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Wrapper stretches Sargento output

Sargento supplements a well-liked workhorse stretch wrapper with a system that’s 30% faster and also saves on film.

The personnel involved in the expansion were (inset, L to R) Sargento's Jay Nolte, distribution center manager; Jim Gillman, fir
The personnel involved in the expansion were (inset, L to R) Sargento's Jay Nolte, distribution center manager; Jim Gillman, fir

Out with the old, in with the new. That’s a common refrain for packagers wanting to improve with the tried-and-true method of switching out old machinery for new. Problem was, personnel at Sargento Foods, Plymouth, WI, really liked their old stretch wrapper and didn’t want to part with it.

Who could blame them? In wrapping more than 500ꯠ pallet loads since ’94, the old machinery had experienced no downtime aside from regular maintenance, according to Jay Nolte, Sargento distribution center manager. Yet, last year, personnel knew they needed more output than its current equipment could provide.

The addition of an ITW Mima “King Cobra” stretch wrapper last December enabled the cheese packager to keep the old wrapper while stretching its capacity with the new. Sourced through regional distributor Packaging Systems of Wisconsin (Sheboygan, WI), the stretch wrapper arrived with several custom options:

• An extended outfeed allows as many as three forklift trucks to remove loads during peak times

• Longer range photo sensors on the outfeed sections track and control pallet flow

• A 104’’-tall mast allows wrapping of loads two pallets high

• The “cold pack” option adapts the machinery to the refrigerated room temperatures needed.

Faster, and saves film

One major improvement is in speed. While Sargento declines to identify the specific rate, the company does disclose that output on the new system is 30% greater than on the old. The new ITW Mima system is capable of 75 pallet loads/hr.

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