Use-Case – Rotary Arm Stretch Wrapper RA-1

The Challenge

A medium-sized food producer situated near Graz handles chilled goods on tall, unstable pallets, some reaching up to 2 metres high. The site was manually stretch wrapping approximately 120 pallets per day, often with mixed and irregular loads.

Wrapping by hand required 4–5 minutes per pallet, causing delays for forklift operators and subjecting staff to repetitive strain. To address instability, excess film was applied, increasing material consumption, yet film breakages and occasional load shifts during handling still occurred.

Manual Process

The earlier method depended on one dedicated staff member, with forklift drivers waiting in line to access the wrapping area. Pallets were wrapped directly on the floor using manual rolls, with operators walking around each load several times.

Before Automation:

• Daily output: 120 pallets/day
• Time per pallet: 4.5 minutes (including walking, roll changes, and labelling)
• Total daily time: 120 × 4.5 = 540 minutes (9.0 hours/day)
• Labour cost: 9.0 hours × €25/hour = €225/day
• Rework/issues: Roughly 4 unstable pallets/day requiring additional wrapping or film

The lengthy cycle time resulted in a practical throughput of just 13–15 pallets/hour and regular queues for forklifts during busy periods. To stabilise tall pallets, extra film was used, averaging 1.2 kg of film per pallet, with little consistency in application.

Automated Solution

The business installed the Rotary Arm Stretch Wrapper RA-1 adjacent to the outbound conveyor, enabling pallets to be placed directly on the floor without the need for ramps. The rotary arm design keeps tall, unstable pallets stationary during wrapping, addressing the safety and quality issues associated with turntable systems.

After Installing Rotary Arm Stretch Wrapper RA-1:

• The machine is operated at 60% of its maximum output for reliability
• Revised cycle time: 2.4 minutes per pallet (including automatic cycle start and film cutting)
• Total daily time: 120 × 2.4 = 288 minutes (4.8 hours/day)
• Labour cost: 4.8 hours × €25/hour = €120/day
• Quality gains: Rework reduced to <1 pallet/day and film breakages almost eliminated

At this pace, the RA-1 processes around 25 pallets/hour, well within its 25–30 loads/hour range. One operator can now oversee wrapping as well as other packaging duties, and forklift drivers can drop off pallets without waiting.

ROI Calculation

The assessment included both labour and material reductions. Utilising the RA-1’s 250% pre-stretch capability, film consumption was cut by approximately 50%, from 1.2 kg to 0.6 kg per pallet.

Investment:
Machine price: €7,899

Daily labour savings:
Before: 9.0 hours/day × €25/hour = €225/day
After: 4.8 hours/day × €25/hour = €120/day
Labour savings: €225 − €120 = €105/day

Daily film savings:
Film reduction: 0.6 kg/pallet × 120 pallets = 72 kg/day saved
At €1.60/kg film cost: 72 × €1.60 = €115/day

Total daily savings:
Labour €105/day + Film €115/day = €220/day

Monthly savings (22 working days):
€220/day × 22 days = €4,840/month

Payback period:
Machine cost €7,899 ÷ €4,840/month = 1.63 months ≈ 1.6 months

Conclusion

Transitioning from manual hand wrapping to the Rotary Arm Stretch Wrapper RA-1 enabled the food manufacturer to boost actual throughput to 25–30 pallets per hour, remove forklift bottlenecks, and reduce daily wrapping labour time by over fifty percent. Simultaneously, optimised pre-stretch reduced film usage by half, whilst enhancing load stability for tall and less stable pallets.

“The RA-1 has reduced our manual wrapping from 9 hours with frequent forklift queues to under 5 hours of supervised machine operation and virtually no rework. With daily savings of approximately €220 in labour and film, we recouped our investment in less than two months.” — Martin H., Operations Manager, AlpenFrisch Foods / Graz, Austria