One of the UK’s leading honey bee suppliers utilised Twinplast’s expertise in custom design and manufacturing to produce containers for the safe and secure transportation of live pollinators. With a reputation built on providing the highest quality bees available in the UK market, the company is established as the foremost specialist supplier and breeder of Buckfast bees in 5/6 frame nucleus colonies (nucs) as well as offering top-tier Buckfast Queens and Carniolan Queens. It operates not only as a supplier, but also as a dedicated partner in beekeeping for customers throughout the UK.
The Brief
The client required a bespoke shipping box to offer a snug fit for the nuc and provide robust protection and containment while minimising weight to reduce transportation costs. The container also needed to incorporate performance features that ensured the bees’ survival in transit, including effective air circulation and built-in ventilation to regulate temperatures. The boxes also needed to be fully recyclable to support sustainable practices.
The Solution
Twinplast’s technical team developed a container with a thick outer casing comprising multiple layers of corrugated polypropylene for extra cushioning and protection. With its high strength-to-weight ratio, corrugated polypropylene was an ideal material to meet the performance requirements of the brief, handling the physical demands of transportation while dramatically reducing weight and bulk in comparison to traditional wooden box solutions. Polypropylene is also highly resistant to water, chemicals, and grease, protecting against contamination of the sensitive cargo.
Also integral to the containers was an inner casing, comprising one layer of corrugated polypropylene, to house the bee nuc. The substantial spacing between the two casings enabled efficient airflow while ventilation points were incorporated into the structure. Twinplast utilised our in-house printing facilities to add clear labelling on each container, with warnings about its content and instructions on the safe handling and carriage of the live cargo. The use of corrugated polypropylene, considered to be the most environmentally friendly plastic currently available, had a positive impact on the cost and sustainability of the supply chain. Like all Twinplast products, the bee containers are reusable and fully recyclable through normal recycling channels or via Twinplast’s own internal waste processing technology.
Twinplast’s high-performance packaging solution ensured the bees were stress-free and secure, enabling the client to carry out the shipping process with complete confidence and peace of mind.
The apicultural sector is one of a wide range of industries served by Twinplast in the design and manufacture of custom packaging and storage. To find out more and discuss the requirements of your project or business, contact our technical team on 01582 361720 or sales@twinplast.co.uk.