Rollguard to feature cradles for converting market, including recycled fiber and long-lasting reusable foam, at ICE USA 2011

Rollguard® To Spotlight Recycled Fiber Full Roll Perfed Roll Cradle
and New Long Life Reusable Foam Cradles at ICE USA 2011

APPLETON, Wis., January 18, 2011 — Rollguard®, part of Great Northern Corporation’s Specialty Group, will showcase its Recycled Fiber Full Roll Perfed roll cradle in Booth #925 at the International Converting Exhibition (ICE USA), April 6 - 8, 2011, in Orlando, Florida.

"The perforated fiber cradle was specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the converter market," said Rollguard General Manager Rob Swannell.

By creating perforations at 20 inches and 40 inches on a 24x40 full roll cradle, Rollguard has made it easy for converters to conform their narrow-width products to nearly every standard pallet size with fewer packaging components, reduced labor and increased safety. Using standard full roll cradles, as well as 8-inch cradles and the 20- and 40-inch lengths made possible by the perforations, pallet sizes that can be quickly and easily accommodated include: 30x30, 36x36, 45x45, 48x30, 48x40, 48x48, 54x30 and 60x30 inches.

"The customer for whom we first designed this perforated cradle tells us that their converter operations have experienced significant savings in labor and materials, reduced their packaging components from 10 pieces to five, and have experienced zero product damage," said Swannell. "They've also seen improved performance in ergonomics and safety by reducing the number of bending motions needed to load a pallet, and eliminating the need to cut cradles to fit various pallet configurations."

Compared to honeycomb cradles, the fiber roll cradles of Rollguard – including the perforated roll cradle – foster a cleaner environment with less dust, use less storage space by virtue of their superior nestability, and reduce freight costs by maximizing pallet space.

"Our cradles also deliver consistent sizing compared to the hand-assembled honeycomb alternatives," Swannell added.

Rollguard's fiber roll cradles come in a wide variety of configurations, all of which are made with recycled corrugated molded pulp and are 100-percent recyclable.

Long Life Reuseable Foam Cradles
In addition to its recycled fiber cradles, Rollguard also will be featuring its new long life reusable foam cradles, engineered specifically for long-term use.

"The new long life reusable cradle's durable construction gives a superior memory capability that allows it to retain its shape longer while delivering protective functions that are superior to EPS or other foam cradles on the market," said Swannell. "That makes this cradle ideal for manufacturing and converting operations that would benefit from highly durable, long-lasting cradles for their internal storage and handling of materials."

The new long-life foam cradle presents a clean surface that is without beading, but still has a slight texture that helps prevent slippage. The cradle also can be manufactured with a protective lip for additional protection against slippage.

"We can quickly and easily custom fabricate the rolls to accommodate nearly any size, shape or storage configuration. There is no minimum order size," said Swannell.

One manufacturer, who has been using them since May, 2010, to store parent rolls of its extruded polyethylene plastic film, makes effective use of both single-cradle and double-cradle configurations. Both are engineered to facilitate the use of forklifts and slings to stack heavy rolls up to two or three rows high, and to move the rolls quickly and safely when they are ready for slitting, printing and converting.

The Rollguard booth at ICE USA 2011 will also display its full line of economical and fully recyclable Recycled Fiber roll cradles, its Thermoformed high-impact polystyrene (HPDS) plastic cradles, and its EPS Foam roll cradles. Rollguard is the only manufacturer to offer roll cradles in all three materials — recycled fiber, plastic and foam.

Rollguard® is the industry-leading developer and supplier of sustainable protective packaging systems for rolled and cylindrical products. It offers the broadest selections of stock sizes of foam, recycled fiber and plastic roll cradles. Major product lines include Rollguard® EPS Foam, Recycled Fiber, Narrow Fiber, Full Roll and Thermoformed cradles. Inquiries for Rollguard's products can be directed to Janet Keyes, inside sales representative, at (800) 925-2626, (920) 997-6327 or .