Savings Of Over £100,000 A Year On Transit Packaging

A food manufacturer was incurring excessive financial and operational costs due to ineffective stretch wrapping processes. The company was spending around £150,000 annually on stretch film, using 100 tonnes of plastic film and spending time and money repairing old machines.

The problem

Worn, damaged wrapping machines were causing stretch film to break and meant wrapped pallets were extremely unstable. The machines were unable to keep up with production during peak periods which resulted in bottlenecks and downtime.

Large supermarket chains were rejecting and returning damaged and leaning shipments, so warehouse operatives were spending a significant amount of time re-wrapping pallets. The frustrated operatives were loading the stretch film incorrectly in an attempt to prevent film breakages and keep the machines wrapping. Their Warehouse Manager repeatedly commented ‘my guys deserve better’. The problem was costing them money, time and their reputation.

Our solution

We audited their current machinery, testing for correct setup and each machine’s ability to stretch film and apply it in the most efficient manner. We then measured the amount of film used to wrap each pallet, the performance of the film, its strength and the amount wasted due to quality and poor machine set-up. Finally, we monitored the standard of pallet wrapping and listened to machine operators talk through the process and the practical difficulties faced when preparing pallets for transit.

We recommended making the switch to Extremus film and new state-of-the-art turntable pallet wrappers, which when optimised could deliver up to 300% stretch. We created two bespoke wrapping programmes to suit their needs, whilst using the minimum volume of stretch film. Due to the combination of film and equipment used, the ROI on the new machines was less than 7 months. Production downtime was reduced due to the reduced need for roll changeovers.

Careful training and ongoing contact as part of the maintenance contract with the team at Hazel 4D meant that the operations team was confident in using the system, and that savings were realised on an ongoing basis and the team could call Hazel 4D with any issues.