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Gibson Realty Group
940.779.2891
Possum Kingdom Homes
VRBO Rentals available
Summer Jenkins
940.282.7198
Ronda Gibson, Broker
940.328.3007
www.gibsonrealtygroup.net
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
Corrugated boxes are not simply
cardboard boxes, differing greatly in
construction elements and processes.
Cardboard is generally made of thick
paper stock or heavy paper pulp —
think cereal boxes and greeting cards.
Corrugated boxes are made from
three layers of paper — an inside
liner, an outside liner and ruffled-
shape fluting which runs between
the liners. Corrugated boxes are
designed for protection, taking into
account such factors as cushioning
or compression strength, impact and
tear resistance, shock absorption and
moisture resistance and wet strength.
“These boxes are used for every-
thing,” said Witherspoon, “everything
comes in a box, from Motorola to car
parts to glasses — anything that ships
on a truck or on a pallet, any box
you go get out of a grocery store, any
brown box, most of that is corrugat-
ed. Corrugated is still the best way to
ship anything.” He has been involved
in the “strange world of packaging”
since 1992.
As it happened, the day of this
interview I’d been out dumpster
diving for boxes. We’d sold our
house and were in extreme packing
mode, learning with alarm we had
more stuff than should be allowed
in a place twice the size of ours,
bleeping stuff slid and shoved into
every conceivable space, under
beds and bookcases, in the attic and
filled-to-bursting closets. (Don’t even
mention the storage shed out back!)
We found ourselves staring at items
we had no knowledge of, and things
we’d not seen, much less used, for
ages. Anyway, the circumstances
made this interview quite germane.
I took a closer look at one of the
boxes I’d fished out of a dumpster
with my bamboo walking stick. Yep,
a corrugated box — three layers of
paper glued together to form a more
perfect shipping container. I admired
the fluting, the ruffled middle piece
of the packaging puzzle, squeezed
it between my thumb and middle
finger to test the shock-absorbing
effect created by the clever design.
I experienced the “strange world of
packaging.”
Graphic arts is part of
Witherspoon’s job description,
but when referring to his personal
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