes a heavier pack that still breaks.

The real fix is a pack where the product cannot touch any face, and where the packer has no way of getting it wrong.

Typical pack

Packaging components we usually specify

  • Fitted foam cradles and cavity sets suspending the product off every face
  • Corrugated inserts, partitions and cell dividers
  • Bubble wrap, bubble bags and foam rolls for surface protection
  • Paperwave void-fill air cushions and paper void fill for the remaining gaps
  • Bespoke double wall outers sized to the protected product
  • Fragile handling marks printed on the outer

Materials

Relevant materials and board grades

  • BC double wall for the outer where weight and stacking demand it
  • C flute where cushioning and printability both matter
  • Closed-cell foam and U-profiles for suspension
  • Bubble wrap, foam rolls and corrugated paper for surface protection
  • Paper-based void fill where a plastic-free pack is required

In-house

Our manufacturing and assembly capabilities

  • Design, prototype and drop-test with your actual product before you commit
  • Box and insert made together in-house, so the fit is exact
  • Assembly so the protective components arrive fitted, not loose
  • Sample in two or three grades so you can test rather than guess

Stock holding

How we hold stock for you

  • Hold protective packs and consumables and call them off weekly
  • One supplier for the box, the foam, the wrap and the void fill
  • Free delivery on orders over £100 within 30 miles of Letchworth

Accreditations

Relevant accreditations for this sector

  • FSC C214479
  • BRCGS Storage & Distribution
  • Verified Carbon Standard
See our accreditations and request the literature

Real example

Suspension instead of more board

A customer shipping ceramic pieces had gone from single wall to double wall to double-boxing, and was still breaking stock. Every step added cost and weight without fixing the cause.

We prototyped a corrugated cradle with foam corners that holds the piece clear of every internal face, inside a single BC double wall box.

The pack is lighter than the double-boxed version it replaced, costs less per unit, and breakages dropped to a level they no longer plan around.

Sector enquiry

Let us drop-test it before you buy it

Send a sample of the product you are breaking most often. We will design a pack, prototype it and test it with you.

  • Product dimensions, weight and weak points
  • Current pack and current damage rate
  • Courier or pallet network used
  • Whether the pack needs to be plastic-free
Use the enquiry form01462 680888

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