FAQS

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Thermoformed Packaging Products

Our Product Questions

What is Thermoforming?

Thermoforming is the process of heating a plastic sheet or material and shaping it in a mold. We use vacuums to draw material into the form for a polished, detailed finish for any embossing or closures. Placon is a design, engineering, and tooling manufacturer for thermoformed clamshells, blisters, and trays for food, medical, and retail markets.

What are the benefits of thermoforming?

Thermoforming allows us to create highly detailed designs, like raised lettering or embossing, custom closures for secure seals, and can be produced at scale for larger manufacturing needs. Thermoforming can also use thinner gauge plastic, allowing for more eco-friendly designs. Thermoformed tooling is often less expensive than injection molded tools.

How is your process sustainable?

We use recycled material, or RPET, for the majority of our products. This is made from post-consumer recycled plastic and can be recycled again. We also promote sustainability by using green sources of energy like solar panels, partnering with sustainability reporting agencies, and designing with optimizing usage and weights in mind.

What is RPET?

RPET is an abbreviation for Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate. RPET material can be produced from post-consumer PET bottles and thermoforms, or post-industrial recycled PET material. Our EcoStar post-consumer recycled material is an RPET plastic, making it further recyclable to support sustainability goals. RPET is ground into flake, then extruded into rollstock material and used in our own lines of stock retail clamshells and food containers, giving plastics a second life and creating a more circular flow of material.

How quickly can I get a custom product?

Your time depends on a variety of factors, like whether this is a new design, a stock modification, or a redesign based on existing packaging. Our process is to create designs that fit your product, follow any regulations or packaging laws, and design with sustainability in mind. Once design is complete, we’ll move to tooling, prototyping, and once approved, to full-scale production.

What is EPR, and how does that impact my purchases?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental policy approach that makes manufacturers, brand owners, and importers responsible for the lifecycle of their packaging products. It shifts waste management and recycling program costs from local governments and taxpayers to producers like Placon, incentivizing sustainable, recyclable product design to reduce environmental impacts and promote a circular economy.

What is your minimum order quantity?

Our MOQs vary by market and product. You can reach out to our team for any questions on order minimums here, or give us a call at 800.541.1535. We can help you with any order size.

What certifications do you hold?

We have ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, and are AIB, SQF, and GMP compliant.

How do I get started working with a packaging company?

Great question! You can reach out to us via our contact page , and we’ll start the dialog to find which packaging solution is right for your business. We have a wide selection of in-stock packaging, or we can discuss if custom solutions are right for you. We’ll talk through material options, sustainability, functionality, and more.