This project is special to me because it is the first Packaging Engineering project I have worked on it was full of challenges and learning opportunities. How it started was Anheuser-Buschcame to us and asked to Value Engineer the current 12 pack design for 8oz aluminum cans (think Bud Light Lime-a-Ritas). So the challenge for this project was: “How can we cut cost on this 12 pack while maintaining handle performance and reducing the amount of buckling?” Anheuser-Buschwas very concerned with the buckling – it interfered with the graphics that ABI spent so much money on and made it look messy. I was the Lead Designer and worked closely with Design Leadership to address both challenges. Because this was such a big ask and involved many moving parts, it was necessary to break this project up into smaller more manageable tasks and tackle one task at a time. During the entire project I worked closely with Design Leadership and met regularly in order to provide updates as well as receive feedback on my work for this very exciting opportunity. 

The current Die was a 3-ply racetrack handle with overlapping flaps, the third ply really added a lot of material so we wanted to take the design down from a 3 ply to a 2 ply which reduced the blank size. In order to solve for the buckling issue, I tried many different design options; many of these ideas did not work but one idea worked really well – which was the Tri-Flex feature. We found that incorporating the Tri-Flex feature to the 2 ply Racetrack handle eliminated the buckling completely. When you pick up the pack, the stress of the board goes to the path of least resistance and in the Tri-Flex feature, it went to the cuts on the corners which eliminated the buckling completely. So we now had a design that eliminated buckling and had a smaller blank size. 

The next step was to understand how these options will impact the cost, in order to do that I had to create various options of manufacturing layouts in Artios CAD. This was something that I have not done before at the time so I asked my Teammate to walk me through it and teach me the ins and outs of not only how I create these layouts in Artios CAD, but also what makes the most efficient layout. This was really valuable as I was able to apply this knowledge to all future projects involving manufacturing layouts. I took both of these Designs and created a variety of options for manufacturing layouts which I presented to the Costing Team and the Plants. Through close collaboration, we were able to narrow down the layouts I provided and were left with the most optimal manufacturing layout for each design. Collaborating with the Plants helped me to understand what layouts are most acceptable for the converting process of each facility.

Now after we had the design and the layouts, we wanted to ensure that both versions passed the handle testing criteria by conducting cyclic drop testing and integrity handle testing (both with a dry sample and a soaked sample). The last thing we want is for this handle to fail when a consumer tries to pick it up at the store. As we began testing, we were glad to see that both versions performed well and passed the handle testing criteria so that was a big win! 

I also worked with the Machinery Team to ensure the design runs well on the existing machine as well as to improve the glue pattern on the flaps. The annual volume for this program was $74 million, therefore the cost savings that we generated on this die become magnified due to the large volume. Not only was it a big accomplishment for me as a Designer, it was also a big accomplishment for the North American Beverage Business. We achieved excellence in quality through teamwork, continuous improvement and innovation. One of the reason I enjoyed this project so much is because I had the opportunity to collaborate with cross functional Teams (our Plants, the Account Managers, the Technical Leads, the Project Manager, Costing Team, the Design Leadership as well as the Customer) which enabled me to build connections, strengthen my relationships, and allowed to learn what everyone’s role was. It is also really rewarding to go down the grocery store aisle and see someone buying a product that I worked on. It is such a rewarding experience to be able to impact the market.