MUST, Material Usage Standards Tracking, was developed by Atlantic Packaging to address the excessive cost of pallet wrapping due to the inherent variability and waste in stretch film application.

Material Usage Standards Tracking (M.U.S.T.) from Atlantic Packaging on Vimeo.

Our objectives are to drive load consistency, optimize standards, improve sustainability and maximize load integrity. When monitored correctly, these standards virtually eliminate damage and loss during shipping.

Load shifting and damage occur not only from under application of stretch film but also from the improper stretching and improper application of adequate amounts of film.

Atlantic’s MUST program accomplishes these objectives through a monitoring and communication system that continuously audits film application for improved product protection at significantly lower unit costs.

MUST hardware is also retrofittable to virtually every brand of stretch wrapper available today so our customers can get the full value out of their existing equipment.

For manufacturers utilizing automatic stretch wrapping equipment in high volume, MUST delivers immediate value and consistency in stretch wrapping like never before in the industry.

Over application of film leads to increased costs and under application can result in load failures. These problems emerge from day to day operator changes and deteriorated film carriage performance.

When operators reduce force levels to avoid film breaks during the wrap cycle, they use more film and compromise load integrity. Deviations from optimal wrap pattern settings contribute to further complications.

The film carriage is the main component on a stretch wrapper that manipulates film, and as with all mechanical devices, its performance degrades over time. When the rollers become smooth and out of alignment, the prestretch values begin to wane.

In order to deliver maximum holding force at the lowest cost, high performance stretch films should be pre-stretched 250-300%. Unfortunately, to the naked eye, a load wrapped at these percentages is indistinguishable from a load wrapped with much lower percentages. As pre-stretch diminishes on a wrapper, there is no way to measure this issue without physical testing. These “sub-par” conditions can exist for days, weeks or months before they are corrected. UNTIL NOW.

MUST hardware is also retrofittable to virtually every brand of stretch wrapper available today so our customers can get the full value out of their existing equipment.

For manufacturers utilizing automatic stretch wrapping equipment in high volume, MUST delivers immediate value and consistency in stretch wrapping like never before in the industry.

The MUST system monitors every load that is wrapped on a given stretch wrapper, and the amount of film applied to a load is recorded and graphed in real-time. If a load is wrapped out of the engineered benchmark, production knows immediately. MUST Monitoring gives plant personnel the necessary tool to ensure that no load ever leaves their facility with improper stretch film application.

For the first time procurement departments and manufacturing managers conclusively know the unit film costs of every pallet wrapped. The true stretch wrapping cost has previously been the only unit unknown in the supply chain. With MUST this is no longer a mystery.

So what is the true value of MUST?

It identifies variations in film usage and application, then initiates a response to resolve the problem. When this program is implemented correctly, it virtually eliminates waste and variability in stretch wrapping pallets of goods. The MUST System significantly reduces total film cost, eliminates substantial amounts of plastic in the waste stream, creates standardization , and reveals the true unit cost to stretch wrap your product.

MUST ends the unknown.

Contact the experts at Atlantic Packaging today to see how your operation can benefit from MUST Monitoring: 1-800-722-5841