Innovative Containers and In-Mold Labels Whip Elmer's Wood Filler Tubs into Shape

Elmer's Products Inc. found an ideal partner in IPL Packaging to produce attractive and effective wood filler tubs with IML labels.

If it's true that you can't fit a square peg into a round hole, it's just as true that you can't fit a square putty knife into a round container. Maybe you can fit it in, but it isn't easy to scoop product from a round vessel with the long, straight edge of a putty knife. The first few scoops are relatively cooperative, but soon thereafter it turns into an epic struggle of man versus adhesive.

Elmer's Products Inc.—the glue people—sympathized with everyone who has ever felt this frustration. Their understanding led them to examine alternatives to the traditional round containers that have dominated the home improvement market. The result was the development of a rectangular container from which the mixture could be effortlessly extracted using an ordinary putty knife, but with minimal additional cost.

Elmer's is headquartered in Columbus, OH, and has been producing the most respected line of consumer adhesives since 1947. Elmer's had been investigating rectangular container options for more than two years when they discovered IPL Packaging Inc., a leading North American producer of injected-molded plastic containers.

Michelle Manning, a product manager for Elmer's, saw IPL's capabilities as a perfect fit for Elmer's. "We had discussed an almost endless list of ways to produce a rectangular container," Manning recalls. "There wasn't an option we didn't contemplate. The truth is, IPL is one of the few suppliers providing rectangular tub packaging that is heavy enough for industrial use and yet still provides a good value."

Elmer's was also impressed with IPL's use of In-Mold Labeling (IML). Increasingly popular in Europe and the U.S., IML offers great visibility and attractive graphics that can rival other packaging methods.

With IML, a printed polypropylene label is placed in an open mold and held in the desired position by vacuum ports, electrostatic attraction, or other means. The mold closes and molten plastic resin is injected into the mold, where it envelops the label and makes that label an integral part of the container. IPL was the first company to successfully produce IML packaging in North America.

"IPL worked hand-in-hand with us to develop the label design and give us ideas on what we could do with the package to give it maximum 'stopping power' on the shelf," Manning recalls. IPL was also able to provide a stock color that matched the Elmer's trademark orange. To ensure maximum protection of contents, these containers also feature IPL's Shure-Lock Tamper Evident system, which provides protection throughout all the challenges of distribution and different retail environments.

"The stores have told us that they have a much easier time stacking the product," says Manning. "Additionally, the rectangular shape maximizes their shelf space. Plus the 'billboard effect' has improved considerably." Elmer's and IPL are investigating ways to make these recyclable containers even more environmentally friendly.