About the Films | About the Machinery we use

Sales fats Worldwide , stretch film sales reached three billion pounds in 1998. Three billion pounds is one-half pound of film for every man, woman, and child in the world. If all the world's stretch film were unrolled and laced end-to-end, the film would reach the sun, 93 million miles away. Stretch film is a large and growing world market the industry continues to grow at an average annual rate of 6 to 7% worldwide. Conversions from alternate unitizing materials  like strapping  and corrugated  drive the growth, but new applications do, as well. Paper roll wrapping and the use of stretch film in the moving industry are two examples of growing new applications. In 1998, stretch film sales in  North  America reached  1.2 billion pounds. Stretch film is the second largest application for linear low-density polyethylene in North America, behind can liners. and is  growing at a faster rate. The annual linear low-density production in North America is 9 billion pounds. Stretch film consumes one billion pounds(11%).

Materials

Both blown and cast film equipment produce stretch film. Most film consists of 5/7 or more layers of plastic produced on multi-layer blown or cast film lines., Manufacturers wind the film on paper cores in lengths of 1,000 to 7,000 feet.Film thickness ranges from 35-gauge (0.00035 inches thick) to 250-gauge (0.0035 inches thick)

The average film thickness is 70-gauge. 65% of the film produced is machine wrap. Machine wrap film is wound on cores 0.4 inches thick to lengths that, in general, produce roll weights of less than 40 pounds. The. standard film width is 20 inches. Special application machines may require roll widths of 30,60, or even 100 inches. It is produced in small rolls (12,15, and 18 inches wide and 1000 to 1500 feet long) for hand applications. Re-winders produce special hand wrap films, from master rolls on 1" diameter cores, with extended cores for easier hand application. Stretch tape in 2",3", and 5" widths is produced in rewinding and slitting operations.

The principal application for stretch film is unitizing corrugated boxes on pallets for shipment. Pallets of parts, bags, brick, and bundles are all stretch wrapped. Special applications require special films made with special additives. Films containing anti-static additives wrap electronic parts. Corrosion inhibitor films protect steel coils from oxidation. Colored films wrap pallets for product identification and inventory control. Onesided cling films reduce pallet-to-pallet abrasion. With no cling additive in the outside layer adjacent pallets do not cling and abrade. Farmers wrap hay bales with special silage film. Cattle feed on the ensiled hay through the winter months. Retail stores bundle products together with stretch tape for ease in handling. Emergency medical personnel use stretch tape to wrap ice packs to injured arms and legs. The applications of stretch film are ubiquitous and growing.

Stretch film is a very cost-effective product. The film protects a wrapped pallet through shipping and distribution with less than one half pound of film. At current prices, the film costs less than 32 cents. One roll of machine film will wrap approximately 80 pallets of product. A truckload of stretch film, at 40,000 pounds, will wrap 80,000 pallets or 2000 truckloads. Only very large users consume stretch film in truckload quantities.

About the Films | About the Machinery we use

6278 N. Federal Hwy., Suite 269, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 (United States)
Phone: 954-545-8293 Ÿ Fax: 954-946-8535 Ÿ EMail: sales@dakor.com