The flattest folding box on the market for ALDI fruit and vegetables

When folded, WALTHER Faltsysteme's fruit and vegetable crates are 28 millimetres high. Reusable transport solutions are therefore the flattest of their kind.

When folded, WALTHER Faltsysteme's fruit and vegetable crates are 28 millimetres high. Reusable transport solutions are therefore the flattest of their kind. ALDI SÜD and ALDI SUISSE use these containers to reduce the volume of single-use packaging. Freshly harvested products from all over Europe spend a large part of their lives in folding crates - from transport to in-store sales. Disposable plastic overwrapping is not necessary because reusable containers are made of a material suitable for food contact. These fruit and vegetable crates are part of ALDI's sustainable development approach.

Why are these particularly flat crates environmentally friendly? Thanks to their excellent folding ratio, for the return empty, 336 cases of fruit and vegetables can be stacked on the same place. In total, up to 11,088 crates can be placed in a truck. By optimizing the filling rate, fewer vehicles are needed to return these crates compared to other packaging of the same type. This reduces return transport costs and CO2 emissions.

In addition, considerable savings in disposable packaging are also achieved. In 2017 alone, ALDI SÜD claims to have been able to do without 60 million cardboard boxes thanks to the use of reusable transport solutions. In the future, the discounter wants to further reduce the volume of disposable packaging. Cucumbers, for example, must be presented unpackaged to the consumer. And this is made possible by the fruit and vegetable crates, which are made from a material that is suitable for food contact and recycled in a closed circuit.

100% recyclable, end-of-life crates are transformed into granules and treated with additives and new UV protection. The regenerated granules are then used to produce brand new boxes with Datamatrix barcodes and a patented locking solution." Our fruit and vegetable crates meet the durability requirements of ALDI, because after a long life cycle of up to 10 years, the entire material is recycled. This does not lead to any loss of quality, as confirmed by the certificate of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)," explains Thomas Heilen, project manager at WALTHER Faltsysteme.