Some assembly required. Those three words can strike terror into the heart of any homeowner.

Canada's Belbois, Ltd. is well aware of the need to make assembly of its home entertainment furniture as easy as possible. The company is a maker of cabinets and stands designed to support specific models of TVs and stereos from leading electronics companies - right down to matching the product's finish. The name "Belbois" is French for "beautiful wood."

The company's products are shipped flat-packed and require assembly by the end user. One missing screw or bolt can create a frustrating experience for the customer. That is why Belbois selected a shrink-wrapping packaging system that assures that all parts and components remain together during shipping (Damark Packaging, Inc., 416-609-8011, www.damarkpackaging.com).

Shrink wrapping eliminates the need to add dunnage to the outbound cartons, as the wrapping itself keeps items from shifting in transit. Additionally, the wrap protects the temperature-sensitive wood products from swelling or warping as they ship worldwide through all types of climates.

The new wrap system, installed at Belbois's facility in Laval, Quebec, has also brought increased processing speeds.

"We have been able to double our productivity to 10-12 units per minute compared to our other packaging lines," says Roman Trusiak, vice president of production.

The wood panels and hardware components used in creating the furniture are manufactured in one facility and then transported to an adjacent building for kitting and packaging. As many as 80 different furniture models may be processed in a month. Due to the diversity of the product line, kitting must be performed manually.

Workers are positioned along an 80-foot conveyor line with bins or skids containing the components and hardware for each unit within easy reach. The process begins at the beginning of the conveyor line with the largest parts stacked into a pile first. As the units work their way down the line, each worker adds additional parts until it reaches the end of the belt where the smallest parts are placed onto the stack.

The gathered parts resemble a pyramid weighing up to 300 pounds as they pass photo cells that determine how much film is required to wrap the pile. This permits the automatic wrapping of a 48-inch package immediately following one measuring only 36 inches long.

Belbois uses three widths of films, 28, 36, and 40-inches, which can be easily changed as needed. The film is dispensed from two rolls located over and under the wrapping machine. This leaves the sides open like a sleeve.

The wrapped units are next conveyed on a roller conveyor through a quad-zoned tunnel where 60 1600-watt heaters begin shrinking the polyethylene film while blowers close the open sides. Other fans then further cause the heated wrap to cool and seal tightly around the components.

At the tunnel exit, the wrapped parts slide into pre-glued carton bottoms. Lids are then added and the cartons are stacked on pallets for shipping.

The efficiency of the new packaging system is important to the growing Belbois, as the company is currently doubling the size of its manufacturing facility.

"As time goes on we will also replace our older wrapping lines with this system," adds Trusiak.