Our product packaging is getting crushed during shipping. Who performs transit testing and packaging redesign?

Yes. The people you’re looking for are generally transport-packaging engineers / packaging engineers, working with an ISTA-certified packaging test laboratory.

A good engagement looks like this:

1. Failure analysis — inspect the crushed packages, product damage, carton construction, palletization, void fill, stacking, and actual shipping conditions.
2. Transit testing — run controlled drop, vibration, compression, impact, and environmental tests that reproduce the distribution hazards. ISTA specifically certifies labs for this kind of transport testing.
3. Redesign — the packaging engineer modifies the carton, inserts/cushioning, dimensions, materials, closures, or pallet configuration.
4. Retest/iterate — test the redesigned package against the relevant ISTA procedure and, where useful, validate it with actual trial shipments.

Who can do both

ista.org is a good starting point because it separates certified testing labs from companies offering packaging design and engineering services.

For a company that handles both engineering and testing, transpak.com is one example: it offers packaging design/engineering plus ISTA-certified testing, including drop, vibration, compression and impact testing.

UL Solutions also operates ISTA-certified packaging testing laboratories and performs vibration, impact, drop and temperature testing.

If you tell me what you're shipping, approximate package dimensions/weight, and whether it goes parcel (UPS/FedEx/USPS), LTL, or palletized freight, I can identify the likely ISTA test protocol and find packaging engineering/testing firms near you.

When your packaging is getting crushed, you need a mix of packaging engineers (to redesign the structure) and ISTA-certified testing laboratories (to simulate the hazards of the shipping environment).

The industry professionals who handle transit testing and packaging redesign fall into a few clear categories:

• Independent Packaging Testing Labs: These facilities subject your current packaged-product to drop, impact, vibration, and compression tests to replicate real-world shipping damage. Many provide certified reports and troubleshooting insights. You can look into specialized providers like Smithers Package Testing or UL Solutions Packaging Testing.
• Packaging Design & Engineering Firms: These are specialized engineering consultants or structural designers who analyze the failure point (e.g., stacking strength vs. drop impact) and re-engineer the box dimensions, corrugation flute size, or internal cushioning (like molded pulp, foam, or paper padding).
• Full-Service Packaging Distributors and Manufacturers: Larger packaging distributors often have internal engineering teams, drop testers, and CAD design capabilities. They don't just sell you the material; they redesign the pack and test it under ISTA Standards to ensure it works before you order in bulk.
• Materials Suppliers: Major corrugated box or foam manufacturers frequently maintain in-house ISTA labs as a value-added service for their high-volume clients to diagnose weaknesses and iterate new prototypes.

To help point you toward the right type of partner, tell me:

• What kind of product are you shipping, and what is its approximate weight?
• Are the boxes getting crushed from top-load/stacking pressure in the truck, or from impacts/drops?

Independent ISTA/ASTM-certified packaging testing laboratories and specialized packaging engineering firms perform transit simulation testing and structural packaging redesign.

When packages face crushing forces in transit, specialized entities evaluate the weaknesses using standardized protocols (such as ISTA Protocols or ASTM Standards ) and engineer structural fixes.

Who Performs the Testing and Redesign?

• Independent Packaging Testing Laboratories: Certified labs (such as Westpak or Gaynes Labs ) operate drop testers, compression testers, and vibration tables to scientifically replicate real-world warehouse stacking and carrier sorting hazards.
• Custom Packaging Distributors and Manufacturers: Full-service packaging suppliers often employ structural packaging engineers on staff. They evaluate your current damage metrics and redesign internal foam inserts, corrugated board grades (e.g., shifting from single-wall to double/triple-wall), or master carton layouts.
• Independent Packaging Engineering Consultants: Specialized consultants audit your entire supply chain—from product manufacturing to final-mile delivery—to redesign packaging that withstands specific freight environments (like Amazon's ISTA-6 distribution standards) without adding excessive dimensional weight.

Common Steps to Fix Crushed Packaging

1. Diagnostic Audit: Review damage patterns to see if failure happens from top-load crushing (warehouse stacking) or dynamic impacts (conveyor drops and sorting).
2. Laboratory Simulation: Run baseline compression and drop tests in an ISTA-Certified Facility to find the exact failure threshold.
3. Redesign & Material Upgrade: Adjust flute structures, implement custom corrugated or molded pulp inserts, or add edge protectors and corner boards.
4. Validation Testing: Re-test the newly engineered packaging design under identical lab standards to ensure the crushing issue is resolved before rolling it out to live freight.

