Lantech offers high-volume stretch wrapper with RFID capability.

A new stretch wrapping system from Lantech, the RS-6000, is said to chum out 180-200 loads per hour without film breaks

Meanwhile, Lantech is introducing RFID tag-reading capability as a standard option on all its semiautomatic pallet stretch wrappers. The company demonstrated a working system in Chicago during Pack Expo last autumn on a Q-300 semiautomatic stretch wrapper utilizing Symbol Technologies' new RD5000 portable reader.

Said to be a "first" in the packaging industry, the RS-6000 Ring-Straddle[TM] design introduces a patent-pending film delivery system capable of wrapping loads with 50-gauge film--pre-stretched 250% or more--without film breaks.

Developed to the specifications of a leading consumer goods manufacturer, the RS-6000 automatic conveyorized stretch wrapping system enables OEM's to satisfy mass merchandisers who want more SKUs in their warehouses, wider brand selection on their shelves, and faster turnover of smaller inventories.

"The new requirement from big retailers is 40-inch load height, not 70-inch, so the same volume of product has to ship on twice as many pallets," explained William Caudill, Lantech's marketing manager for automatic stretch wrapping products. "Suppliers want to minimize floor space and capital equipment with a single high-speed stretch wrapper that can match the 20-second cycle time of today's fastest palletizers, and the RS-6000 has been specifically developed for this."

An RS-6000 can wrap loads up to 50" x 50" x 80" (LWH). Starting and ending the wrap cycle is a new cut-and-clamp system that combines a heat-free Press 'n Seal film sealing system. Standard on the RS-6000 is Lantech's patented Pallet-Grip[R] system for locking a load to a pallet. Pallet-Grip effectively attaches a load to the pallet with bottom wraps of film that have been twisted into a cable along the lower four to six inches of the web. The film delivery system can wrap the complete pallet all the way to floor level without a load lift. It also allows loads to be wrapped with as little as two pounds of force.

The new RFID system is capable of reading Gen 1 and 2 tags at the pallet or case level.

"We are now offering this system as a standard option on all our turntable stretch wrapping systems, and will migrate quickly to our overhead straddle stretch wrappers as well," said Caudill. "The portable and wireless RD5000 is the most hands-off RFID solution currently available for this application. As a simple drop-in option, it eliminates brackets, cables, external antenna and any interface to the machine or control system, working independently of the machine with its own motion-sensing."

For more information, contact Lantech at 11000 Bluegrass Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40299-2399 USA; telephone: + 1 800-866-0322.