Proper budgeting for packaging materials is an essential part of keeping your workflow efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective. If you can figure out how many pallets one roll of stretch wrap can cover, then you can always have the right amount of material on hand to keep up with your product volume.
There are a lot of factors that determine how far your stretch film will go, including pallet dimensions, pre-stretch capabilities, and more. With the right information and formulas, you can calculate the number of product loads you’ll be able to wrap with your stretch film. This allows you to stay on top of ordering so you never face delays or other issues due to poorly managed inventory.
Amount of Film Per Pallet
The first step to determining how far your stretch film will go is figuring out how much film each pallet requires. This number comes from your pallet dimensions—including width, length, and height—as well as the width of your film roll. You also need to factor in how many layers of film you will use. Remember, the tighter your containment force needs to be, the more layers of film you will need. With this information, you can determine how many feet of film each pallet requires.
Stretch Rate and Roll Footage
The stretch rate of your film helps you determine the actual length of your film roll after pre-stretch. It’s important to use automatic or semi-automatic stretch wrapper machines to achieve the ideal stretch rate for every product load. Wrapping by hand offers a much lower stretch rate; it’s also far less consistent than machine wrapping. This means your film roll won’t go as far, and you’ll wrap fewer pallets with it. With automated stretch wrap equipment, you can achieve up to 250 percent pre-stretch.
To determine the total length of your film roll, multiply the stretch rate by the film roll length, then add that number to the film roll length. For example, if you have 5,000 feet of stretch film and a pre-stretch rate of 250 percent, you will take 250 percent of 5000—which equals 12,500—and add that to the roll length of 5,000 feet. The result is a total stretched length of 17,500 feet per roll.
The Number of Pallets
Once you have all the above information, you can figure out how many pallets one role of stretch wrap will cover. Divide the total stretched length of your film roll by the amount of film you need to wrap each pallet. The result is the number of pallets you can wrap per roll of film.
Having the right equipment on your side will help your stretch wrap go further, saving you time, money, and materials. Explore the semi-automatic stretch wrappers available at Robopac USA and invest in optimized solutions that deliver greater efficiency and productivity to your facility.
