Eliminating load platforms and saving energy - New palletless unit loads are cold stretch wrapped Achema is the debut for the palletless stretch package based on the reverse hood system developed by Maschinenfabrik Möllers GmbH of Beckum, Germany, announced as a unique breakthrough. The exhibit comprises 59 bags of chemicals weighing 1,475 kg, representing a new type of unit load with the form and function of pallet loads, but dispensing with the load platform. The stack of bags is bound entirely by two hoods wrapped in opposite directions made of ultra-stretch film and a film base, to form a robust shipping unit which can be handled with forklifts and cranes. The packaging system manufacturer emphasizes the advantage of major cost savings by doing away with pallets, combined with additional protection of the goods against moisture, dirt and theft. The decisive advance in this breakthrough compared to existing reverse hood shrink packages in ecological and economic terms is the drastic reduction in energy consumption, since no heat is now required.

The new HAS Vario automatic pallet transverse stretch hooder from Maschinenfabrik Möllers GmbH of Beckum, Germany, applies stretch film hoods for securing loads on pallets of all formats, ranging from 600 to 1,300 mm long by 800 to 1,140 mm wide, and can handle standard stretch film as well as High-Expander and Ultrastretch film from 60 to 180 µm thick. The modern film types are characterized by their elasticity of up to 150 %, their increased tensional grip on the pallet load, and by up to 30 % less film consumption. With its pneumatic film opening system and patented stretch finger nesting for film take-up, the new stretch hooder is designed to process both standard tubular stretch film dimensions and the extremely small tube widths of the high-stretch films. The machine works by transverse stretching, which generates the restraining forces acting on the pallet and the load exclusively from the radial stretching of the tubular film. This creates a firm bond…