Most people in the packaging business know Rock-Tenn as a packaging supplier. But this Norcross, GA-based paper products vendor becomes a packager when it comes to getting its products to market. Take, for instance, boxboard, which Rock-Tenn sends to converters who produce folding cartons for any number of applications, including many in the food industry. Although it may vary from day to day, Rock-Tenn's Minneapolis, MN, plant produces and packages about 3ꯠ skids of board per month. About a year ago, the company replaced its old shrink wrapping system with two Sidewinder 6 Wrap and Weigh stretch wrapping systems from Infra Pak (Farmer's Branch, TX). Purchased through local distributor River City Packaging (Minneapolis, MN), the machines have cut Rock-Tenn's material costs in half and have netted a significant savings in operating expenses. Jerry Krogh, shipping superintendent at Rock-Tenn's Minneapolis plant, recalls the old system: "We shrink-wrapped everything. The equipment was expensive to operate. There was a gas oven and you had to keep temperatures even at 400 degrees [Fahrenheit]. Every time the oven doors opened the temperature would drop. It was probably the size of a single-car garage, so you can imagine how much heat would escape." Rock-Tenn's largest load, says Krogh, measured 80" long x 52" wide and weighed roughly 6ꯠ lb. Cycle time was slow, requiring about 40 seconds in the oven, 35 seconds to cool and approximately another 15 seconds to convey through the oven, he continues. The 20-year-old system also required a lot of maintenance, and it accepted only customized shrink bags, made of a 4-mil plastic blend, in many sizes to accommodate the varying load sizes. "The bags were expensive to order...and miserable to keep track of," says Krogh. Rock-Tenn's decision to use the Infra Pak/River City system at the Minneapolis plant was based partly on familiarity. "Number one, River City is local," says Krogh. "And we'd seen the Infra Pak name in trade magazines." Krogh was also familiar with some of the anticipated benefits of the Sidewinder 6 system: increased warehouse space, less energy expended, less downtime and materials savings.
Carton producer stretches savings
Paper company Rock-Tenn switches from a shrink wrapping system to a customized stretch wrapper to unitize skids of paper. Benefits stretch beyond expectations.
Mar 31, 1998
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