Company: Mondi Group

Website: www.mondigroup.com/en/home/

Equipment Snapshot: Mondi has collaborated with Austrian mechanical engineering company EW Technology to launch a new machine for paper pallet wrapping that is more efficient and sustainable on small-to-medium production lines.

The two companies worked together to design the innovative machine, which fills a gap Mondi identified in the pallet wrapping market. Offering two settings, the machine can be fully automated to wrap up to 60 pallets every hour or semi-automated to wrap 10-15 pallets per hour.

The machine takes a full reel of Mondi’s Advantage StretchWrap paper, allowing customers to replace the multi-layer plastic which is currently the industry standard for pallet wrapping. Advantage StretchWrap is 100% virgin paper, created with renewable materials and fully recyclable in existing paper waste streams across Europe. It contains no plastic or coating, but still ensures excellent strength and tension absorption. Mondi commissioned an independent life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the innovative paper pallet packaging to conventional plastic stretch film and proved that it performed better in several impact categories—most notably in climate change, with a 62% lower carbon footprint than virgin plastic stretch film.

From a user point of view there are further benefits. A full reel of Advantage StretchWrap can be applied to the new machine without any need to re-wind. The larger dimensions of the Advantage StretchWrap reel mean that a replacement reel is only needed every 400 to 600 pallets compared to 40 to 80 pallets for plastic wrapping, providing a more efficient solution.

Philipp Ertl, co-founder, EW Technology, says: “Sustainable projects are close to our hearts and as a young team we are determined to make a positive contribution to the environment. By taking a collaborative approach with Mondi we were able to learn exactly what was needed and work together to deliver a unique new offering in paper wrapping technology for palletized goods—one that will benefit companies across many industries.”

Babicz Bartosz, product manager Advantage StretchWrap, Mondi adds: “We work with brands across various industries and recognized that companies seeking to be more sustainable and with smaller outputs require a customized machine for paper pallet wrapping. This machine will mean that customers can successfully and safely wrap their products in paper for transportation, work towards a more circular system, and make a positive contribution to the environment.”