It looks like a torture chamber for cardboard and bubble wrap. At a lab in suburban Chicago, UPS Inc. tests new packaging designs by dropping, shaking and smashing boxes with brutal-looking equipment.

This Dec. 11, 2012 photo shows a box getting a 900-pound hug at the compression table at the UPS Package Design and Testing Lab in Addison, Ill. UPS tests new packaging designs by dropping, shaking ...