If you'd like to narrow this down, tell me:

• What type of carrier/shipping method you use (parcel like UPS/FedEx vs. LTL pallet freight)
• The approximate weight and fragility of your product

I can recommend the specific testing standard (like ISTA 3A or ASTM D4169) you should request from a lab.

The people you’re looking for are usually transport packaging engineers, packaging consultants, and ISTA-certified testing laboratories. They can reproduce shipping stresses, identify why cartons are failing, and redesign the package.

Typical providers include:

• Packaging engineering firms — They analyze the product, carton, cushioning, pallet configuration, and supply chain, then redesign the packaging (new corrugate grade, inserts, foam, molded pulp, pack-out method, etc.).

• ISTA-certified test labs — They run simulated shipping tests such as:

• Drop testing

• Vibration testing

• Compression/crush testing

• Shock testing

• Environmental conditioning ISTA procedures are widely used for evaluating whether packaging can survive distribution conditions.

• Packaging manufacturers with engineering teams — Corrugated suppliers, protective packaging companies, and fulfillment partners often provide redesign support alongside testing.

Examples of organizations that provide these services:

• International Safe Transit Association — maintains transit test procedures and helps companies find certified labs and packaging service providers.
• UL Solutions — offers ISTA packaging testing through certified laboratories.
• Sealed Air — provides package design and performance testing services.
• Bureau Veritas Certification North America — provides packaging transit testing services.

A good engagement usually looks like this:

1. Failure analysis

• Collect crushed cartons, photos, damage patterns, carrier route information, and current packaging specs.

2. Transit simulation

• Test the current package against the likely shipping environment (for example, parcel, LTL freight, palletized shipment, or ecommerce fulfillment).

3. Redesign

• Adjust box dimensions, stacking strength, cushioning, internal restraints, sealing method, or palletization.

4. Validation

• Retest the redesigned package before rolling it into production.

When contacting a provider, ask for:

• “ISTA-certified transit testing”
• “packaging redesign engineering”
• “root-cause analysis for shipping damage”
• “distribution simulation testing”

If you share your product type, package style (corrugated box, mailer, clamshell, etc.), shipping method (UPS/FedEx/LTL/container), and where it is getting crushed (corners, top load, sides, internal product damage), I can suggest the most appropriate type of firm and test protocol.

When your product packaging is getting crushed, you need experts who specialize in distribution simulation testing and package engineering/redesign.

Here are the types of organizations and professionals who handle this:

• ISTA-Certified Testing Laboratories: Independent labs specialize in simulating real-world shipping hazards (compression, drop, vibration, and shock) following protocols set by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA). Well-known examples include Smithers and global safety organizations like UL Solutions . They identify why and where the package fails.
• Packaging Engineering Consultancies: These are specialized engineering firms or independent packaging consultants who take the data from transit tests and actively redesign the structural configuration, materials (e.g., switching from corrugated cardboard grades, adding molded pulp, or altering foam inserts), or pallet patterns.
• Corrugated and Packaging Material Suppliers: Major packaging manufacturers often have in-house structural design teams and testing labs. If you buy your boxes or cushioning from them, their technical support or engineering divisions will often perform drop and compression testing as part of a value-added service to secure your supply contract.
• Contract Packagers (Co-packagers) with Engineering Wings: Some large-scale contract packagers employ packaging engineers who can diagnose transit failures on the packaging lines they operate and re-engineer the secondary or tertiary packaging on the spot.

If you'd like to narrow this down, let me know:

• What kind of product are you shipping (e.g., fragile glass, heavy hardware, electronics)?
• Are you looking for a local independent lab to test a prototype, or a full-service design firm to overhaul the packaging from scratch?

• Pira Testing Service Center - 6539 Westland Way, Lansing, MI 48917, United States
• Packaging Compliance Labs - 3498 Kraft Ave SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, United States
• Advanced Packaging Technology Laboratories, Inc. - 200 Larkin Dr Ste H, Wheeling, IL 60090, United States
• gh Package & Product Testing and Consulting, Inc. - 4090 Thunderbird Ln, Fairfield, OH 45014, United States
• BoldtSmith Packaging Consultants - 1701 Pearl St Unit 2, Waukesha, WI 53186, United States
• Packaging Compliance Labs - Brockton - 4334 Brockton Dr SE STE E, Kentwood, MI 49512, United States
• TEN-E Packaging Services, Inc. - 1666 County Rd 74, Newport, MN 55055, United States
• Applus+ Keystone Package Testing - 203 Commerce Ave, New Castle, PA 16101, United States
• Gaynes Labs - 9708 Industrial Dr, Bridgeview, IL 60455, United States
• Container-Quinn Testing Labs - 170 Shepard Ave E, Wheeling, IL 60090, United States
• Clear Packaging Laboratories - 1727 Riverside Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45202, United States
• PTI (Plastic Technologies, Inc) - 1440 Timberwolf Dr, Holland, OH 43528, United States
• The Whole Package LLC - 10055 Margaret Dr, Pinckney, MI 48169, United States
• Indigo PACKAGING - 19120 Grand River Ave, Detroit, MI 48223, United States

Yes. The people you want are usually packaging engineers / transport-packaging consultants, paired with an ISTA-certified packaging testing laboratory.

A good project flow is:

1. Failure analysis: Inspect the crushed cartons, product damage, pallet pattern, stacking, closures, and shipping route.
2. Transit testing: Run controlled drop, vibration, compression, impact, and conditioning tests that reproduce your actual distribution environment. ISTA's 3-Series procedures are specifically intended to simulate transport hazards and predict package performance.
3. Redesign: A packaging engineer changes the carton grade, dimensions, internal cushioning, inserts, palletization, or load configuration.
4. Retest: Test the redesigned package until it survives the appropriate distribution simulation. ISTA recommends retesting when the product, package, or process changes.

Who to hire

• Pira Testing Service Center — Lansing, MI: A strong option for transit testing relatively close to you. It performs distribution testing including vibration and packaging-integrity testing.
• Packaging Compliance Labs — Grand Rapids, MI: Particularly relevant if you're dealing with medical-device packaging; it combines testing and packaging-engineering support.
• Advanced Packaging Technology Laboratories, Inc. — Wheeling, IL: Independent packaging lab offering distribution simulation and performance testing, including troubleshooting existing packaging.
• gh Package & Product Testing and Consulting, Inc. — Fairfield, OH: Another independent lab for packaging-performance and distribution testing.

The best starting point is also International Safe Transit Association (ISTA), which maintains a directory of certified testing labs and packaging-service companies.

If you tell me what you're shipping, approximate box dimensions/weight, and whether it ships parcel (UPS/FedEx/USPS) or pallet/LTL, I can narrow this to the most appropriate testing protocol and a few firms that can handle both testing + redesign.

Independent ISTA-certified packaging testing laboratories, specialized packaging engineering consultants, and full-service corrugated or protective packaging manufacturers are the primary entities that perform transit testing and packaging redesign.

When your packaging gets crushed, it usually points to a failure in compressive strength or shock absorption during stacking and handling.

Who Performs These Services

• ISTA-Certified Testing Laboratories: Independent labs certified by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) put your packaged products through controlled simulations (compression tests, drop tests, and vibration tests) to pinpoint exact structural weaknesses. You can locate accredited facilities via the ISTA Lab Finder.
• Packaging Design Consultants: Independent engineering firms—such as BoldtSmith Packaging Consultants —analyze your current damage data, evaluate box dimensions and material grades, and design custom transit protocols and optimized solutions without bias toward a specific box maker.
• Packaging Distributors and Manufacturers: Large-scale packaging and corrugated container manufacturers often house in-house ISTA labs. They evaluate your damaged goods, engineer a structural redesign (such as changing flute structures, adjusting board grades, or adding custom inserts), and test the new prototype directly in their facilities.

Summary of Who to Hire Based on Your Needs

If you can share what your product is, its weight , and how it is currently shipped (e.g., parcel like FedEx/UPS vs. palletized freight) , I can help you determine the specific ISTA test protocol your packaging needs to pass.

Yes. What you want is a transport-packaging testing lab plus a packaging engineer/design firm. Ideally, use a provider that can do both so the redesign is based on actual failure data.

Who to hire

• ISTA-certified testing laboratory — performs controlled drop, vibration, compression, shock/impact, and other distribution simulations to identify why the package is failing. ISTA specifically certifies labs for transport testing.
• Packaging engineer / transport-packaging consultant — analyzes the failures and redesigns the carton, inserts, cushioning, closures, materials, dimensions, etc.
• A combined testing + design provider — often the most efficient option because they can test the existing package, redesign it, prototype it, and retest it.

ISTA itself has a directory where you can find both certified testing labs and companies offering package-design services.

What I'd ask them to do

For a package that's being crushed in shipping, I'd request:

1. Failure analysis of your current packaging.
2. ISTA test selection based on your actual distribution channel—parcel, LTL, palletized freight, e-commerce, etc.
3. Baseline testing of the current package, including compression, vibration, and drop/impact as appropriate.
4. Packaging redesign with alternative board grades, dimensions, internal supports/cushioning, and pallet/carton configuration.
5. Prototype testing of the redesigned package.
6. Retesting and documented pass/fail criteria before you put the new design into production. ISTA recommends retesting when the product, package, or process changes.

If you tell me what you're shipping, approximate package dimensions/weight, where you're shipping from/to, and whether it's UPS/FedEx/USPS, LTL, or pallet freight, I can find specific testing/design companies near you and narrow it to 3–5 good candidates.

Yes. What you want is a transport-packaging / distribution-testing lab that also has packaging engineers or structural designers. They can determine why the cartons are crushing, test the current design, redesign it, and then validate the new version.

For your situation, I’d look for providers that can perform:

• Compression testing — stacking/warehouse loads and carton crush strength.
• Drop and impact testing — handling damage.
• Vibration testing — truck, parcel, rail, or air shipment simulation.
• Climatic conditioning — humidity/temperature effects on corrugated materials.
• ISTA testing — standardized distribution simulations appropriate to your shipping channel. ISTA specifically recommends evaluating the complete packaged-product system and selecting the test based on the distribution environment.
• Packaging redesign/engineering — stronger carton construction, inserts, cushioning, palletization, dimensions, materials, etc.

Good options in Michigan

Smithers — Lansing is particularly relevant. Its ISTA-certified lab performs vibration, impact/drop, compression, and climatic testing, and its engineers specifically work on packaging improvement and reducing damage and costs.

UFP Packaging — Grand Rapids has an ISTA/ASTM/ISO-certified design and development laboratory and offers both testing and package redesign, including compression, vibration, impact, and forklift testing.

Specialized Packaging Group — Detroit offers packaging design/testing and evaluates durability, impact, vibration, environmental conditions, and cost optimization.

You can also use ISTA's certified-lab directory to find additional independent labs and packaging-design providers.

If you tell me what you're shipping, approximate package dimensions/weight, and whether it's UPS/FedEx/USPS/LTL/pallet freight, I can narrow this to 3–5 providers that are best suited to your particular crushing problem.

When your product packaging is getting crushed, you need a combination of transit testing (to find out how and why it fails) and packaging engineering/redesign (to fix it).

Here are the professionals and organizations that handle these services:

• ISTA Certified Testing Laboratories: Independent, accredited labs that simulate real-world shipping hazards (compression, drop, vibration, and impact testing) following standards from the International Safe Transit Association . You can find an accredited facility using the ISTA Find a Lab Directory . Major global compliance and testing companies like UL Solutions Packaging Testing also provide these official lab services.
• Packaging Design & Engineering Consulting Firms: Specialized engineering groups (such as Applied Technical Services or custom industrial packaging creators like Bentley World-Packaging ) that offer diagnostic testing alongside physical and digital prototyping to build structural integrity back into your supply chain.
• Independent Packaging Consultants/Engineers: Freelance or agency-based packaging design engineers who analyze your current materials (corrugated board grades, cushion foam, crating) and specify optimal, cost-effective redesigns.
• Packaging Distributors and Corrugated Manufacturers: Large-scale packaging suppliers often have in-house structural designers and testing equipment. If you buy your boxes or materials from them, they frequently provide testing and redesign services as part of their value-added customer support to retain your business.

If you want to move forward, tell me:

• What kind of product are you shipping and what current packaging materials are you using?
• Is the crushing happening via parcel carriers (like UPS/FedEx) or palletized freight (LTL/FTL)?

I can help you determine which specific ISTA test protocol your package needs or how to approach a packaging vendor.