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

Recyclable insulated box is easy to assemble northbox Cascades

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.

insulated-box-recyclable-leakproof-fish

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.

insulated-solution-deliver-freshness-reduce-waste

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.

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Discover the partnership between Cascades, Ma cabane à la maison and Carrousel.
 

  Joining forces to ensure the future success of sugar shacks!

Insulated Boxes very rigid

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.
 

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Recyclable or not? What makes the difference in recyclability

A world of factors must be considered before answering a seemingly simple question: Is this packaging recyclable or not?

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Packaging's potential as a solution to food waste

The food supply chain is like a race against time, where freshness is preserved in relays all the way to the consumer's table. Depending their properties, packaging solutions can help preserve the food's integrity right up to the finish line. 

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Life-cycle assessment: A pillar of eco-design

Consume less, consume better. At a time when climate change is a concern, people are looking for concrete ways to reduce their ecological footprint.

Retailers, grocers, distributors, processors, etc. are being questioned by consumers who want to buy greener.

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Lead the pack: Surge ahead with high-performance honeycomb solutions.

We have effective solutions to protect, handle and ship your products—our packaging is designed to make your life easier.

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Reach out to learn more or receive a quote.