BARCODE & LABELLING
Keeping packaging specifications close to production
By Adam Platts, Sales & Marketing Director, VPK Packaging UK & Ireland
PACKAGING SPECIFICATIONS ARE BECOMING MORE DEMANDING What was once treated largely as a drawing, board grade and print reference now needs to bring together dimensions, material information, structural performance, pallet configuration, recyclability and an increasingly detailed data trail. For Irish manufacturers, the challenge is not
simply creating the right specification. It is keeping that specification accurate as products, production lines, retail requirements and regulations change. The scale of the issue is clear. Ireland’s
Environmental Protection Agency reports that the country generated 1.19 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2024, 20 per cent more than in 2016. Packaging-waste generation has grown almost four times faster than recycling over that period. This places greater pressure on businesses to understand where packaging can be reduced, how it will perform and what happens to it after use. At the same time, the EU Packaging and
Packaging Waste Regulation generally applies from 12 August 2026. Its requirements include packaging minimisation, recyclability and new labelling provisions. For manufacturers, this makes access to dependable packaging information increasingly important. Weight, material composition, recyclability and, where relevant, recycled-content data will be important for organisations preparing compliance documentation and extended producer responsibility reporting.
THE RISK OF SPECIFICATION DRIFT A packaging specification can quickly become outdated. A product dimension changes, the number of units per case is adjusted, a packing line is upgraded, or a retailer requests a different presentation. Each amendment may appear small, but it can affect fit, compression strength, pallet stability, material use and line performance. Problems arise when different teams are working from different versions. Procurement may hold one specification, production another and the packaging supplier a third. The result can be packaging that is technically approved but no longer suited to the operation it is expected to support. Good specification control therefore requires more than storing drawings. It requires clear ownership, revision histories, approval processes and reliable communication between production,
engineering, procurement, sustainability and packaging teams. It can also make it easier to reconcile packaging records with what is physically being manufactured, reducing the risk that an approved specification and the supplied pack gradually move apart.
WHY PROXIMITY MATTERS This is where a closer relationship with a packaging manufacturer can make a practical difference. A local packaging team can spend time on site, observe how packs are erected and filled, understand where pressure is applied during handling and see how finished cases move through warehousing and distribution. That operational context helps turn a specification from a static document into an accurate description of what the packaging must achieve. It also supports more effective change management. When a product, line or logistics requirement changes, the packaging partner can review the implications, update the design, produce samples and validate performance before the revised format enters full production. At VPK Packaging, our Eight-Step Solution Cycle
provides a structured route through this process, from discovering the customer’s requirements and identifying opportunities through to creating, validating, producing, supplying and continually enhancing the packaging solution. The aim is to make decisions against evidence rather than assumptions.
18 September/October 2026 Irish Manufacturing
MADE IN IRELAND FOR IRISH MANUFACTURING
VPK’s Limerick facility produces corrugated packaging in Ireland for customers across Ireland. That local manufacturing presence supports direct collaboration between packaging specialists and the manufacturers using the pack. The value is not simply geographic. It is the ability to connect design, technical support and production more closely to the customer’s operation. Site visits, trials, specification reviews and conversations about upcoming changes can take place with people who understand both the packaging and the local manufacturing environment.
As packaging requirements become more detailed, manufacturers need confidence that the pack being produced still matches the approved design, performs as required and is supported by accurate information. That depends on disciplined specification management, but also on communication. Packaging cannot remain a component ordered at the end of the process. It must be managed as part of the production system, with design, data and performance kept aligned throughout its life. For Irish manufacturers, keeping packaging expertise and production closer to their operations can help make that alignment easier to maintain.
vpkgroup.com
www.irish-manufacturing.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
