Introducing Armorgard
Based in Fareham, Hampshire, Armorgard provide everything you need when it comes to secure tool storage – including tool vaults, van boxes, site boxes, hazardous goods storage, work platforms and manual handling products.
With premium build quality, innovative products and the ability to offer next-day-delivery, it’s no wonder that Armorgard are at the top of their industry.
With their ongoing success, they produce a bucket load (or tool box load) of products every day. With a complex and comprehensive product range, their best option for transporting their stock is through good-old-trusty pallets.
The optimal pallet protection solution
When working with a huge number of products, as Armorgard do, pallets offer sturdiness and ability to send a range of products in one hit. However, pallets left to their own devices are potentially hazardous – particularly when working with heavy-duty products like this 60kg steel strongbank.
Which is where strapping and wrapping machines come in.
Strapping provides an extra level of protection to your products, also ensuring that the pack structure doesn’t change during transport.
Whilst stretch wrapping machines encase your pallet in a protective film, meaning products are safe from scratches during transport.
For Armorgard, they adopted both approaches to vastly improve their packaging operations.
Let the machines take it from here...
When Armorgard approached us in 2018, they were using a manual, hands-on approach to strapping and wrapping their pallets. We love a hands-on approach at Gordian, but there’s a time and a place.
Strapping and wrapping pallets by hand may save your business from up-front investment, however it has been proven time and time again that it massively reduces efficiencies.
Quality of finish increases
Even with the most diligent of workers, manual strapping and wrapping will never have the same quality as a machine, meaning you risk the security of your products.
Time taken diminishes
Switching from hand tools to machines saved your operations so much time, meaning you can hugely increase productivity.
Less labour-intensive for your workforce
Securing packages by hand can get very tiring for workers. Hand strapping can often cause back injuries and running stretch film round a pallet all day can lead to dizziness!
Don’t worry, this isn’t us telling you to hand over to machines and move towards a world controlled by robots! An operator is still required for these machines, just with a much quicker output and greater efficiency. Think running a marathon but you’re allowed to use a segway!
The solutions
A decision was made to move away from manual strapping to semi-automatic strapping for the following reasons:
- Manual strapping is heavily reliant on operators applying the correct amount of tension. Too much tension, and the straps break.
- A machine is quicker. Warehouse operatives spend less time in an area frequented by fork lift trucks.
- Using a strapping machine is more comfortable because operatives are not required to bend down quite so often.
The machine used is the StraPack D-53PLT2 – which we recently included in our top pallet wrappers of 2023.
It’s a machine that skids economically and quickly, with standard or heavier polypropylene strapping.
When compared to hand-tools, the D-53PLT2 cuts the time it takes to strap pallets by up to two-thirds.
For the stretch wrapping machine, Armorgard adopted a turntable wrapper, similar to the PKG Saving EB.
A turntable wrapping machine has a round platform to place the item on which revolves while the film is dispensed and wrapped around the package. Turntable wrappers are a versatile option suitable for many industries and was the perfect option for Armorgard’s operations.
Overall, the machines have been a fantastic addition to the Armorgard warehouse. Strapping a pallet now takes a quarter of the time that it used to and the right amount of tension is applied to each and every strap.
