Lindum were contacted by a coffee manufacturer, after they noticed a lot of their boxed goods were being crushed when wrapped on a pallet. Not knowing what was causing the problem, they consulted with our team here at Lindum, which resulted in a huge long-term impact for them:
This particular coffee manufacturer is one of the biggest own brand coffee manufacturers in the UK. With so many beverage goods being palletised, and shipped out daily, smooth and efficient packaging operations are critical. They noticed a persistent problem with their current packaging operations, that they couldn’t fix – their current stretch film seemed to be crushing product once it was being applied onto the pallet.
Despite their best attempts, and still not sure exactly what the problem was, or how to address it, the coffee manufacturer turned to the team at Lindum to put their expertise to the test.
In order to get to the root of the problem, the team at Lindum carried out an in-depth audit of the entire pallet wrapping operations at the manufacturing site. From their current products to their machinery and processes, no stone was left unturned in determining what was causing the crushing issues.
Our team worked closely with the team at the coffee manufacturer to ensure their audit was as thorough as possible and were soon able to identify the root cause of the problems and how to solve them.
They identified that the stretch film that the company were using was too tough for the job. This means that the film used was too ‘thick’ for the job – in other words a film with a lower micron thickness, with more stretch capacity would suit the operation better. Furthermore when the film was being applied by the pallet wrapping machine, it was being incorrectly applied to the pallets with too much lay on tension.
It was quickly identified that using a pre-stretched film was required, and after recommendations from our team, the manufacturer switched from their existing film to a 12mu nano stretch film. Why this film? Nano films are robust and offers high puncture resistance and excellent cling to the product. In this case, the true benefit of nano is its stretch to 400% meaning it’s not ‘tough’ like the existing film and much more flexible when applied – therefore not causing any crushing on application.
The results for this coffee manufacturer demonstrate that ultimately you need the right stretch film for the specific job. The outcome was incredible, and results went much further than they had anticipated.
The problem they consulted us about initially – the boxes being crushed when wrapped on the pallet – was solved. The reduction in damaged goods going into the supply chain can have a big impact on businesses, including rejected goods, repacking, customer satisfaction – all problems that were solved here too.
The wider benefits of switching to a nano film were also realised for this company. Switching to a nano film means much less film is required to wrap a pallet, especially when compared to their previous film. Therefore by making the switch they achieved a significant cost saving through eliminating damaged goods, and reduced the amount of plastic used by 35.4% too.
At Lindum Packaging, we’re packed with innovation, helping your business to:
If you’d like to speak to one of our in house team of experts, about your packaging operations, then please get in touch with our experts for an initial chat.
