From Melbourne to the Mines: Packaging That Goes the Distance
- 28 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Custom Packaging for FIFO Air Conditioning Units When Standard Boxes Won't Cut It
The TLDR (Too Long Didn’t Read) Version
Client: Stiebel Eltron is a Melbourne-based business supplying portable air conditioning units for (fly-in and fly-out) FIFO worker accommodation in remote WA mining sites.
The Challenge: Two portable air conditioning units needed to be packed together per carton and shipped safely from Melbourne to WA. The units had fragile components that moved freely, and the packaging needed to keep everything stable, separated, and protected across a long interstate journey.
The Solution: We designed a custom cardboard carton with engineered solid wood supports and a two-part internal insert system designed to hold the units upright, support fragile components, and lock everything firmly in place during transit.
The Outcome: A purpose-built packaging solution that allows the units to be transported safely across the country, arriving intact and ready to be installed into accommodation units for FIFO workers.
About the Client
Stiebel Eltron supplies portable air conditioning units for use in FIFO worker accommodation at remote mining sites in Western Australia. These units are manufactured in Melbourne and need to travel a significant distance before being installed into the small, self-contained dongas that fly-in fly-out workers call home on site. Getting the units there safely, without damage to the product or its components, was a genuine logistical challenge.
The Challenge
The project came with a specific set of requirements that made standard packaging unsuitable from the outset.
Each carton needed to house two portable air conditioning units standing upright, side by side. The units themselves had long, protruding tunnel components on each side that were loose and prone to movement during handling. Without proper support, these components were at real risk of being damaged in transit.
Beyond the fragile components, the packaging also needed to provide reliable stacking strength for the journey from Melbourne to WA, and keep both units separated and stable throughout. The solution had to be practical to assemble, secure enough for courier handling, and robust enough to perform across a long interstate freight run.
The Solution
Imperial Cartons designed a custom cardboard carton with a purpose-built internal insert system to address each of the challenges presented.
The decision was made to ship the units standing upright, which helped manage the overall footprint of the carton and made better use of the available space. To provide the stacking strength needed for transport, solid wood supports were incorporated into the base and top of the carton, giving the packaging the structural integrity required for a long freight journey.
The core of the solution was a two-part insert system. A primary insert was designed to sit at both the top and bottom of the carton, keeping the two units separated and holding them firmly in position. A second insert was then designed to sit inside the first, with locking tabs that pass through the top and bottom of the primary insert to hold it in place and prevent any movement during transit.
Critically, this second insert was also engineered to wrap around and support the fragile tunnel components on each side of the air conditioning units. By cradling these loose parts securely within the insert structure, the risk of damage during handling was significantly reduced.
The finished solution keeps both units upright, separated, and fully supported from top to bottom, with every component held safely in place and ready to go.
The Results
The final packaging solution gave the client the confidence to ship their product interstate without concern for damage in transit. Both units sit securely within the carton, with the fragile tunnel components fully supported and the solid wood inserts providing the stacking strength needed for the journey.
On arrival in WA, the units can be unpacked and installed directly into the FIFO accommodation units, arriving in the same condition they left Melbourne.
It is a straightforward outcome, but one that required genuine problem-solving to get right. And that is exactly the kind of project we enjoy working on.
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If you have a packaging challenge that you are struggling to find a solution for, we would love to help. With over 30 years of experience and no minimum order quantities, we work with businesses of all sizes to design and deliver packaging that gets the job done.
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