Case Histories

Learn more about Fill-Air® Inflatable Packaging System

Since 1981, Gift Fulfillment Services, formerly known as GOJ Gift Baskets, has produced high-end gift baskets that are shipped to florists, corporations for gift-giving programs, catalogers, gift shops and grocery chains across the country.

For many years, Gift Fulfillment Services used peanuts or paper for packaging, but Gerard Candeloro, president of the New York-based company, wanted to switch to an easy-to-use packaging method that provided excellent product protection, a high-quality image and made a cleaner workspace environment possible.

Through his distributor, RJ Packaging, Candeloro learned about Sealed Air Corporation's Fill-Air® inflatable packaging system, but he wanted to test the other systems that were on the market before selecting the one that would become an integral part of his business.

"Throughout the 90-day trial period, Sealed Air Corporation's Fill-Air® inflatable packaging system consistently delivered optimum performance. It never succumbed to malfunctions or the power surges that are frequent in our complex. I was sure that if the system operated during this time, our company could count on it during actual production," Candeloro said.

Likening the Fill-Air® inflatable system to an "industrial workhorse," Candeloro commented that the system just goes and goes without any hiccups.

"We wanted a new packaging system in place at the start of the holiday season, and reliability was important," he added.

Fourth quarter is the busiest time of the year for many fulfillment businesses. This is no exception for Gift Fulfillment Services, with a lion's share of its annual sales between October and November.

Roughly 30 percent of the company's yearly volume is during the month of December and 70 percent of that volume is completed within a week and a half - hitting a peak that is eight to nine times the company's normal operations. To prepare for the sharp sales increase during the holidays, Gift Fulfillment Services packages much of its nonperishable, standard gift items nearly three months in advance.

"We begin pre-packing some items in October that will be shipped in December. We were pleased to discover that cushions produced by the Fill-Air® system at the start of the fourth quarter held their air and were as reliable as cushions made towards the end of that quarter," Candeloro stated.

For its demanding packaging needs, Gift Fulfillment Services requires one Fill-Air® inflatable packaging system along with two hoppers. The Fill-Air® inflatable cushions are available in 8-inch and 10-inch wide sizes, but the larger size suffices for the company's packaging needs.

To begin the packaging process, a roll of uninflated Fill-Air® film is installed on the back of the system and fed down through the inflation channel. Inflated with a standard 80-psi air supply, the cushions are fed into 10-inch diameter ductwork, which dispenses the cushions into two mesh overhead hoppers that measure four feet by four feet by 10 feet. Each hopper holds approximately 1,200 cushions and serves up to six people. When the orders are ready to be processed, the packagers at the tables below pull the perforated cushions from the hoppers and arrange them around and on top of the gift items for void-fill. Once the cushions are in place, the carton is sealed and ready for shipping.

"Our employees love that the Fill-Air® system is clean and neat. When we used peanuts or paper, there were times when production was interrupted because the employees needed to sweep up the excess. By using the inflatable cushions, keeping the workspace orderly is much easier. Our customers, who are florists and gift shops, like the Fill-Air® cushions because when they unpack a shipment, packaging materials are not flying all over their work areas; they also like the ability to re-use the cushions for shipping out merchandise to their own customers," Candeloro said.

Using the system allows six or seven items to be packed in a carton - nearly 30 percent more than when packaged with peanuts or paper. The ability to place additional gift items into a carton reduces the number of cartons that are shipped overall, and ultimately decreases shipping costs because one container holds more product. In addition, the extra protection gained from the Fill-Air® cushions meant that Gift Fulfillment Services was able to see a significant reduction in the number of gift baskets that were returned due to damage during the shipping cycle.

Before upgrading to the Fill-Air® inflatable packaging system, Gift Fulfillment Services lined a wall with approximately 100, 14-cubic feet bags of loose fill that were stacked eight to 10 feet high (1,400 cubic feet of space) to handle its packaging needs.

"We stored the loose-fill material in the room used as the inbound staging area for all materials coming into the warehouse," Candeloro stated. "During the holiday season, that area became a collision course with materials coming in and going out."

However, it soon was realized that one skid of Fill-Air® material (18 rolls) required only 55 cubic feet of space versus the 1,400 cubic feet occupied by the loose fill, which freed up 1,345 cubic feet of valuable space for other warehouse operations. The second added value was that one Fill-Air® roll yields up to 375 cubic feet of inflated cushions, meaning that one skid of Fill-Air® material provides 6,750 cubic feet of material, which is equivalent to 482 bags of loose fill.

In addition to using to the inflatable packaging system, Gift Fulfillment Services uses Bubble Wrap® air cellular cushioning, which the company uses to wrap the decorative, ceramic items that sometimes are part of a gift basket.

"Because of the delicate, fragile nature of these ceramic pieces, we find it best to provide extra protection to them by using Bubble Wrap" cushioning,"" said Candeloro.

As the business for Gift Fulfillment Services grows, it will be necessary to move to a larger warehouse and increase the number of Fill-Air® packaging systems currently being used.

"We plan to bring Sealed Air Corporation in on the front-end of our expansion plans," said Candeloro. "They know us and understand our business, and if we need another packaging solution, I know Sealed Air will be there to help us."

Learn more about Fill-Air® Inflatable Packaging System