First-to-Market Customizable Packaging

Ingersoll Paper Box
Written by Jen Hocken

Ingersoll Paper Box provides custom printed folding cartons for pharmaceutical, food, nutraceutical, tech and consumer products all over North America.
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Ingersoll Paper Box Inc. is a family owned and operated company that was founded in 1922. It originally was established as Ingersoll Cone and Paper Box where it made ice cream cones and the boxes that carried the cones. The company has always had deep roots in the community and during the Great Depression, the company was known to distribute its broken cones to people in the community when food was limited. The ice cream cone part of the business was eventually sold, and the company continued with the carton side. Today, almost one hundred years later, Ingersoll Paper Box (IPB) is still owned and operated by the fourth generation of the family who continue to grow and expand the company.

The company’s facility is centrally located in the town of Ingersoll, in South Western Ontario. For almost one hundred years the company has been proud of its customers’ satisfaction with their cartons. The company is also proud of the dedication of its long-term staff who are very loyal and highly committed to the quality of the company’s products. “The workplace has a family atmosphere that makes coming to work very nice. It gives us a sense of belonging, accountability, and dedication to not only to our customers but to each other,” says Ingersoll Paper Box President Sarah Skinner.

IPB is conveniently located two hours from Toronto and the U.S. border and with its in-house delivery, this business is an ideal partner for pharmaceutical, food, healthcare, technology and consumer industries. It is also an ideal packaging partner because it has a solid reputation for the highest quality cartons, cutting edge technology, skilled staff, and in-house structural and graphic design departments, all resulting in the highest quality cartons with quick turnaround times for customers. When customers place an order for custom-made packaging, IPB can deliver a high-quality product within a few weeks, which enables customers to get a product into the marketplace before the competition. This is extremely advantageous for the pharmaceutical industry to be first to market, in a rush to get product to shelves. IPB adheres to pharmaceutical and healthcare quality standards, applying stringent quality checks throughout carton production and the facility.

IPB demonstrated its innovation by being the first carton packager in North America to invest in technology and equipment that embosses Braille onto cartons. The equipment places Braille on the package and also has a technically advanced vision check system that ensures every carton has 100 percent accurate Braille, for the visually impaired to read the package. It also checks every minute detail of the structural and graphic design, ensuring perfection. In 2005 the European Union issued a legislation that requires all pharma packaging to carry Braille. Can-Am Braille followed soon after with a set of guidelines for the use of braille on packaging in the USA and Canada. Ingersoll Paper Box was one of the first packagers to adopt Braille intoits packaging process to better serve its customers.

IPB is constantly researching new equipment and working to find better ways to make a brand stand out on the shelf through new techniques for printing, finishes and different types of ink or stock. “We are always researching and investing in equipment that would best serve our customers; the challenge is to make sure that we are investing in the proper equipment to ensure that we are on the leading edge for what our customers are looking for,” says Sarah.

If a customer is looking for a package that will make their product really stand out, IPB will use various coatings, stock, inks or even different shapes for a unique look. Boxes do not have to be square; IPB recently created a triangular package that catches the eye, especially when combined with its vibrant colours and soft touch finish. The company also has anti-counterfeiting technology that is incredibly useful for its pharmaceutical customers.

IPB has resourceful and skilled Structural and Graphic designers. The company’s larger customers typically have a design team on staff, but many other customers reach out to IPB to create a package from start to finish. “A lot of our customers give us the product that they are looking to package, and we will create something right from scratch. We will design the shape of the carton and we will design the graphics, ensuring they accentuate each other to create the eye-catching effect the customer requires. We do all of this in-house, which makes for a completely custom package for their product in their respective marketplace quickly,” explains Sarah.

IPB has received recognition for its innovative packaging products. The IPB Secure-RX package won Gold at the 2016 North American Paperboard Packaging Council awards for its unique child-resistant safety features that also allow seniors easy access to the contents. In 2017, the company also won the Excellence in Packaging Award for Innovation in Packaging, created for Dillon’s Distillery. IPB worked with the customer to ensure their packaging goals were achieved, including brand awareness, versatility, functionality, shelf appeal and sustainability.

IPB has a passion for the environment. Social responsibility and sustainability are always priorities. IPB has a corporate giving program called ‘Box of Kindness’ which supports programs and initiatives that encourage a sense of community and preserve the environment. More specifically, the company financially supports community, youth programs and preserving the environment. These have been guiding initiatives since its inception in 1922.

“The environment and the world that we live in is what we have to leave for our children, and making sure that we’re producing packaging that is renewable and recyclable is extremely important to Ingersoll Paper Box and its employees,” explains Sarah. One hundred percent of folding cartons are made from stock that is recyclable, and none of the company’s waste goes into a landfill. Its scrap material is sent back to the mill where it is reprocessed. Another example of IPB’s Box of Kindness is over the holidays IPB sells and donates reusable gift boxes as a green alternative to wrapping paper and uses the money generated to give back to the children in the community. IPB also donates money to charities that fund Christmas hampers, sports teams and hot lunch programs. “Our Box of Kindness has been a very successful program within our organization because it really helps the community, and it gives everybody within our company a sense of giving back,” says Sarah.

All aspects of the business are done in-house including the structural and graphic design, printing, die-cutting, embossing, folding, and gluing. This allows customers to get a completely customized carton tested for fit, form and function, and guaranteed satisfaction. “Production of a carton really is all completely integrated in-house. If our customers need anything it is all here within one structure, and we can get it done for them.” IPB considers itself a partner to its customers and prides itself on its excellence in customer service. Sales staff and CSRs are always available to discuss any new requirements or concerns customers may have.

The company values its employees’ efforts, which translates to the employees taking extra care in the quality of products and customer service. This positive attitude extends to the company’s suppliers, who are just as committed to providing the necessary supplies on a timely basis. “An integral factor to our success is our relationship with our suppliers. We have developed solid long-term relationships that allow us to rely on them to get what we need when we need it.” Sarah adds, “Our mantra here is, ‘First to market for our customer,’ and we want to make sure that we are turning around product as fast as possible, and we can’t do that without suppliers that have that same philosophy. We’ve aligned ourselves with relationships and suppliers that are able to turn product around very fast for us.”

The future of the company will be full of more research, investment and development as it continues to grow. IPB is always looking forward to changes in the industry based on customers’ changing needs and to ensure that it retains its position at the forefront of the industry. “There is always something new, and we are always interested in what is going on in the industry, so keeping abreast of what’s happening through industry organizations, tradeshows, research and different talks is imperative,” says Sarah.

Ingersoll Paper Box has a reputation for bringing its customers’ visions to life uniquely and efficiently. Its commitment to quality, customers, its employees, the community and the environment set it apart in the packaging industry.

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