Stretch Film Equipment Increases Productivity

Mon May 11, 2009

In large scale manufacturing and distribution settings, pallet stretch film inefficiencies are easily overlooked. But in today's economy, where every dollar counts, introducing, upgrading, or fine tuning stretch film automation will deliver much needed improvement in productivity. Here are two examples.

Upgrading Stretch Wrappers for Productivity Gains

The Lantech Q300XT Plus automatic stretch wrapper, designed for 30-100 loads per day, comes equipped with a load accumulation conveyor and automatic start/stop function. Operators can deliver an unwrapped load to the machine and then proceed to other tasks while the pallet is being stretch wrapped.  For a 75 load per day operation, a two-minute per load increase in productivity equates to a 500 to 600 hour productivity gain per year - hardly insignificant.

Introducing Stretch Wrappers for Productivity Gains

In certain industries, such as building materials and fabricated metalworking, automatic stretch wrapping may be ruled out due to the size, weight, and shape of the finished product. The Lantech Lan-ringer®  horizontal stretch wrapper, which is capable of securely stretch wrapping products of virtually any size and weight, may be a surprisingly easy way to achieve substantial productivity gains.

In most cases, the time savings of stretch wrapping a load versus manually or semi-automatically securing it with a combination of banding, polyethylene sheeting, and corner/edge protectors, can amount to 10 or 15 minutes per load - or more. And, in many cases, what was a two or three person job becomes a one person job. 

Related Information on Stretch Film Automation and Productivity

Our STAMP packaging management program includes a thorough review of all automation options.

Our National Accounts team focuses on national packaging programs and can coordinate multi facility stretch wrapper installations. 

Refer to our glossary of pallet stretch wrap terms for a brief overview of important stretch film characteristics.