Machine stretch film for stretch wrappers

Machine stretch film is the film loaded onto the reel carriage of a stretch wrapper or a pallet wrapping robot. It does not differ from hand film in its purpose —stabilising the pallet— but in how it works: the machine stretches it in a controlled way before it touches the load, and that calls for a film with uniform thickness, good cling and high puncture resistance so that it does not break mid-cycle.

The key is pre-stretch. The stretch wrapper stretches the film by between 150 and 300 % using two rollers turning at different speeds. That is why machine film comes in thicknesses of 12 to 23 microns, below hand film: a pre-stretched 20-micron reel performs like one of 35 to 60. Consumption per pallet usually drops to 80-150 grams, and the tension is the same on the first pallet of the shift as on the last.

Reels weigh from 12 to 20 kg and hold from 1,500 to 2,500 m, so that changes are further apart and machine downtime is reduced. The standard width is 500 mm; 450 and 750 mm are also available, the latter for large-format loads and stretch wrappers equipped for it. The core has an inner diameter of 50 or 76 mm.

Our machine stretch film is compatible with the usual stretch wrappers on the market, whatever their brand. To get it right we only need two pieces of information: the core diameter your machine accepts and the maximum reel dimensions for its reel carriage. If you wrap fewer than 15-20 pallets a day and do not have a machine, hand film is the one for you; if your product needs ventilation in cold storage, there is also a macro-perforated machine version.

At Fontanet Group, from Fraga (Huesca) and with a team with more than 30 years in the sector, we sell the film and also the stretch wrappers, so we look at both as a single system. Gauge, reel format and trials on your load are finalised with our sales team.