Shrink Wrap Food - Help The Environment

According to an Industry Press Release titled "Shrink Wrapping Cucumbers Better for the Environment Says Study", more education is needed to help consumers and businesses identify what is and what is not helpful to our environment.

Many think that simply reducing packaging and or omitting packaging (such as shrink wrap) wherever possible will be the most environmentally friendly option. With the minimalist and absent packaging theory, consumers easily assume absent food packaging of produce, such as a naked cucumber is more eco friendly than a shrink wrapped cucumber. However in reality the opposite is true.

Evidence of how food packaging helps the environment is evident in the study performed by leading environmental packaging industry experts and consultants, Laurel Miller and Stephen Aldridge, in their book titled "Why Shrink Wrap A Cucumber? The Complete Guide to Environmental Packaging" (Lawrence King, 2012)". The authors Miller and Aldridge provide valuable insights on environmental packaging materials and processes.




Why Shrink Wrap A Cucumber? The Complete Guide To Environmental Packaging

Why Shrink Wrap a Cucumber? The complete guide to environmental packaging. The book includes a study on the shrink wrapping of a cucumber which revealed how the wrapping of cucumbers successfully extended shelf life freshness. In it, authors Miller and Aldridge explain that unwrapped cucumbers deteriorate much quicker than shrink wrapped cucumbers and pointing that an unwrapped naked cucumber loses 3.5 percent weight after only three days sitting out while a shrink wrapped cucumber only loses 1.5 percent weight after two weeks sitting out in the same conditions.

A Canadian research report titled "Food Waste in Canada" by Value Chain Management Centre" shares data that is a real eye opener about waste sources, most notably in the following summary:

• “Food waste creates methane gas which is 25 times more damaging to the environment than C0² (carbon dioxide) (WRAP, 2010a;NOAA, 2008)
• More greenhouse gases created from wasted food by households than by plastic packaging
• Plastic packaging actually benefits us by reducing food waste and protecting food in transportation and handling
• The downside of plastic packaging is primarily not the material but lack of coordination at municipal level resulting in thousands of tonnes gone to landfill needlessly, increasing its carbon footprint unnecessarily”

The PR references the Canadian Packaging Solutions Blog (http://solutions.cpsupplyline.com) by the Packaging Specialists Crawford Provincial and a specific post titled "Help End Food Waste with Food Packaging" authored by Packaging Industry Expert; Mr. Andy Craig. The post explains the huge issue of food waste in Canada, USA and the world, and how food packaging can and does help the environment by reducing wasted food.

About waste and environment impact, Andy Craig says for Canadians: “About 20 per cent of Canada’s methane emissions (a greenhouse gas that traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide) come from landfills and the majority of these off-gases come from the fruit and vegetable waste that we create.” For Americans, Andy Craig illustrated it this way saying: “In the US alone, the amount of water loss from food waste is like leaving the tap running and pouring 40 trillion litres of water down the drain.”

Mr. Craig goes on to debunk common misconceptions about food packaging when he writes "88 percent of people believe that food packaging is a bigger problem than food waste itself, but when we consider the C0² emission rates, we see that Packaging is responsible for 11 percent and Food Waste is responsible for 89 percent.” He continues on this note stating: “Reality is much different than perception. Food waste is a massive problem in North America. Food Packaging is the safety net for food that helps to protect, cushion, save and extend the life cycle of that product, which in turn helps to reduce waste.”




Shrink Wrap Equipment

As food packaging is for commercial application with large volume output to market, such application will normally leverage shrink wrap equipment to enable the shrink wrapping of cucumbers and other food in an time efficient and cost efficient (optimized to wrap consistently, securely and to use less shrink wrap film).

There are a wide array of shrink equipment to consider for fresh produce and processed foods.

Crawford Provincial Packaging Equipment Division(www.cppackagingequipment.com) provides Shrink Wrap Machines and shrink tunnels, such as sleeve wrappers, l bar sealers, form fill and seal shrink equipment and more. Shrink Wrap Machinery - L Bar Sealer, Heat Shrink Tunnel, Form Fill Seal Shrink Equipment. View equipment


  For those in the market for a shrink wrap machine, consulting experts helps ensure the best fit solution system is sourced. The benefits of getting the right equipment for an application include output speed, efficiency, cost savings (packaging materials, packaging process, labour savings) and greater containment (consistency and more secure). A Press release that includes a testimony that exemplifies the described benefits, check out this PR: New Shanklin Shrink Wrap Machine Install Providing Immediate ROI

Shrink Wrapping Business Gains

Shrink wrapping automation improves output quality (containment performance and display aesthetics) and cost efficiency. To get results however, it requires pairing the right shrink wrap film with the right shrink wrap equipment, in order to achieve optimal success and business gains. This lens go over some of the common shrink wrapping applications and how it provides return on investment (ROI) and ultimately a summary of Business Gains.

