A partnership between Swanline Print’s design team and UK-based Woolcool has revolutionized the transportation of pharmaceuticals and other perishable products globally.
The LifeGUARDIAN packaging solution has been developed primarily for the pharmaceutical industry, but it can also be applied in the food industry. It has been developed due to the current failings in the cold chain distribution.
Featuring 100% pure, clean sheep's wool that is too coarse for textile use, LifeGUARDIAN is an eco-friendly insulating packaging system developed to address the problem of almost half of all vaccines are deemed unusable upon reaching their destination because of packaging failure.
It outperforms synthetic insulation, like polystyrene, to keep temperature sensitive medicines in their optimum environment (2-8ºC) for up to twice as long as industry standards.
The LifeGUARDIAN solution can also outperform synthetic insulation such as polystyrene and can keep temperature sensitive medicine in their optimum environment (2-8ºC) for up to twice as long as industry standards.
Swanline’s expertise in corrugated engineering helped in transforming a box design provided by Woolcool into a viable pre-industrial prototype that addresses several challenging aspects in product construction including ease of assembly in bulk manufacturing and logistics management.
The company stated that one of the key challenges in developing LifeGUARDIAN was to combat the formation of condensation on the surface of the box and internal fitments that could weaken the integrity of the package. This challenge was overcome by using specialist coatings, which were developed by the company.
By applying the coating via a screen, it allows for masked-off areas that accommodate delivery tracking labels and recipient details.
Woolcool CEO Angela Morris said: "Swanline has the best packaging design facility in the UK; their highly innovative designers are a pleasure to work with and always create commercially viable solutions in response to our creative briefs. Furthermore, we share similar ideals.
"Both Woolcool and Swanline are family businesses, with a commitment to supporting the local economy with employment opportunities and sustainable initiatives. We really value Swanline as an important partner.”
Swanline creative manager Linsey Brookes said: “The aim of the design team and centre is to provide the customer with an innovative yet practical solution that closely meets the brief – although we’re always looking to bring additional value with new ideas and development suggestions.
"Working with Woolcool is very rewarding as the solutions we develop together, such as LifeGUARDIAN, have a substantial impact on lives across the world. By using natural resources to improve the effectiveness of packaging, we also reduce environmental impact and waste.”