Cascades northbox®.
Leading the way in insulated paperboard packaging since 2007.
Our award-winning eco-designed thermal box insulated liners keep your products at the perfect temperature in transit and are recyclable and made from up to 100%* recycled paperboard.
Contact us to learn more or receive a quote.
Insulated distribution solutions
northbox®: raising the bar for direct to consumer
Designed for parcel shipping temperature-sensitive products, this recyclable insulated box is easy to assemble, ship and recycle. And thanks to the new northbox XTEND keeping food fresh during long transit or in regions with higher temperatures, while requiring less ice.
northbox®OCEAN™: a leakproof, rigorous sustainable alternative
Made with an innovative leakproof insulator to ensure fish and seafood stay fresh in transit, it’s the ultimate sustainable alternative to non-recyclable packaging.
Cascades is the partner of choice in sustainable packaging solutions
Easily recyclable solutions
For consumers
northbox is easy to recycle in just one step. The entire box, including the insulator, can be put in a recycling bin, with no need to remove the reflective film. The end users are concerned more than ever about their impact on the environment. As pioneers, we set the bar high for direct-to-consumer ecodesigned packaging. The whole Cascades northbox® collection is made from recycled content and How2Recycle® has prequalified the solution as widely recyclable in Canada and in the United States.
Source : Fibre Box Association
For mills
Our insulated packaging is completely safe for recycling equipment, and paperboard created from northbox fibres is of the same quality as that made entirely from OCC from other sources. The quality of this raw material is mill-approved.
Walking the talk
Cascades is deeply committed to reusing or preserving materials for our insulated solutions. We always integrate a maximum of recycled materials and continually develop recyclable packaging innovations that maintain freshness and reduce food waste.
We also go the extra mile to ensure our converting operations are sustainable, using the services of EcoVadis to regularly evaluate our suppliers.
In 2021, our customers helped us save at least 17,708 tonnes of wood, which is the equivalent of 116,900 trees.
It’s all part of what makes us one of the world’s 100 most sustainable companies, as recognized by Corporate Knights.
Learn more
Discover the partnership between Cascades, Ma cabane à la maison and Carrousel.
Joining forces to ensure the future success of sugar shacks!
Source of value
Our insulators are designed to be extremely rigid, which improves the stacking strength of the box they are placed in. Using our insulators allows you to opt for more cost-effective boxes with a lower edge crush test (ECT).
northbox® XPERTISE services team supports your operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness objectives
Whatever you’re looking for, Cascades offers standard box models at competitive prices and customized solutions to meet all needs and budgets. Ask our northbox® XPERTISE team to help you choose the best solution for your business.
Tried and true packaging excellence
Our tried-and-true testing
hours of rigorous testing
For more than 10 years, our experts have been conducting thousands of thermal tests to ensure the performance and reliability of our northbox insulated solution.
Daily, our dedicated team works to improve our product performance, reduce our environmental footprint and confirm it meets market requirements. We also examine each demand individually to understand your specific needs and cold chain. Your satisfaction is our biggest priority.
Continuous improvement
- Conduct daily thermal tests, ISTA 7E among others
- Reduce dimensional weight
- Improve eco-design through material optimization
- Meet new delivery requirements: Amazon APASS and IATA tests for air transportation
- Optimize box compression strength
Customized service
- Laboratory reports for our customers
- Ice optimization
- Establish a personalized delivery profile
- Rapid prototyping (compartments, separators, custom design)
- Comparative analysis of materials
- Assembly line analysis for product optimization
Our state-of-the-art tools
We have all the necessary thermal testing equipment in-house to ensure efficient northbox performance. We’ve developed our own calculator to simulate the effects of ice quantity, box size and outside temperature on delivery timeframes. Thanks to humidity control, our thermal chamber can even replicate tropical conditions to provide simulated delivery circumstances.
Our state-of-the-art tools
Wee have all the necessary thermal testing equipment in-house to ensure efficient northbox performance. We’ve developed our own calculator to simulate the effects of ice quantity, box size and outside temperature on delivery timeframes. Thanks to humidity control, our thermal chamber can even replicate tropical conditions to provide simulated delivery circumstances.
northbox: Our milestones at a glance
2004
Early research into the thermal properties of the honeycomb paperboard structure
2007
First paper-based insulated solution: launch of northbox® OCEAN™ (previously ThermaFresh®)
2013
Winner of the Phénix environmental award in the “company – eco-design for containers, packaging or printed matter” category
2016
Launch of northbox®
2017
Winner of the Food Processing Council of Quebec’s Food Innovation Award in the “packaging” category
2019
Winner of the Ruby Award for innovation of the year in the confectionery industry from the National Confectioners Association (NCA)
2022
Cascades launches expansion plan in the isothermal packaging market :
- New Cascades Enviropac production site (Tacoma-USA)
- Expanding our eco-designed northbox® OCEAN line of products containing a minimum of 65% recycled fibre and being recyclable
- New Cascades Enviropac (York-USA) / second production site in 4 months to support our growth in the isothermal box liners market
- Launch of northbox® XTENDTM keeping food fresh during long transit or in regions with higher temperatures, while requiring less ice.
Our ever-expanding services
Our Research and Development Centre was founded in 1985 to bring our packaging vision to life, i.e. to offer you the best possible solutions for your products, your business and the planet. Today we are North America’s largest private facility in the pulp and paper industry, and we’re still passionate about what we do. On any given day, our expert microbiologists, physicists and chemists, as well as civil, mechanical, electrical and process engineers, are working tirelessly towards developing, testing and refining the packaging innovations of tomorrow.
Recyclable ou non? Ce qui fait la différence en matière de recyclabilité
Un monde de facteurs est à considérer avant de répondre à une question en apparence simple : cet emballage est-il recyclable ou non?
Le potentiel de l’emballage comme solution au gaspillage alimentaire
La chaîne d’approvisionnement des aliments s’apparente à une course contre la montre, où la fraîcheur se préserve à relais jusqu’à la fourchette. Selon leurs propriétés, les solutions d’emballage peuvent contribuer à préserver l’intégrité des aliments jusqu’au fil d’arrivée.
L’analyse du cycle de vie : un pilier en matière d’écoconception
Consommer moins, consommer mieux. En cette période où les changements climatiques sont source d’inquiétude, les gens cherchent des façons concrètes de réduire leur empreinte écologique.
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