Falcon Industries
Custom Auger Manufacturer, Falcon Industries, Switched to An Orbital Stretch Wrapper
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The Challenge
At Falcon Industries, General Manager Steve Sogor faced a dilemma that threatened both worker safety and their product security. Manufacturing thousands of custom metal augers annually for mining, concrete, and construction industries meant dealing with challenging packaging requirements that standard solutions couldn’t handle.
The Ohio-based manufacturer creates helical spiral flighting from stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, and steel alloys — each order requiring custom pallets up to 10 feet long to accommodate the dimensions and weight of these heavy materials.
Their manual packaging process was creating operational challenges:
- Time-intensive: Manual wrapping took 5 minutes per pallet load
- Product security: Round, smooth augers were prone to rolling off pallets despite multiple metal banding attempts
- High-value risk: Each pallet carried upwards of $5,000 in product, making secure transport critical
- Labor allocation: 20% of wrapping jobs required dedicating two workers for manual wrapping
- Employee risk: Employees needed to apply the banding and strapping while suspending the pallet load from the forks of a lift truck.
“We were lucky that no one had a serious injury over the years, but this situation had to change,” says Sogor. “I want to make things as easy as possible for people to get their jobs done.”
The TAB Wrapper Tornado Solution
After researching various wrapping options, Sogor determined that orbital wrapping technology would provide superior load security compared to traditional horizontal turntable wrappers that only wrap around products without securing them to pallets.
Falcon invested in the 80-inch TAB Wrapper Tornado with the wireless automation package. The patented technology wraps plastic stretch film 360 degrees around and under both the pallet and load, covering all sides to create completely secure loads.
Key Benefits Include:
- No-touch operation: Forklift operators manage the entire process via wireless remote without leaving their seat
- Complete load security: Wraps around, under, and over loads to prevent shifting during transport
- Handles challenging products: Secures heavy, round, oddly-shaped augers without the metal banding or strapping
- Custom pallet compatibility: Accommodates Falcon’s custom pallets up to 10 feet long
- Superior film strength: Uses heavy-duty 120-gauge clear stretch film for extra protection
The operation is simple: forklift drivers position loads in the wrapping ring, press start on the wireless remote, and gradually move forward as the machine automatically wraps the film. The automated cut-and-wrap system completes the process and automatically prepares for the next pallet.
Implementation and Results
The positive results at Falcon Industries were immediate and measurable.
Key Results Included:
- Zero product losses: Eliminated all product losses since the TAB Wrapper was purchased
- Dramatic time savings: Reduced wrapping time from 5 minutes to 1 minute or less per pallet
- Annual labor savings: Saving nearly 450 hours per year in the packaging department alone
- Improved safety: Eliminated the need for manual banding and strapping, and employees no longer needed to work under a heavy pallet load
- Labor efficiency: A single operator now handles the wrapping process
The time savings were so dramatic that Sogor didn’t even complete a planned time comparison study. “We did a time study of the manual process and intended to do a comparison with the TAB Wrapper, but after wrapping the first pallet load, the speed difference was so obvious that we didn’t bother,” he says.
“Everybody is happier in the packaging department now,” says Sogor. “We’re getting an extremely secure wrap now, every time, with a lot less effort.”
The results were so compelling that Falcon’s management purchased an identical TAB Wrapper Tornado for their Cosmos, Minnesota facility, anticipating comparable savings and returns.
Read the full case study in the FF Journal.
TAB Wrapper Orbital Stretch Wrapper Solutions
Available in multiple configurations with wireless remote and automation options, TAB Wrapper offers proven orbital stretch wrapper technology for manufacturers handling heavy, oddly-shaped products.