DS Smith engineers heavy-duty corrugated transit solution for Schneider Electric switchgears

Engineering for Heavy-Duty Transit

The industrial packaging sector often faces its true test not in lightweight e-commerce, but in the heavy-duty arena. In July 2026, DS Smith and Schneider Electric rolled out a universal, fibre-based packaging architecture specifically engineered for three distinct types of integrated electrical switchgear products. This development highlights a critical shift in industrial transit: the systematic replacement of legacy mixed-material crates with highly engineered corrugated cardboard.

Electrical switchgears are notoriously difficult to transport. Their sheer weight and the presence of delicate, moving internal components require precise handling. Traditionally, this meant heavy reliance on plastics, foams, and wood. DS Smith's new design tackles this by utilizing multi-layered corrugated endcaps and an openable side tray that forms a stable base. Because these units are too heavy for manual lifting, the packaging is explicitly designed to interface with industrial manipulators—rigid arm-lifting devices that load the product from the side.

Automation and Supply Chain Integration

Levente Szabó, Cluster Director at DS Smith Hungary, noted that the solution needed to balance robust protection with fast assembly. The engineering team achieved this by integrating corrugated cardboard sheet elements that lock the switchgear's moving parts into place during transit. A folded corrugated insert protects the metal connectors, while a polyethylene bag is used sparingly to shield greased components from dust.

Crucially, this packaging is not just about transit survival; it is built for the modern factory floor. The design integrates seamlessly into automated production lines, allowing Schneider Electric to maintain throughput speeds without packaging bottlenecks.

From a strategic standpoint, this aligns with Schneider Electric's broader decarbonization and circularity targets. By the end of 2025, the energy management giant had already pushed to make 85% of its primary and secondary packaging free from single-use plastics. This 2026 rollout with DS Smith proves that fibre-based solutions can meet the rigorous demands of heavy industrial equipment, pushing that sustainability metric even further.

The transition of heavy-duty industrial packaging toward 100% fibre-based designs proves that corrugated board, when engineered with precision, can outperform traditional rigid materials in both protection and supply chain efficiency. Will the success of this switchgear packaging prompt other heavy machinery manufacturers to finally abandon wooden crates and foam inserts? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai