Case Study No. 6: How We Protected Metal Parts from Scratches During Shipping

Location and Industry:
Manufacturing company in the Czech Republic – production of precision metal components

Problem

The parts left the production line in good condition, but after shipping, some of them developed minor scratches and scuffs.

The problem was not in production. During handling and transport, the metal parts shifted slightly inside their packaging, came into contact with one another, and their surfaces gradually became damaged.

In practice, this meant:

scratches and scuffs on the finished parts
dents on the edges
Unnecessary repairs and repackaging
Risk of a complaint regarding an otherwise flawless product

Paper and PE liners were used. However, they could shift during handling, and precisely where the surface needed protection, it was ultimately missing.

Solution

We were looking for a simple solution that wouldn’t complicate the work for the people doing the packaging.

We tested the BroNET® protective mesh.

The principle is simple—the mesh is slipped directly over the product. Thanks to its flexibility, it conforms to the product’s shape and stays in place. This prevents parts from coming into direct contact with each other during transport.

Depending on the specific product, BroNET® can be used as:

a protective sleeve covering the entire product
protection for a specific sensitive part or edge
spacer between individual parts

For production workers, the packaging process has not become significantly more complicated—the mesh is simply stretched over the part, and the product can then proceed to standard shipping packaging.

Result

The difference was particularly noticeable after transport.

Thanks to the mesh, the individual metal surfaces did not come into direct contact with one another, significantly reducing the risk of scratches.

In practice, the new solution resulted in:

better protection of product surfaces
fewer scratches and scuffs during transport
Protection exactly where it’s needed
Simple packaging without complicated adjustments
The option to use mesh for products of various shapes and sizes
For suitable applications, it can also be reused

And most importantly—a product that leaves the factory undamaged should arrive at the customer in the same condition.

Summary

Sometimes there’s no need to design a more complex box or add more and more layers of packaging material.

In this case, all that was needed was to prevent the metal parts from touching each other during transport.

BroNET® created a simple protective layer directly on the product. The mesh stays where it’s supposed to, doesn’t complicate packaging, and helps protect the finished surface from scratches and scuffs during handling and transport.

I’d rather post this on the website than the original version. The sentence “The parts left the production line in good condition, but after shipping, minor scratches appeared on some of them” right at the beginning describes a situation that the production foreman, quality control specialist, and purchasing manager are all very familiar with.