25/01/06 Loadhog puts lid on big deal

Loadhog, the pioneering Sheffield company which is transforming the packaging industry, has put the lid on a major contract.
After a hugely successful pilot project, the multiple-award-winning firm has clinched a deal to provide 800 of its environmentally friendly lids to Siemens Automation and Drives, the world's number one supplier of automation, process control and electrical distribution products.
The lids are being used by Siemens suppliers throughout the UK to replace plastic film as a means of securing components to palettes for delivery to Siemens's Congleton manufacturing plant.
And, Siemens has been so impressed with the operational and environmental benefits of Loadhog's lids, that it is now trialling the system at its other manufacturing operations in Erlangen, Germany and Haguenau, France.
Loadhog's Graham Podmore said: "Siemens is a very forward thinking organisation working in a highly competitive sector and fully investigated the use of this alternative to wrapping and strapping to ensure it returns benefits during product packing, transportation and storage.
"It has adopted the Loadhog system as part of its Continual Improvement Plan which is geared towards delivering efficiency gains throughout its operations.
"We have always sold to the end user and Siemens is the first major blue chip customer to specify the use of Loadhog with its component suppliers."
Gordon Wakeford, managing director of Siemens Automation and Drives' standard drives division, said: "Environmental sustainability is one of the key focus areas of Siemens' approach to corporate responsibility. We treat natural resources with care and respect, often going beyond legal and environmental requirements.
"The Loadhog helps us to reduce our impact on the environment by eliminating traditional disposable polythene film and strapping and replacing it with a reusable packaging solution."
Around 222,000 tonnes of plastic and 30 million man hours is wasted each year in the UK by using disposable plastic film and strapping to secure loads to palettes, at a cost of £400 million to the UK logistics industry.
The fully recyclable Loadhog lid is specially designed to secure a level load to any standard wooden or plastic pallet without the need for plastic film or strapping.
The time taken to secure a load is reduced by up to 80 per cent, and Loadhog is both safer and easier to use than conventional wrap and strap. Its retractable straps allow a single operator to secure a load in seconds without bending or risking strapping cuts