Lantech Blog

In a recent interview with Planet Lean, Jim Lancaster, Lantech CEO and owner, sat down with Roberto Priolo to discuss his new book The Work of Management.

When you’ve been manufacturing, and distributing stretch wrappers as long as we have - since 1972 - it’s inevitable that a pattern will begin to emerge in the kinds of questions people ask you. There are a number of questions that most buyers, at one point or another, have about their specific stretch wrapping needs and the machine that will work best for them. However, before most buyers get to those specific questions they often have questions about the reliability and quality of the machines in general.

From containment force to film tails, there is a lot to know if you want to achieve the efficient stretch wrapping necessary to minimize damage.

From cereal to concrete, stretch wrapping plays an important role in the shipping journey of many kinds of products. In our industry, we often say that anything can be stretch wrapped. Some items just need special considerations and planning before they are wrapped, but for the most part, you can stretch wrap anything.

No matter what kind of product you make, packaging and shipping are crucial steps with big impacts. You produced your product yourself and enthusiastically brought it to market, but how can you get it to your client in one piece? We’ve had years of experience packing and protecting—it is our goal to get your product from A to B without a scratch. Square packing is one of our best kept secrets...

When was the last time you saw a cockroach crawling out from under your baseboard or fridge? Last month? Last year? It’s more likely you saw an image of one (or several) in a scary movie. We don’t usually see them. They’re invisible, hiding behind baseboards or under the fridge, waiting for us to go to sleep so they can come out. As much as we hate to admit it, they’re always around.

This is a guest post by Adam Cahill from Supply Pointe.

Do you ever find yourself needing to ship an item that simply won’t fit inside a box trailer?  Well, sometimes, you just need to think outside the truck. If what you need to ship won’t fit, or you’re facing pick-up and drop-off difficulties, a flatbed trailer might be your solution. Flatbed trailers are ideal for oversized or otherwise unwieldy cargo, and they can be an efficient and affordable way to move a load. However, because the cargo won’t be enclosed, special consideration must be taken to ensure it’s appropriately covered and secured.

Identify the Key Issues

This picture is the story of a classic struggle - good intentions versus misdirected attention - that's all too common in the world of stretch wrapping. Companies see the film costs of stretch wrapping and are generally concerned with how to reduce that expense by a few percentage points. However, they fail to take into account how little it is actually saving them.

It only takes about $10 of stretch film to ship a typical truckload of pallets. However, 1/2%* of total shipments are damaged to the point of being unsalable on the way to their destinations, generating billions of dollars of losses a year. 

Your shipping manager has asked you to review a list of stretch wrappers he’s considering purchasing. You want a stretch wrapper that will get the job done (wrap loads) and make your life easy. You already have enough work on your plate. So, when problems come up for you to solve, it’s important to solve them quickly.

When it is time to upgrade to a new pallet wrapper, you may not even know it. Let's face it, the old one is still doing the job, it still seems to be wrapping okay, you aren't having any hassles with it, except for the occasional maintenance it needs, and you are wondering if you should keep using it, or perhaps getting a new one would be a better option.