Shrink Wrapping and Business Gains

Before we get down to the brass tacks discussing shrink wrap equipment, let's talk bigger picture. There are two things that matter most to a business. They are:

1. Watching the bottom line.

2. Keeping the customers satisfied.

It is no stretch to say that using shrink wrap equipment in your merchandise packaging process can help you hit both of those proverbial birds with just one stone!

Let's just quickly cover what we mean when we say shrink wrap equipment: we are discussing machinery that uses various different types of films that can be applied and sealed tightly around a whole host of items, creating an airtight, reliable seal, secure containment and a great looking package.

Now let's talk about saving money. If you are a manufacturer or retailer dealing in any elevated volume of items, then you know how crucial it is to have reliable, replicable packaging. That means packaging that will keep your goods protected, keep them in the shape, order, and condition you want them in until they are in the hands of the consumer, and it means a packaging process that you can execute swiftly and efficiently, time and time again. The investment in shrink wrap equipment may seem like a hefty one initially, but take the longer view and you'll see it is a savvy move. With shrink wrap equipment installed in your warehouse, your manufacturing facility, or even right in your retail space, you can quickly package up most any type of goods in an attractive, sturdy manner. That means you will save time, which is an inherent value in and of itself, but it also means less expenditure on such overhead items as various sizes of boxes, packing "peanuts," countless rolls of tape, and on and on -- over the years, the cost of those materials adds up big time!

Shrink Wrap Machine Video 1

Shanklin A26 A and A27 A

Shrink wrapping automation maximizes performance and cost efficiency. The Shanklin A26 and A27 output packaging rates is up to 35 packages per minute.

Shanklin A26 A and A27A Shrink Wrap Machines
by crawfordit       

Shrink Wrap Machine Video 2

Shanklin Triumph Shrink Wrapper

Shanklin Triumph Shrink Wrap Machine provides advanced shrink wrapping features such as efficient handling of irregular shaped products. The addition of the heat shrink tunnel offers increased speed and heat shrinking speeds. The heat shrink tunnel provides controls for custom tailored to application shrink settings. This system will package up to 60 packages per minute.

Shanklin Triumph Shrink Wrapper
by crawfordit

Shrink Wrap Machine Video 3

Shanklin Triumph Shrink Wrapper

The Shanklin Omni FFS Wrapper packages up to 90 packages per minute

Shanklin Omni Shrink Wrapper
by crawfordit

Shrink Wrapping Links

Justify Investment For Business Gains

Using Shrink Wrap Machinery

Read white papers and buyer guides for buying shrink wrap equipment / machinery. Mentioned in section here under shrink wrap machinery.

Shrink Wrapping

Wikipedia information about shrink wrap and shrink wrapping

Shrink Wrap Machine and Business Gains News

News story of a shrink wrap machine install that generated better than expected ROI

Shipping Supplies

Shipping supplies website blog post about latest shrink wrap equipment.

Shrink Wrap Machine Buyers Guide

White paper about buying shrink wrap machines

How To Buy a Shrink Wrap Machine

Another resource link, this one is a power point presentation about how to buy a shrink wrap machine

Shrink Wrap Packaging Equipment Distributor

Source to buy shrink wrap equipment, as well as shrink equipment parts, repairs, upgrades, consulting, operator training and related. They are experts in shrink packaging as well as the leading source in Canada for packaging equipment sales, service and support. Visit them: www.cppackagingequipment.com

Using Shrink Wrap Machinery

Using shrink wrap equipment packaging machines let's you quickly and reliably create packaging for most any size and type of object., so you get a professional quality package every time, yet with fully customized dimensions. And you can even optimize performance based on the type of films you use in the shrink wrap process, so with some research and shrink film advice you can be assured that your packaging will be the right material for the right job, and will look great, too!

And that brings us to our next point: without customers buying what you're selling, you are out of business! Shrink wrap equipment, believe it or not, can help you keep customers by helping to keep your merchandise handsomely packaged and displayed, and even better preserved if you deal with foodstuffs that could potentially spoil, or with any sensitive materials (such as electronics components or machine parts) that could be damaged by oxidization, dust, or moisture. With shrink wrap equipment installed in your shop or factory, you can quickly and attractively package up your goods and transfer them to your customer knowing that the wares are safe and sound, and that your clientele will be satisfied once they dig into their shrink wrapped package.

