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Why is packaging material testing important?

Conditions during transport can be unsparing, and hazards during worldwide transport are changing constantly. Without the correct packaging to offer protection, products might easily become damaged. Package testing identifies weaknesses that must be eliminated before the product can be dispatched. After all, for manufacturers, fewer damaged products mean shorter processing times, fewer losses and returns and, last but not least, satisfied customers when the goods are delivered in the high quality they expect.

Packaging tests also determine the level of protection necessary.

Tests may show that products require additional packaging to ensure protection is adequate. On the other hand, many packaging tests also highlight unnecessary packaging, resulting in reduced packaging expense and significant cost savings.

A highly important aspect, also in view of the current boom in courier, express and parcel (CEP) services. In 2020, over four billion packages were shipped in Germany alone – up 10.9 % from 2019; this upward trend is set to continue both in Germany and internationally.

What does TÜV SÜD’s ISTA testing service include?

TÜV SÜD offers a full range of services for packaging testing, simulating the mechanical and climatic conditions that products may encounter during transportation and storage. TÜV SÜD’s technical teams carry out laboratory testing of various packaging materials in in-house ISTA-listed facilities worldwide. TÜV SÜD explores how the products are shipped, what stresses they are exposed to, which requirements of the industry and the application in question they need to comply with and which potential (new) markets are appropriate for the packaged products. Subsequently, the relevant tests are carried out in accordance with the ISTA standards for product packaging. In the case of a positive result, an ISTA test certificate is issued.

The packaging tests by TÜV SÜD realistically simulate environmental and transport conditions and cover a broad bandwidth of specific tests designed to check whether product packaging is suitable for its intended use. Packaging tests typically simulate the dynamic, static and climatic conditions to which packaging may be exposed during transport. Key services in the field of packaging tests include: – Vibration testing – simulating vibrations during transport – Shock testing – to address unexpected impacts – Compression testing – to verify the suitability of packaging for stacking and palletisation – Side impact testing – for cartons and palletised goods, to determine impact strength during loading, unloading and shunting – Tilt and drop testing – to evaluate product stability during handling – Environmental stress testing – to assess the impact of temperature, humidity and thermal cycling

Other TÜV SÜD tests for quality assurance of product packaging include: – Biodegradability – Tensile strength – Carbonation retention – Corrosion resistance – Drop impact resistance – Permeability testing – Simulated palletisation – Vibration resistance – Maximum compression testing

TÜV SÜD is now also a member of the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier (APASS) network, through which the company’s experts are authorised to assess, test and certify the packaging used by the suppliers and brokers in the network in accordance with international standards.

About the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA)

The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) is an organisation specialising in developing and publishing specific standards for transport packaging. The organisation includes logistics companies, freight forwarders, manufacturers and suppliers of packaging materials, service providers and packaging testing laboratories. It advocates the development and evaluation of cost-efficient and reliable packaging and has drawn up packaging standards to ensure the protection of products during transport. https://ista.org

About TÜV SÜD Product Service

The activities of TÜV SÜD’s Product Service Division focus on ensuring the marketability of consumer, medical and industrial products in global target markets across the entire supply chain. TÜV SÜD is one of the leading Notified Bodies for the conformity assessment of medical devices and is represented by over 900 medical device experts at over 30 locations worldwide. Manufacturers benefit from both TÜV SÜD’s technical expertise and its extensive national and international accreditations and recognitions, including ILAC MRA (DAkkS), NRTL, INMETRO and the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP), with advantages such as improved access to international markets and shorter time to market.