With plenty of ways to secure loads and manage warehouses to choose from, you’ve got to be mindful. Poly strapping, stretch wrap, along with steel strapping, are three of the ideal ways to ensure that you have your items stacked and secure. With plenty of different applications, along with advantages, it’s not easy to know what’s best for you, or for your team. But you want to make sure that it’s strong enough to be stable and secure, while also not breaking the budget. Remember as well, the warehouse needs to play a role in this too, which is why here, we’re going to look at all three, to help you decide what’s best.
Stretch Wrapping
This is known as pallet wrapping, used to secure and protect those items that are stored during transit. They’re made from polyethylene, which is durable and flexible, offering the best stretchability that you can. Because they’re made from clear plastic, it’s easy to see what’s underneath them all.
With a lot of applications, such as wrapping your pallets and even securing loads, they are great for minimizing product damage, especially when there is shifting in transit. They also can bundle packages and objects together.
A big advantage of stretch wrapping is that they can conform to the times, and does offer the best protection against moisture, dirt, and dust.
It works best with anchoring the pallet, and if you make multiple layers while also applying tension.
Poly Strapping
This is polypropylene strapping, which is versatile and durable, and used across different industries. Made from a polypropylene resin, they offer the best resistance to wear and tear. They are used for heavier items and loads, and are useful for properly binding stuff together, in order to prevent damage and shifts. With a higher tensile strength and a break strength, it secures all of the loads in one place.
But poly strapping should be avoided for fragile, delicate types of items. That’s because it doesn’t have the cushioning that’s needed. it also doesn’t perform as well when they are subjected to extreme conditions.
It does require a strapping tool or a buckle in order to hold it together along with a heat sealer for a tight fit.
Steel Strapping
This is a durable type, and consists of heavier metal straps. It bundles and secures heavier items during transit and storage too. With the highest break strength, this is the most reliable and secure type of solution for heavier and less regularly shaped items out there.
Steel strapping is great for items that are heavily prone to shifting damage during the transit process. It offers better tension resistance and ensures that even the heaviest loads are bound together, and properly secured. It’s also majorly resistant to extreme temperatures.
The main downside is this tends to be on the pricier end and might not be good for lighter loads.
Cost Comparisons
Stretch wrap will be the cheapest of the other options, as they tend to be more plastic focused and used for delicate items. Ply strapping is more of the middle ground. Sure it’s cost effective, but you need something that’s not too light, nor too heavy.
Steel strapping is the most expensive, but you’re getting sturdy, and since there is steel there, it’s worth each of the costs.
Strength
Finally, if you need something stronger, steel is the way to go. But it’s almost too much.
Stretch wrap is the weakest, but it’s good for smaller, easier to handle items, so use your discretion when choosing materials.
