Published on 07/12/2022
Corteva Agriscience has spent at least a year doing just that. Now, with the help of farmers and contractors, it believes it has come up with the best drum design on the New Zealand market.
Tordon Brushkiller XT will be the first to arrive in-store in the new packaging. But within a year the majority of 10 and 20 litre Corteva pack sizes will be standardized to the same design.
Marketing manager Glen Surgenor agrees picking one of many readily-available off-the-shelf options would have been faster and easier when the decision was first made to refine the company’s previous range of drums on sale in NZ.
“We definitely looked at off-the-shelf designs. But none was totally suitable for our objectives. We wanted to improve what was available, not duplicate it. So we ordered some prototypes, and sent them out to farmers and contractors to test and tell us what they thought.”
One of the things Corteva really wanted – apart from the usual technical specifications for such containers – was the best handling it could offer, including a smooth pour every time.
“No glugging, no dripping! Those were paramount. There’s nothing worse when you’re handling crop protection products than a container that makes a mess of pouring, whether it’s when you have it inverted or after you’ve dispensed what you need and return it to the upright position.”
This was such a priority Corteva had farmers and contractors fill the new drums with wate rand then videoed them being poured, so designers at the company which now manufactures the containers could see real-world results of different options.
Also on the company’s must-have list for the new packaging– big robust handles on top, created for gloved hands, plus good grab handles on the bottom, so drums can be held and tipped securely for pouring.
A third priority? Snug-fitting stackability, so when the drums are packed two high on pallets, they stay interlocked and stable for transport and storage, whether it’s a long sea voyage or a brief trip across the yard from the warehouse.
With some minor modifications to overall dimensions, there’s no overhang off the edge of pallet snow either, Surgenor says – the new drums are slightly taller. Otherwise nothing has changed – the colour is the same and they’re all recyclable through Agrecovery.
He and the rest of the Corteva sales and marketing team is looking forward to rolling out the new design across the range.
“It’s taken us a while to get here, but we feel the result is worth it. We’ve taken the best bits of what’s already available in crop protection packaging, and made them better.”
For more detail talk to your Corteva Agriscience territory sales manager.