Where would we be in this life without talented engineers? While most people associated engineers directly with complex scientific and mathematical jobs that are difficult to understand, it’s often overlooked that every single industry relies upon the expertise of engineers to succeed. The packaging industry is no different, so what exactly does a packaging engineer do?
Support New Product Development
Product development is a beast of its own that relies heavily on packaging. New products like shampoos, snacks, shoes, and everything in between all rely upon attractive, durable, and affordable packaging to appeal to consumers. Packaging engineers play a vital role in filling this need by collaborating with various teams to make sure that all key criteria is achieved in the design and performance of the new product’s packaging. This requires doing everything from sustainability metric evaluations and distribution testing to product lifecycle management.
Guide Cost-Saving Initiatives
While new product launches hold the most importance, packaging engineers must also give ample attention to cost take-out initiatives.This most often occurs when products are pushed into the market prematurely, especially before their packaging and supply chain are evaluated for efficiency and affordability. After products have remained on the market for a time, packaging engineers have the opportunity to redesign the package and supply chain system for maximum efficiency and minimal waste.
Lead the Way on Damage Control
Equipment downtime, broken assembly lines, last minute vendor changes, and many other problems tend to present themselves at the worst possible time, and packaging engineers are often tasked with resolving the problems as soon as possible. They are considered the ultimate experts on the job who can use their comprehensive knowledge and skillsets to keep things moving.
The average American consumer takes product packaging for granted and fails to realize the true effort placed into the development of strong, appealing, and affordable packaging for every single product found in stores. However, a packaging engineer knows exactly what it involves and devotes his career to making these systems function smoothly each and every day.
