Page 42 - Food & Drink Magazine July 2018

MATERIALS HANDLING & LOGISTICS
Robopac’s Cube technology in action.
3OPTIMISE AUTOMATIC PALLET WRAPPING MACHINE SETTINGS
Today’s automated pallet wrapping technology is quite sophisticated and allows the machine to determine film pre-stretch, containment force, film placement and base roping, for example. The quality of film is also important.
THE RIGHT WRAPPER
With multiple pallet wrapping solutions available on the market, how do you select the right one for your application?
Consider what is important to your site and what the business goals are. If a business goal is to improve sustainability by reducing the packaging, then look for a pallet wrapping solution that saves film without compromising the integrity of the pallet. If the goal is to improve automation, then look for an automated wrapping solution that can be integrated easily with the existing line and requires less adjustments and programming.
Ultimately, the main question for pallet wrappers is, how can you ensure the pallet load is as stable as possible with the minimum amount of stretch film and time taken to wrap the pallet? The answer lies in selecting the right technology.
Technology leading pallet wrapping solutions deliver:
VARIABLE PRE-STRETCH: The degree of pre-stretch depends on the position of the film on the pallet and risk of tear. The highest risk of tear is towards the bottom of the pallet and the lowest risk is towards the top of the pallet. For example, Robopac pallet wrappers fitted with cube technology pre-stretch the film the most towards the top of the pallet (up to 450%) and least towards the bottom of the pallet (up to 250%) to save film while providing maximum coverage.
VARIABLE CONTAINMENT FORCE: Smart pallet wrapping machines deliver the optimal containment force at each level
Wrapping it right
Good pallet wrapping pays dividends right along the supply chain. Foodmach’s Rym Kachouri reveals her top tips to getting wrapping right.
IT may be the last activity before your finished product leaves the factory and begins its journey to your customer, but pallet wrapping is the first step in your fulfilment supply chain, and has a huge impact on the condition of your product reaching stores. So, wrapping it right is critical.
For manufacturers producing a few pallets a day, pallet wrapping can be done manually. Semi-automatic and fully automatic stretch wrapping solutions are available for manufacturers with multiple high-speed lines.
While the best fit solution depends on many factors including stability of the packaged product, product supply chain, production volumes and capital budgets, the success of the pallet wrapping solution is determined to a great degree by the steps preceding the wrapping. You have to pack it right, stack it right and finally, wrap it right.
Here are some important steps that will lead to pallet wrapping success.
1IMPROVE THE INTEGRITY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PACKAGING
The quality of primary and secondary packaging, along with other packaging materials like tier sheets and corner boards, all impact the condition in which your product reaches the retail stores. Logistical demands need to be balanced with business requirements such as shelf-ready packaging, branding, cost of packaging, sustainability and environmental concerns. Good quality primary and secondary packaging facilitates pallet wrapping success.
2
Before stretch wrapping a pallet, it is important to make sure the stacking is optimised. A column stacked pattern gives good compressive strength while an interlocked pattern gives better lateral strength and stability. The stacking pattern is dependent on case type and pallet utilisation. A well stacked pallet is a more stable pallet.
LOAD STABILITY AND
STACKING PATTERNS
✷ ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
Dr Rym Kachouri is service & product manager at packaging solutions company Foodmach, where she leads the complete portfolio of
technology products, including collaborative robots, inspection and filling solutions.
42 | Food&Drink business | July 2018 | www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au