Interview with Henrik Raunkjaer

The global market for packaging textiles made using nonwovens is growing, but exact figures are not available. However, the global nonwoven fabrics market is estimated at about $48 billion, and it is projected to grow annually by six per cent until 2030. Of course, the need for larger and more efficient production units also increases the demand for automated packaging processes. This is where Tentoma can help the nonwoven industry.

It is crucial for us to stay updated about in which direction the market and technological development are moving. Therefore, we are constantly in close dialogue with our customers within the industry. We keep an eye on the industry trend in the long term, but the priority is always what we can do to support our customers in their current situation.

Tentoma was founded in 2011 and was originally servicing vertical stretch hood packaging machines for 5-sided packaging of pallets etc. Based on the experiences from this business, Tentoma refined the technology and developed the RoRo StretchPack for horizontal stretch hood packaging. It made 6-sided packaging possible, which was 100 per cent waterproof. It has proven to be a suitable packaging solution for packaging nonwoven rolls. Today Tentoma is 100 per cent focused on developing and manufacturing RoRo StretchPack packaging solutions. Our machines are developed and manufactured in Denmark and our technicians are installing machines worldwide.

RoRo StretchPack packaging solution is perfect for automated packaging of all kinds of long and larger products, like roll goods and different types of building materials.

RoRo StretchPack is a film-saving packaging technology. We typically see film reduction between 25-60 per cent when our customer shifts to RoRo StretchPack from heat shrink packaging or an orbital wrapper. The reason for this film reduction is that RoRo StretchPack uses a tubular stretch film for packaging. We stretch the film before packaging instead of using excessive film which needs to be shrunk by heat afterwards anyway. The tubular stretch film is also a strong film with high tear and puncture resistance. It means that you can use a thinner film in a single layer, in contrast to orbital wrapping where multiple layers are applied.

RoRo StretchPack can also help to reduce customers power consumption. It is a cold packaging process with packaging and sealing in one operation. It means that you can remove the heat shrink oven from your packaging line and thereby reduce the energy consumption significantly, depending on the energy consumption of the removed heat shrink oven. So overall, shifting to RoRo StretchPack reduces cost and the environmental impact from your packaging line.

When we were introduced to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we could immediately see that this was aligned with our business because RoRo StretchPack is a film- and energy-saving packaging technology. After studying the UN SDGs, we chose to focus on four goals. It is goal no. 7 for improving energy efficiency, goal no. 8 for improving production and growth, goal no. 9 for reducing carbon footprint, and goal no. 12 for recycling and reducing resource consumption. These four goals are the cornerstone of our business strategy today. When working on improvements and initiating new product developments, we always ensure that it is in line with these four development goals.

Our packaging solution is differentiated from conventional packaging solutions by being able to do 6-sided sealed packaging which is 100 per cent waterproof. Our packaging solution is particularly beneficial for packaging products, sensitive to contamination from dirt and moisture. Therefore, RoRo StretchPack is perfect for hygienic nonwoven rolls that must remain clean. RoRo StretchPack is also a perfect way to automate the packaging of large and heavy nonwoven rolls of geotextiles.

By contacting Tentoma you can always get a free assessment of how you can benefit from a RoRo StretchPack solution. When we receive a new request, we will have a dialogue about what are the challenges in your packaging solution today. Then we will identify your packaging requirements; what are the product dimensions, product variance, capacity etc. Based on this, we will make a project proposal including estimated film savings and capacity increment. In that way, you get an overview of the benefits of the business case before we start the project.

One of our customers is TenCate Geosynthetics, who has installed a RoRo StretchPack solution to replace a heat shrink packaging line at its plant in Bezons, France. The new RoRo StretchPack packaging line increased the packaging capacity, and TenCate is now able to pack more varieties and sizes of rolls, also the large rolls. At the same time, the maintenance costs have been reduced.

Previously, the packaging had a long-welded sealing along the roll side, which was prone to break during transport and handling. It is not the case anymore. The tubular stretch hood film leaves no sealing along the roll side, but only a short strong sealing at each roll end.

The tight packaging removed an excessive use of film for packaging, and due to the higher puncture resistance on stretch film, TenCate was also able to reduce the film thickness without compromising the packaging quality. It has reduced the film consumption, just like the energy consumption has decreased after removing the heat shrink oven. Overall, TenCate has reduced cost and improved its sustainability compared to the heat shrink packaging line.

A tubular film has a certain stretching flexibility, and in some cases, several film sizes are needed to cover a variance of roll diameters. We have developed solutions for 100 per cent automatic or semi-automatic handling of several film sizes and can offer our customers flexibility depending on their requirements. Another example is when a mother roll is cut into shorter rolls the packaging capacity requirements increase quite significantly. We have solved this and can offer machines which can package from 15 packs per hour up to 500 packs per hour.

RoRo StretchPack horizontal stretch hood packaging is still a new and innovative technology, but it is already well-accepted in many industries, including nonwovens. We see a growing demand and expect for sure that it will increase in the future. Because no two customers are alike, so we are constantly refining the technology and keep adding new features to complete the packaging line. An example is that we developed an automated core plug applicator, upon the request of one of our customers, to enable lifting of nonwoven rolls with a mandrel using a forklift. Of course, we understood the requirement, and we subsequently also supplied other customers with the same core plug applicator. We receive continuous requests for various kinds of equipment and options as the market develops, and this is how it should be. Listening to the customer’s needs and wishes is essential in our product development, and that is what we are here for.