Whether you make and/or sell anything from paper goods to circuitry to cookies, shrink wrapping your goods will help your goods get where they're going! Selecting the right tools and materials requires some knowledge to pair the right supplies to equipment or tools, but once you get this done right, you will get shrink wrapping done faster, cheaper and better or more secure containment than before.

A recent example illustrating the benefits of consulting with packaging experts is in the news, titled: "New Shrink Wrap Machine Install Reports Greater Than Expected Cost Savings" which provides a good testimony of the gains to be had when shrink wrap equipment shopping is done with If your consultant does not offer shrink wrap supplies or equipment, then you will want to find an expert shrink packaging material and equipment supplier near you so you can get started with implementing new shrink wrap equipment solutions that deliver best value, best performance along with optimal cost savings and performance efficiency. Also coverage of the news story see: "New Shrink Wrap Machine In the News" and watch the new shrink wrap machine video. Watching videos is a great way to get familiar with what each type of shrink wrapping machine does and what they are best suited for.

New Technology Creates Environment Friendlier Stretch Wrappers

Have you heard about the "No Film Break Stretch Wrappers"? They are rocking the stretch wrap operation world and rightly so! New technology is finally here that has created a new way to stretch wrap. It is faster, better, smarter, more cost efficient, uses less film, requires less stretch wrap operator resources, saves money and reduces impact on the environment! This is a phenomenol breakthrough!

The "No Film Break Stretch Wrappers" are manufactured by Lantech, one of the largest stretch wrap machine manufacturers and the creator of stretch wrapping automation. Lantech has invested a great deal in advancing packaging technologies. Their research and development division and its newly released technologies are branded "Lean Wrap". The Lean Wrap brand and initiative is all about advancing packaging technology systems and processes, to solve the needs of stretch wrap machine buyers and deliver performance advancements in a most efficient way.

The No Film Break Stretch Wrapping Technology is better, faster, reduces amount of film used and money.
- It improves wrapping efficiency. It eliminates downtime from costly film breaks
- It wraps everything easier and better. It provides superior containment and reduces load damage during shipping.
- It uses less stretch film. It lowers materials costs by stretching film to the optimal percentage which achieves maximimum film efficiency

Lantech has created a way to apply stretch film to a pallet that will not break, ensures optimal gauge stretching and securing of the load. By eliminates film breaking and operator tinkering, it eliminates employees from making unsecure loads that despite their good intentions the efforts often reduced containment security and resulted in loads that broke apart during shipment.

Every stretch film machine buyer will need and want to know about this technology before they invest in any new stretch wrapping equipment for their operation. Any other pallet wrapping technology on the market cannot compete with the No Film Break Stretch Wrappers in performance or efficiency.

Operations with existing pallet wrappers may want to request consultation to see if their systems can be upgraded so that they can try keep up with the technology and maximize their existing investment. Retro fitting with No Film Break stretch film dispensers may become an option on some stretch wrapper systems but may likely be brand specific.

For now buyers will need to contact a local stretch wrap machine distributor for consultation to learn how the No Film Break Stretch Wrappers will improve their operation performance before their competition does.

Green Packaging Supplies and Environment Friendly Products

Green packaging supplies and materials are environment friendly products. You will also hear them referred to as “eco friendly packaging supplies” or “Eco Products” for packaging applications.

There are many packaging manufacturers responding to this growing market that want to replace packaging materials with more environment friendly products and why not? This growing trend stands to replace all non eco friendly options sooner rather than later. The general eco industry is growing rapidly rushing to deliver materials, processes and technology solutions to supply the ever growing reduce environment impact demand. According to ETAP (Environmental Technologies Action Plan), “The global eco-industry is forecasted to be worth some €700 billion by 2010”.

New green packaging solutions that reduce environment impact to varying amounts are being created every day. Common green packaging characteristics often include the following:

• Made from recycled materials (100% or varying lesser percentages)
• Made from annually sustainable materials (ex: bamboo farms, corn, soya, cotton)
• Made from organic farmed materials (ex: organic bamboo, organic corn)
• Biodegradable materials (ex: clam shells, unbleached paper)
• Recyclable material (ex: cardboard papers, corrugated paper, glass)
• Reusable products (ex: glass bottles)
• Energy efficiency, such as achieved by reduction in packaging processes, packaging systems, manufacturing process or distribution savings (ex: using plastic bottles instead of glass bottles because of reduced carbon output in the shipping of a lighter product).

