Cost benefits of industrial stretch film 

Industrial stretch films are heavy duty products which have a degree of elasticity allowing the film to be stretched over a load and then snap back tightly when released. They exhibit high degrees of toughness and puncture resistance. The usual supplied format is gusseted film on the roll, however, sheeting and single bag applications are in use.

Problems with shrink covers

• Shrink tunnels must be continuously at operating temperature - this is very costly as many plants run for 24 hours, and much of the heat is lost.
• Shrink films tend to be of a heavy gauge to offset the risk of holes. When subjected to heat this increases packaging weight per pallet, which increases costs.
• Due to the exposure to heat for shrinking there is a risk of fusion of the palletised load to the outer cover. This leads to product damage when outer is removed.
• Film requires time to shrink. This in turn reduces throughput on auto packing plant.
• Products can be manually shrunk using gas guns. This is time consuming and gives inconsistent results.

• No tunnel required, so energy cost are greatly reduced.
• Production rates are increased as shrink stage can be bypassed.
• No heat equals no fusion, so no product losses.
• One specification will wrap a number of pallet load sizes (reduced stock holding).
• Film clarity allows easy identification through cover.
• Pallet completely sealed against the elements - unlike linear stretch.
• As film dimensions are up to 50% smaller than equivalent shrink product, packaging usage can be reduced.
• Pallet stability is equivalent to that of a shrink cover.
• Cover thicknesses may be reduced as film does not need to resist holing.

Packaging savings, stretch v. shrink at 100mu
(*based on standard 1200mm x 1000mm pallet, 1500mm high)

Stretch cover offers a saving of up to 25%of packaging weight plus increased line speeds, fewer reel changes, and energy savings via removal of shrink tunnel.