Safe Load Testing Technologies

About: Mr. Enrique de la Cruz - R&D Manager
Enrique de la Cruz is the R&D Manager of Safe Load Testing Technologies. He has more than 11 years of experience in research and development and transport simulation for packaging. His research efforts and knowledge have allowed him to be part of a team of experts who patented two machines of great importance for the packaging and transport sector. Furthermore, he has published several research articles in scientific journals and has participated in the most important events of the sector. Enrique is Electronics Systems Engineering MSi by the Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) and Physic by the Universidad of Valencia and holds a Master’s Degree. Currently, Enrique participates as an expert at the stability group of ISTA (International Safe Transit Association), the technical committee CEN/TC 119 about packaging and security and is a member of IAPRI (International Association of Packaging Research Institute) and EUMOS- the European Safe Logistics Association.
1. Packaging is a huge industry catering to all other industries across the globe. It forms to be an essential part of every industry. Can you throw some light on this?
We can talk about all the functionalities and how well-done the packaging is, but probably the very best way of showing packaging as ‘a must’ for nowadays industry is looking to the past. Reviewing amphoras or pot pebbles allows archeologists to learn about history, because Packaging was, again, a must for humanity from the very beginning of the bartering of goods.
2. With 3 years of experience as an R&D Manager in packaging – what would you estimate as to the most important challenge for the packaging industry in the future?
E-commerce requirements, ecologism, and transport safety are the closer challenges from the technical point of view. From a social point of view, developing a worldwide regulation for packaging and transport helps to improve the packaging according to the same requirements.
3. What are the packaging testing methods for ensuring the safety of transported goods, while generating significant economic savings?
The aim is “optimization”. Using enough packaging and no more. There are no magic rules or generalist solutions. The first thing is characterizing the distribution chain to know the transport hazards and risks for a specific good and distribution chain. With this knowledge, engineers can evaluate the packaging designs to evaluate their functionalities, so they can use the tests as quality control.
4. The globalization of markets and the rise of online commerce have turned protective packaging into an essential part of doing business. What packaging solutions will you describe that can maintain the integrity of the product transported in them during the entire distribution cycle?
Last century commerce of goods was focused on anaggrupation transport for improving benefits. The costs of improvement of the packaging across engineering, allowed companies to send their products further and further until these could arrive at a worldwide distribution, by characterizing the distribution chain and optimizing the load unit (palletizing, typically.. To verify the effectiveness and costs of the load unit, the companies used to test their packaging and packaging prototypes before sending it to the real world.
Nowadays, e-commerce has changed market rules. In several times, the aim is to find the cheapest shipments and therefore the transport becomes like some sort of madness. As a consequence, transport hazards and risks are out of producer control and the producer needs to overpackage just in case transport risk severities get bigger.
Some companies, like Amazon, have characterized its distribution environment and develop test procedures according to the evaluated hazards and risks. In fact, Safe Load TT has the “Amazon Lab”. “Amazon Lab” is a Safe Load TT product which includes all the machines for evaluating packaging according to ISTA 6 procedures, “ISTA 6-Amazon.com-SIOC” and “ISTA 6-Amazon.com-OB”
5. What makes you so different from your competitors in terms of developing these packaging machines?
We were born from the packaging R&D. We began learning with standards and we always did the effort to go much further. We looked for devices and machines for measuring and reproducing what we measured. In the end, we developed our machines because the market was not ready to give us what we were looking for. This feeling for innovation gave us our first patent, and today we have 3 patents regarding test machines for packaging testing.
Safe Load TT wants to improve the testing and evaluating methods, and therefore we share our research in conferences like IAPRI, AMI, or ISTA or help at standard organisms like CEN or ISTA or private organisms like EUMOS.
6.What were the areas focused while designing the machines and What was the target market like?
We work together to find the best solution for reproducing the transport effects of the hazards and risks over packaging. Manufacturers and laboratories are our main market areas.
7. What are some of the major developments that SafeLoad can be proud of?
Our patented Pitch and Roll module allow vertical vibration machines to add the transport Pitch and Roll movements, even to old machines.
Besides, our patented horizontal stability testing method also obtains the same results as machines that need twice the time or more.
8. Are there any other key strategic maneuvers?
Safe Load TT has provided complete transport simulation laboratories, which can simulate the distribution chain over the samples.
Even if the test doesn’t exist we could manage tailor-made solutions for solving any need.
9. What are the current trends in Packaging testing solutions, which have been exploited by SafeLoad under your leadership?
We are deeply involved in the standardization groups which are developing tests for evaluating the load stability inside ISO-CEN, ISTA, or EUMOS.
10. How do you stay ahead or up to date with the newer technologies?
Safe Load TT is a team of engineers and physicists with plenty of curiosity which is trying to update everything every day. We do not only assist the main meetings of the sector, but we also get in contact with other experts. We assist in engineering exhibitions and seminars too. It is also helpful to keep in touch with our customers and to work with them in their projects so we can go further and improve together.
11. What’s your vision for SafeLoad Testing for the next 5 years and beyond?
Safe Load TT is growing fast. In 5 years, we will arrive in another sector which will develop new and improved machines and improving the ones we are developing now. It will be interesting to keep on focusing on automotive companies or earthquake research laboratories.
12. Do you have any client testimonials that you would like to share?
Erich Steiner - CEO of Duoplast (Germany): “We are very satisfied with the quality of the Safe Load TT equipment, and especially with the service. They are truly committed to being not our supplier but our partner”.
Antonio Manrique – Application Technology Leader of Dow Chemical (Spain): “Safe Load TT machines are accurate equipment, and their control is very intuitive and their designs are very well thought out to facilitate the technician's work and are based on pure lines and colors to get a very satisfactory user experience”
Niklas Agevall – Sales Manager Scandinavia of Trioplast (Sweden): “Safe Load TT team is made of very skilled and professional people. They have overcome all our expectations”.
Julia Allen – Managing Director of Samuel Grant Packaging (UK): “The disruptive technology of Safe Load TT equipment and its team transport simulation deep knowledge made us decide to work with this company and for sure we made the right decision”.
13. The coronavirus pandemic is putting us through an unprecedented situation. What actions have SafeLoadtesting implemented under the guidelines issued by government health authorities?
Trying to work as much as possible, either from home, solving every possible thing, networking, offering remote on-line assistance, or going wherever needed.
14. Packaging-labelling is a connecting point for buyers and suppliers across the global Packaging-labelling industry. What do you think about our website which promotes & brands packaging-labeling today on such a wide scale?
Nowadays, market places are growing up as a connection tool between customers and suppliers. Packaging-labelling is giving us the opportunity to contact potential customers that most of them, we can qualify as Sales Qualify Lead. The fact that this website approaches a global market is a valuable feature because this is a very niche market that needs a global strategy to be successful.