Fold-down cardboard boxes add to growth surge

New facility adds 300% more space Kevin Mayhew IF THE success of Mitchell Packers recently is a yardstick, the dip in exports on the back of the stronger rand seems to be nothing more than a rumour. The company, which recently launched fold-down cardboard freight boxes and pallets which it has patented locally, has been forced to move from its Boksburg East warehouse to Benoni where it has 300% more space. It has also launched its own website at www.mitchellpackers.co.za. According to marketing director Deirdre Mitchell, the demand for the new box has been unprecedented and a demand for wooden equivalents has also been increasing – mainly on requirements for Gauteng business. “It has been phenomenal and the product has definitely found its place in mainly the airfreight sector very quickly. Obviously, being cardboard, it has stacking limitations and so the traditional wooden box is the preferred option where it is unsuitable,” she says. The company has also benefited from its adherence to ISPM15 compliance with its wooden boxes and pallets before it was a requirement. This standard requires that all such boxes are fumigated with methyl bromide or made of wood that is heat treated. The recently launched cardboard freight box which sidesteps the recently promulgated wood fumigation laws.