WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS AND COST SAVINGS OF BUYING WOVEN BOPP BAGS DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER?

Woven BOPP bags have become the packaging gold standard for animal feeds, and increasingly for pet food. Because woven bags are so much more durable than multi-wall paper, from filling to distribution to retail and the end customer, demanding retailers, like Walmart, require suppliers who want shelf space to use woven bags. And because the graphics are so much sharper and more colorful, producers have turned to laminated BOPP packaging to be competitive in the marketplace.

 

The question is no longer whether or not to use BOPP bags, but how to buy them. Initially, BOPP bags came from the Pacific Rim, primarily China. And U.S. producers, unable to deal directly with Chinese manufacturers, bought their bags through brokers. But being so far removed from their sources has caused problems: with the products, because of delivery times and product quality; and with brokers, because they add a lot of cost and little or no value. Still, buying bags domestically has proven cost prohibitive, so many producers do a juggling act, accepting longer lead times out of the East through brokers and supplementing with higher-cost domestic bags when necessary.

Anduro Manufacturing, a U.S. company based in Atlanta, Ga., has structured its operation to address these issues. We manufacture our Durofab™ brand BOPP bags in the free trade zone of Honduras, home to many of the largest and most successful American consumer product manufacturers. Everything is done locally, from weaving the bag fabric to printing to assembly – a tightly controlled, integrated process. Manufacturing costs are low and bags are just two shipping days from our terminal in Gulfport, Miss. The idea is to provide the best of both worlds: favorable pricing and delivery to meet the most demanding producer schedules.

HERE ARE A FEW REASONS FOR DEALING DIRECTLY WITH THE MANUFACTURER:

• You know where your bags are being made. Bags coming out of Asia through a broker may have been made by several different shops; consistency can be a problem.
• You get what you buy. Without direct contact with the manufacturer, it is difficult to ensure your bags are being made to your specifications. In particular, fiber weight may be compromised and printing inks may contain high levels of toxins.
• You can better protect your brand. When you are working directly with the manufacturer, you can be assured of the integrity of your graphics and quality of the flexography or rotogravure printing.
• You can ensure proper bag length. Because the automated equipment used by U.S. producers allows for very small tolerances, bag length historically has been an issue with bags made in Asia.
• You can count on better service. With no middleman between you and your producer, you have a direct link to your bag production. Communications are simplified and problems can be resolved in real-time.