Securing irregularly sized and shaped loads for storage and shipment was always a materials handling problem for Louisville, Ky.-based I.Q.L. Corp. The fabricating job shop needed a fast, flexible system to wrap its products for improved productivity.

It found all that in a pallet stretch-wrapping machine equipped with special technology that allows it to secure irregular loads to pallets without bands.

"Typically, stretch wrap applications are used just as a weather-proofing measure because it doesn't tie the load to the pallet," I.Q.L. engineer Vance Young says. "But the stretch wrapper is an excellent way to secure any cargo because it wraps all the way around the load and the pallet…and at great strength."

Wrap tension easily adjusts to provide zero to 200% film stretch, giving it the capability to secure loads of various dimensions and weights.

"It's very simple to use," Young says. "In our operation, the forklift operator drives the load up to the machine while the other person operates the wrap."

In addition, the machine typically wraps a load within 15 seconds, even if one person operates both the lift truck and the machine.