Strapping is the method of applying a strap to items to reinforce, fasten or hold the items together. When sending your company’s goods in transit it’s vital they are secured in order to adhere to health and safety laws. It’s also vital to ensure the safety of your staff is upheld, this makes ensuring the correct strapping is chosen a major consideration for business owners. Regardless of your strapping requirements this guide will allow you to consider the best fit for your company needs.

What to Consider Before Purchase

Strapping comes in many shapes and sizes with lots to consider before purchase. There are thousands of different strapping materials available worldwide. Of course, this number is ever growing as technology continues to evolve allowing the industry to grow further. This can make the choice difficult, but as a general rule companies look for four attributes when purchasing strapping; elongation, break strength, corrosion resistance, and UV resistance.

Before purchasing your strapping companies must consider what you are packaging, as every package is unique, you may find your company will need to invest in more than one type of strapping. For better elongation, polypropylene is a good choice. For break-strength stainless steel and high tensile strapping are better. It’s vital to understand your product and the strapping attributes before assigning a type of strapping.

Investing incorrectly in strapping may cause harm to your products, there have been avoidable cases where pallets have collapsed destroying inventories due to incorrect strapping. Rather than experiencing these costly damages you should invest wisely in the correct type of strapping for your needs.

It is worth considering what products you are strapping as heavier products will need something more durable. Lightweight strapping can break or snap so a high tensile product is recommended when strapping more substantial items. For lightweight products that damage easily, companies should consider using a strapping that has more elongation to it.

You must also consider how long your items are going to be in strapping for and different strapping materials should be used for different time scales. The strapping you choose must be able to adapt to any changes over certain lengths of time, such as the weather. For this type of need, companies should invest in strapping that has excellent UV resistance. 

Types of Strapping
1. Steel is the oldest form of strapping and is often used to secure heavy duty products as it has minimal stretch and maximum strength. Steel strapping enjoys excellent UV resistance and ideal for industrial use, such as securing heaving items with sharp angles.
2. Polyester strapping offers a lower cost per foot compared to steel and does not carry the same risk of staining. It is much lighter than traditional steel strapping. Polyester strapping has very good break strength and excellent corrosion resistance.
3. Polypropylene hand strapping is the economical way to secure parcels, bundles and light pallets. It is naturally very flexible and is able mould to contours of unconventional or shaped packages. Polypropylene offers excellent corrosion resistance.

Equipment

There are three main types of equipment companies can consider for their strapping needs. A strapping dispenser trolley is usually utilized when strapping by hand. These dispensers are mobile allowing them to be wheeled with ease to wherever they are needed in the warehouse. Often they come with a tool tray in which to store everything you need within easy reach. A strapping dispenser avoids the frustration of untangling coiled strapping and limits the risk of accidents due to loose strapping being strewn across the floor. Mobile steel, polyester and polypropylene strapping dispensers used with a hand seal make the application of strapping quicker and easier.

If your budget allows it semi-automatic and automatic strapping machines can be an efficient alternative to hand strapping. Strapping machines tend to be used in companies that incorporate a large volume of strapping using polyester and polypropylene as their speed allow for increased productivity. Most strapping machines come on wheels making them fully portable. With semi-automatic machines, the operator must feed the strap through the machine guide and over the package to create a join. Once one package is complete, the semi-automatic machine will continue to dispense strapping at the same length.

Automatic machines require less input from the operator and allow for hands-free strapping. The operator uses a foot pedal or button to power the machine. Using a fully automatic machine can reduce strapping time by half, vastly increasing productivity and output, compared to a semi-automatic version.
Shipping any company’s products comes with many challenges, but these can be reduced with careful considering to your specific packaging needs. Whether strapping on a small scale by hand or using the latest machinery technology companies can gain massively by investing in the right strapping material and equipment for their needs.

For more information, go to: www.ferraripackaging.co.uk