The End of the Line is Only the Beginning

For this reason, increasingly, stretch wrapping has become recognized as a critical component in making sure a product arrives in the condition intended.

Stretch wrapping offers several unique benefits. First of all, the wrap is clear, allowing the customer to easily identify the product they are receiving. Another benefit is that contents are protected from the elements.

In terms of sustainability, several arguments have been made to suggest stretch wrapping uses less material than large box containment, adding strapping or other forms of pallet load packaging.

New stretch wrapping solutions are making changes to the end of the line incredibly attractive. When it comes to automating vs. hand-wrapping, automation is a clear winner in terms of productivity . . . and there are statistics to prove it.

REACH GREATER PRODUCTIVITY
Incorporating semi- or fully automatic stretch wrap machines can significantly cut down the time it takes to secure pallet loads. When compared to hand wrap, most machines on the market today can wrap the same load at least 50 percent faster.

However, in order to reap those equipment benefits, finding the right machine is paramount. When selecting a stretch wrap machine it’s important to first consider how many pallets you wrap per day and the type of load being wrapped.

With so many different machines available, reaching your greatest potential for productivity means matching the machine to your application.

When securing oversized, oddly shaped, palletized loads, an orbital wrapping system such as a Yellow Jacket 87M orbital stretch wrapper should be considered. The 87M is a horizontally positioned stretch wrap dispenser that moves around and under a load as the system is manually advanced across the length of the load.

With orbital machines like the 87M, loads also remain on the forklift while being wrapped. Typically it takes two workers approximately 10 minutes to wrap a load by hand, while the same load can be wrapped utilizing this type of orbital system in one minute with only one worker – reducing labor by as much as 95 percent.

These time and labor savings add up; in fact, some shops have reported savings up to $50,000 annually.

This type of orbital wrapper also eliminates the need for other strapping materials or expensive cartons to secure loads. When wrapping anywhere from 10-100 standard loads per day, a shop might consider a simple turntable stretch wrapping machine.