THE STORY: Priceless jewelry needs to be kept with care in protective cases, hence why in 1961, Cranston-based Alga Plastics started making thermoformed rigid plastic packaging for the jewelry industry. The company also saw a need to protect health equipment and, therefore, switched its packaging focus to the health care industry. The company was acquired by Nelipak Corp., based in Europe, in 2007 as Nelipak expanded its operations across the Atlantic Ocean.
› Nelipak’s packaging is made inside class 8 cleanrooms to reduce the contamination of the packaging by particulate.
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› The packages are made with polyethylene terephthalate glycol, high-impact polystyrene and polycarbonate, among other materials, and it is heated, vacuum-formed and trimmed in less than five minutes.
› Reels of the plastic material are drawn into the machine, heated on both sides to soften it before being moved over the tool with the shape of the tray to be formed, and clamped in the tool to create a seal before a vacuum is applied to pull the material into the tool/mold to form the tray.
› About 150 employees work for Nelipak in Cranston. The number of workers varies, based on the product.
› Hundreds of thousands of packages are produced annually and the retail cost varies by package depending on size and the thickness of the materials used.
COVID-PROOF: Nelipak has remained operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, since it is considered an essential business to the health care industry. Production did not stop, but some Nelipak customers experienced a slowdown in demand initially. Volumes are starting to recover.