Popular green packaging supplies on the market include:

• Recycled Cardboard Boxes
• Compostable Food Containers (ex: biodegradable take out food containers, starch based biodegradable and disposable food containers)
• Biodegradable Products ex: biodegradable bags, biodegradable trash bags, biodegradable garbage bags, biodegradable plastics, biodegradable paper, biodegradable films, biodegradable green materials)

Business and industry realize that materials, systems and processes needs to be greener as caring about the impact for the environment is not only the ethical choice but the market of the future. Businesses that don’t come up with solution alternatives for greener packaging supplies and environment friendly products stand to lose their market share to environment friendly businesses that create the new generation of eco friendly alternatives and solutions.

References:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/etap/pdfs/dec06_eco_industry_report.pdf

How Stretch Wrappers can improve your bottom line!

How Stretch Wrappers can improve your bottom line! The benefits of using an automated stretch wrapper may depend upon many factors such as the floor real-estate space available for stretch wrapping, throughput requirements of the packaging operation and type of load to be unitized.

Businesses with smaller stretch film packaging capacity needs (with as little as 15 to 20 loads a day) will benefit from using a semi-automatic stretch wrapper. They can expect

• Lower labour costs resulting from the additional efficiencies brought on by automating
• Lower packaging material costs.
• Lower film usage over hand wrapping.
• Less film wastage
• Lower expenses resulting from shipping damages
  

Larger packaging operations using fully automatic stretch wrappers will accrue the same advantages as smaller operations but to a much greater degree. Additionally fully automatic packaging equipment

• Increased packaging line throughput.
• Stretch wrapping operation will require less floor space for higher throughput speeds.
• Ability to meet demands of just in time (JIT) operations.
  

In the final analysis the decision to automate your stretch wrapping operation comes down initial capital outlay for the equipment purchase/lease versus the long term financial gains.

Stretch Wrap Automation – Good for Business and the Environment

Automating the processes of pallet wrapping can provide great savings. Stretch wrapping machines will reduce stretch film required to wrap a pallet and will provide consistently more secure containment. Operations changing to automation will achieve faster throughputs and the elimination of the many worker injuries associated with hand wrapping.

Pallet wrapping operations with volumes over 15 pallets a day are capable of achieving full return on automation investment within the first year. When looking for a system it is recommended to source through a distributor that provides full support services in house such as: packaging equipment consulting, training, maintenance, installation, repair services and parts. When considering a stretch wrap system, look for brands that offer a longer warranty as this is a good indication of quality and reliability. Some good brand names recognized as industry leaders include Lantech Stretch Wrappers, Wulftec Pallet Wrappers and Cousins Stretch Wrappers .

Stretch wrap automation systems will vary in their performance depending on type of system, its performance capabilities and how well it is maintained. To ensure maximum efficiencies, regular preventative maintenance with a factory trained technician is the best assurance.

Automating a pallet wrapping operation with the right system will use less film than hand wrapping, and as such will reduce environmental impact, reduce operation supply costs and improve the bottom line.

Greener Packing Supplies and Materials

Greener packaging supplies and materials are friendlier to the environment and reduce our footprint. New technology developments continue to create newer product lines that use less to achieve same or better solutions and are more cost effective for business. Businesses who choose to adopt newer technology for better bottom line performance are often choosing greener packing materials by consequence.

The range of greener packing material supply solutions available to business is vast and continues to improve with more efficient automation equipment that achieve more with less product. Technology advancements are releasing many new alternate product materials that are biodegradable or at minimum provide recyclable product alternatives. It has never been easier for companies to change over to greener solutions for their operations.

Businesses that want to make the transition will be more successful in achieving product performance requirements and cost efficiencies when they consult and partner with a knowledgeable packing material supply company that has industry expertise and is a well established company.

For Industries and Businesses in Canada that want to change over, I recommend Provincial Paper & Packaging - Canada as a good solution source for: Greener Packing Supplies and Materials. They are located in the Greater Toronto Area (Mississauga) of Ontario Canada and service multi units industry supply solutions across Canada.

For industries in the United States, I suggest looking for a local distributor that is well established and be sure to ask if they have experience providing environment friendlier packing materials that are both high performance and cost effective.

If any readers would like to provide information on other supply solution sources have worked for them, in Canada, United States, Mexico and other countries, let us know for other to consider and contact.