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Case Study: AcmeGUARD®

Case Study: AcmeGUARD®
Home » Blog » Case Study: AcmeGUARD®

CASE STUDY: AcmeGUARD®

When shipping costs from China became cost-prohibitive, a floral wholesaler found a better fit in an Acme Corrugated Box proprietary solution.

The Challenge

Norman Smith Enterprises, Inc. sells floral and home décor to resellers worldwide.

For years, the New Jersey-based wholesaler shipped products containing plants, soil, and water in wax-coated boxes sourced from China. Norman Smith Enterprises sold this China-sourced packaging, too, primarily to florists and nurseries in need of moisture-safe shipping boxes for their own floral products.

In 2019, though, the cost of shipping the wax-coated containers from overseas suddenly ballooned. Lead times were also becoming longer. Norman Smith Enterprises needed a more readily-available and cost-effective moisture-safe packaging product – fast.

They asked Acme Corrugated Box about wax-coated containers similar to what they’d previously sourced from China. We introduced them to something even better: Our proprietary AcmeGUARD®.

The Solution: AcmeGUARD®

Seeing an industry-wide need for boxes that perform well in wet and damp environments, Acme Corrugated Box had begun experimenting with moisture-resistant materials back in 2015. When lined paper concoctions failed, we enlisted a long-term supplier to engineer a novel coated paper – a breakthrough board grade that stood up to a litany of internal tests in our Pennsylvania headquarters. We named it AcmeGUARD® and began offering it to customers in 2018.

Thanks to moisture-resistant qualities, contents of AcmeGUARD® boxes stay protected because box integrity remains intact. AcmeGUARD® coating also provides an anti-scuff surface and is fully recyclable (unlike wax covered boxes, it can be processed with normal corrugated waste). Even more, the outside of AcmeGUARD® behaves like standard corrugated, receiving adhesive tapes, labels, and ink. And because it was developed largely with food products in mind, AcmeGUARD® non-stick coated surfaces meet federal guidelines for direct food contact. AcmeGUARD® is nonetheless also ideal for non-food applications, like Norman Smith floral products.  

Quote about AcmeGUARD from Norman Smith President.

The Outcome

Norman Smith Enterprises, Inc. agreed to give AcmeGUARD® a try.

The Acme Corrugated Box team replicated the design of the shipping boxes that Norman Smith Enterprises had been receiving from China, simply swapping wax-coated material for AcmeGUARD®. Immediately, AcmeGUARD® proved to be a successful alternative to the overseas product.

Today, Norman Smith Enterprises customers continue to receive moist products without issue; the company’s florist and nursery clients have also happily adopted AcmeGUARD®. The price of the higher-quality boxes has been negated by AcmeGUARD’s domestic production, which minimizes shipping costs. This translates to cost savings relative to what Norman Smith Enterprises, Inc. was spending on the wax-coated packaging.

“We have worked with Acme Corrugated Box Company for approximately eight years now and have had nothing but a great experience,” says Alan Buckley, president of Norman Smith Enterprises, Inc. “When we needed water-resistant packaging they came through with AcmeGUARD®, which delivers on every front. I’d like to add that communication and delivery have always been stellar and on time. Acme Corrugated Box is easy to work with and saves me a lot of time, as I don’t have to review every step. My company has been very satisfied with the solution provided for our corrugated box needs and highly I recommend it.”


Struggling to ship wet, moist, or frozen products – or struggling with the cost of corrugated products from international suppliers? Let Acme Corrugated Box provide a solution. Learn more.

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