Customer Stories
Pharmaceutical Company Advances Sustainability with Closed-Loop Recycling
The Challenge
Uncovering the Root of Performance Loss
After nearly three decades of partnership, Plastic Ingenuity and a large national grocer continued to collaborate closely on packaging solutions. But when lid failures began disrupting production, the issue wasn’t immediately clear. The grocer cited “lids not working” as the source of the problem—an unexpected concern after years of reliable performance and nothing changing on the lid. Upon further investigation, the problem wasn’t with the lids themselves, but with rubber gaskets introduced over a decade ago that were now deteriorating and inconsistently maintained. When these “T Rubbers” failed, they disrupted cup placement by an eighth of an inch—just enough to interfere with the tamping process required to seal lids properly.
The Process
Getting on the Floor, Getting to the Source
Plastic Ingenuity’s Commercial team—led by Commercial Director of Food & Retail, Ross Mack—routinely visits customer production floors to ensure performance, maintain quality, and identify potential bottlenecks. These visits allow us to troubleshoot not just our packaging, but how it interfaces with ever-changing equipment and line modifications. During a monthly check-in, our team observed how failed gasket components were throwing off cup alignment. While not traditionally in our scope, we saw an opportunity to help by improving the entire carrier plate system. With trust and access granted, we got to work.
The Solution
Going Beyond Our Role to Drive Efficiency
Though Plastic Ingenuity doesn’t typically manufacture carrier plates, our engineering team designed a new solution specifically for this partner. We replaced the failing gasket system with a carrier plate incorporating an O-ring—ensuring consistent cup height and proper lidding alignment, regardless of wear. The first line was updated with the new plates, and within six weeks the grocer was reaching record daily output. The plan was to update a second line months later—but the results were so impressive, the grocer called just four days later asking for immediate implementation on the second line.
The Results
Trust, Innovation, and Record Output
%
increase in production output on upgraded lines
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Employee satisfaction improved as teams now hit rates during regular shifts—with weekends off
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Engineering trust solidified, leading to faster decision-making and mutual gains
