Nested bundle shrink wrap process reduces packaging and improves shipping efficiency

Round cans and bottles have a tendency to nest during the shrink-wrapping process. Traditionally, corrugated trays or pads have been used to keep the columns or rows of cans and bottles in a line. However, by allowing the cans or bottles to nest into a pre-determined geometric shape, the end result is an extremely strong, super dense pack that can completely eliminate the need for trays or pads. Nesting allows for an increased product quantity within the same footprint as traditional bundles. Palletizing efficiency is the same or better.

 

A manufacturer of filling and shrink film equipment has now developed a patented process to purposefully off-set bottles or cans as they are shrink wrapped. The resulting pack offers excellent stability and allows additional bottles or cans to be bundled in the same footprint as a traditional shrink pack whilst removing the need to use a corrugated tray or pad to support the bundle.

 

The new process has been developed by Polypack Inc of the USA using geometric principles found in nature to create inherrently strong packs.

 

The content in this entry has been obtained from publicly available information sources only (e.g. press releases, website and trade press articles) and is subject to completion of a validation process with the technology supplier.

The greatest potentail benefit of the new off-set bundling process is in eliminating the need to use a corrugated tray or pad to help to stabilise the resulting shrink pack. This reduces packaging and therefore packaging waste outputs as well as offering a stable bundle. The more economic shaped bundles also enable additional items to be packed in the same footprint and this also offers good potential in transport and storage savings over traditional bundling methodology.

The new process has been developed by Polypack Inc of the USA who has now patented the off-set bundling process.

This is an interesting innovation in that it uses the geometric principles found in nature and applies these to the issue of shrink bundling.  The resulting off-set pack is both stable and reduces the amount of packaging required.  Whilst the irregular off-set bundle will not be applicable to all products it is a simple solution and for this reason it could gain widespread adoption and therefore have great potential for packaging reduction and resource efficiency gains.

 

Although this process is initially focusing on beverage packaging (bottles and cans) the principle could potentially be applied to round packaging in any product category.

The REID database features other solutions for improving the palletisation of beverage packaging. Researchers who are interested in this area search the databaseusing combinations of search terms such as "Palletisation" and "Beverages".

Polypack Inc

3301 Gateway Centre Boulevard

Pinellas Park

Florida

USA

Tel: 001 7275785000

Email: info@polypack.com