Ta Chen
Stainless Steel Distributor Protects Valuable Fittings, Speeds Packaging, and Cuts Costs with New Orbital Wrapping Machine
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The Challenge
At Ta Chen International’s Houston branch, Branch Manager Bob Hunter oversees the daily handling of over one million pounds of stainless steel, from large coils and sheets to tubes and fittings. With so much product moving through the facility, packaging solutions quickly became a critical pain point.
Minor scratches or contamination to their non-ferrous metals could render fittings unusable, costing tens of thousands of dollars per shipment. Ta Chen’s existing turntable stretch-wrapping methods were creating risks instead of eliminating them:
- Unstable loads: Traditional wrappers only bound products to themselves, not to the pallet, which meant skids could shift during transit.
- Product damage: Metal banding occasionally ripped through corrugated packaging, exposing sensitive stainless steel to scratches or contamination.
- Labor-intensive process: Wrapping required two workers and 2–3 minutes per pallet, slowing operations.
Hunter did not realize just how much the problem was costing until he toured another metal manufacturer’s plant and saw them using an orbital wrapper. Hunter witnessed the machine wrap entire pallets in seconds without operators leaving their forklifts, and he knew this was the future for Ta Chen.
“We were spending too much time and money on wrapping, and even then, we still had loads shifting or packaging tearing,” says Hunter. “It felt like a constant uphill battle.”
The TAB Wrapper Tornado Solution
After researching alternatives, Hunter invested in the 80-inch TAB Wrapper Tornado . Unlike turntable machines, the TAB Wrapper’s stationary ring design wraps plastic film completely around and underneath the pallet, securing the load directly to its base.
Other Key Benefits Include:
- Forklift-integrated operation: Operators control the wrapping process directly from their forklift seat.
- Versatility: Handles a wide range of product shapes and sizes on standard 48″ x 48″ pallets, especially oddly shaped stainless steel materials.
- Safety-first design: Built-in emergency stops, automatic power-off, and side-loading film access eliminate the need to climb inside the machine.
“The TAB Wrapper Tornado completely changed our approach,” Hunter explains. “It secured every load to the pallet itself, which was something we just couldn’t do with our old system.”
Implementation and Results
The impact at Ta Chen was immediate and transformative.
Key Results Included:
- Cost savings: Eliminated plastic film overwrap and metal banding, saving thousands annually.
- Rapid ROI: Equipment paid for itself in just over one year — one of Ta Chen’s fastest paybacks.
- Perfect reliability: No packaging failures or machine downtime since installation.
- Dramatic efficiency gains: What once required two workers for several minutes now takes a single operator just 30 seconds per pallet.
Most tellingly, Ta Chen’s customers noticed. The improved packaging not only protected shipments but impressed recipients so much that several asked about the technology and ultimately invested in TAB Wrappers themselves.
“The ROI was incredible,” says Hunter. “It paid for itself in about a year, and even our customers started asking about how we were wrapping because they noticed the difference.”
TAB Wrapper Orbital Stretch Wrapper Solutions
If your manufacturing operation faces similar packaging problems, TAB Wrapper offers proven orbital stretch wrapper technology designed to eliminate turntable limitations while improving safety, efficiency, and cost control.
Visit our TAB Wrapper Tornado page or read Ta Chen’s full case study here: Download PDF
