Horizontal sleeving replaces shrink-wrap system

Mineral wool packaging: Isover - Saint-Gobain, Forssa (Finland)

At the Isover production plant in Forssa, mineral wool insulation for the construction industry is manufactured. The possibility of modernizing the plant's shrink-wrapping line had long been considered.

According to Tuomas Rilla, project manager at Isover, "We wanted to improve the working environment and the quality of the packaging to ensure that it is waterproof. Although our products are protected from moisture and water, the mineral wool must be 100% dry before it is placed next to a vapor barrier in a building." He adds, "We also wanted the packaging to be more environmentally friendly and, of course, to look good."

Horizontal sleeving replaces heat shrink system

At the end of 2017, a new packaging line was installed: horizontal stretch hooding replaced shrink wrapping. The solution was the horizontal stretch hooder RoRo StretchPack Large D2 from Tentoma.. It is a Duplex version consisting of two gripper grippers, which offers a high packaging speed that matches the rest of the production line. Each gripper has two rolls of film so that production does not stop when a roll runs out. Each roll contains 6 km of film, giving a total capacity of 24 km of film.

It is 100% waterproof and generates significant savings

During spring 2018, the new packaging line was fully implemented. Tuomas Rilla concludes, "Compared to the previous one, the quality of the packaging has improved significantly. We now have smoother and more uniform packaging that is 100 % waterproof." In addition, the new packaging line has generated the following savings:

50% reduction in film consumption
165 MWh/year energy reduction (=10 households)
CO2 emission reduction of 30 tons/year
Reduction of transport equivalent to 15 trucks per year thanks to tighter packaging
Improved logistics in the production area as the new packaging line takes up less space than the shrink-wrapping line.