In 2023, we rolled out a multi-year development project code-named “Sugar Ray” (based on the legendary welterweight boxer Sugar Ray Leonard).
The project resulted in the redesign of our large format Ready To Use bottles for 30 products, including Ortho Home Defense, Bug-B-Gon, and Ortho GroundClear. The design objectives included a consumer and manufacturing-friendly, lighter weight package with maintained or improved strength and performance.
“In the end, we had a new bottle with optimized geometry, a more ergonomic handle and an expanded label panel for consumer information,” says Brad Schultz, senior research principal. “More importantly, these new bottles arrived at stores with an average of 10% less plastic resin than previous designs.” The bottle redesign was made possible by improving the manufacturing processes at both our supplier and internal manufacturing plants, optimizing energy use and by reducing scrap and waste.
Additionally, the closure that accompanies our large ready-to-use offerings was redesigned to be more intuitive and easy-to-use, while reducing the overall component weight by 20% compared to the previous design.
Once fully implemented across our product lines, the redesign will reduce our use of High Density Polyethylene plastic resin by 1.24 million pounds, while delivering a robust, high quality consumer friendly packaging solution.
