Manufacturer Saves 64% on Film with New Stretch Wrapper

Executive Summary

FlexPAC met with a large, juvenile products manufacturer who produces and ships a significant number of products per day. Prior to meeting with FlexPAC, the manufacturer was using an outdated stretch wrapping process that was failing to protect their products during shipment and used excessive amounts of stretch film. FlexPAC, through its proven process, identified improvements that made the process safer for operators and brought a savings of 64% a year on film.

Challenges

The manufacturer was operating with outdated technology that could not stretch the film to its fullest capacity, making their cost per load extremely costly and the pounds of load containment force low. Since the machine was not properly stretching the film, the cost per load increased and the pallet and the contained products would often become damaged due to the inadequate load containment. Previous to using FlexPAC’s help, it was costing the manufacturer $0.81 per load shipped.

FlexPAC’s Process

FlexPAC did a thorough analysis of their operation and process. They identified improvement opportunities and ultimately brought in a new Lantech Q300XT stretch wrap machine and a high-performance stretch film to help solve their problems. FlexPAC was able to decrease the cost per load shipped by 64% (decreased from $0.81 to $0.29). The material handling process and operator safety were also improved since the operator no longer needed to get on and off the forklift to operate the stretch wrap machine. With adequate load containment, the chance of product damage decreased significantly. For more information on how to best wrap a pallet visit our blog,“Top 6 Tips on How to Best Wrap a Pallet.”

Results

With the new stretch wrap machine, the manufacturer was able to decrease the amount of film used by about 6 ounces per load, saving $0.52 per load. They also increased containment by 1.17 pounds per load, making their products less likely to become damaged during transit periods. The manufacturer’s old technology used 8.3 ounces per load, and the new machine uses only 2.4 ounces per load. With the new machine in place, the manufacturer is experiencing a 64% savings in film every year, a 41% force to load increase, a savings of 39.44 metric tons of CO2 emissions, and reduced the barrels of oil used by over 93. Overall, the new machine will not only annually save the manufacturer over $70,000 in film, labor, and energy, but customers will also receive undamaged products.