Case Study: Unilever achieves cost savings and faster development with Altair HyperWorks

HyperWorks Optimization Capabilities Integrated into Packaging Design Process Help Unilever Cut Costs and Development Time

Unilever’s Global Packaging Design Group, which develops hard‑plastic containers for brands like Dove and Hellmann’s, needed to find potential packaging issues early in the design cycle to avoid costly retooling and long development delays. Facing a time‑consuming validation process that could take two months if outsourced, Unilever partnered with Altair and adopted the Altair HyperWorks suite to bring simulation and optimization into their in‑house workflow.

Altair implemented HyperWorks tools (HyperMesh, RADIOSS, HyperStudy, OptiStruct) and custom process automation to auto‑mesh CAD models, set up loads/boundary conditions and run topology/topography optimizations. Using Altair’s solution Unilever shortened simulation schedules from an outsourced two months to about two–three weeks in‑house, avoided retooling costs, achieved high fidelity predictive results, and reduced material use in examples such as an optimized bottle design (from ~22g to ~19g) while improving stiffness.

Unilever

Bill Maffeo

Senior Design Engineer