#Industry News
Stretch Hood to protect Mortar bags
Rodacal Beyem Completes Modernization of its End-of-Line with Stretch Hood by Innova
How to protect the load of mortar bags? How to achieve impermeability and total product protection while saving consumables? Rodacal Beyem found the perfect solution in the Stretch Hood packaging system as a solution to renew the end-of-line in their main factory in La Roda (Albacete). With this newly installed Stretch Hood system, commissioned and started up in December 2023, Rodacal Beyem reaffirms its trust in Innova Group as the supplier for all its packaging lines.
Rodacal Beyem is a leading manufacturer of construction materials in Spain, specializing in industrial mortars for building, masonry, and special applications. With Innova’s Stretch Hood technology, the company has completed all its packaging lines at the central La Roda factory, and other similar lines at its production facilities in Lugo and Zaragoza.
Objective: Renovation of packaging systems
One of Rodacal Beyem's main objectives for this project was to renew and update the pallet packaging system at its main factory. They were using shrink hood technology, which is increasingly being replaced by the Stretch Hood pallet wrapping system. Stretch Hood and shrink-hood are two packaging solutions that protect the load by applying a film hood. However, the shrink-hood system is losing its popularity due to the disadvantages of heat shrinking technology. In contrast, Stretch Hood uses a film that stretches and adapts entirely to the contours, making it a cleaner, more efficient, sustainable, and safer system. Therefore, it is evident that Stretch Hood is a superior packaging solution for cement and mortar products.
The Stretch Hood film, which is thinner than shrink hood film, is a more efficient and sustainable way of protecting the load. It requires less quantity of film and consumes less electricity, thanks to the high-efficiency motors used in the Innova Group's system. This makes the Stretch Hood system an eco-friendly option for packaging and protecting products.
Rodacal Beyem wanted to renew its packaging solution while also standardizing processes, systems, and consumables across all its end-of-line processes. As its other plants already use Stretch Hood, the company aimed to achieve the same standardization in this plant too. In addition, the company sought to improve the protection of their loads and enhance the final presentation of their mortar bags up to the point of sale and, ultimately, in construction projects.
The packaging line project at Rodacal’s plant
The new packaging line in their main production facilities at La Roda (Albacete) consisted of an installation composed of a conveying systems and Stretch Hood wrapping system:
- Stretch Hood Pro S2 System: The Stretch Hood system installed at Rodacal is capable of adjusting to different load formats, thanks to the uncoiler accessory for two film reels. By incorporating hooding technology with a specialized Stretch Hood film, the system offers complete coverage for mortar bags, from bottom to top, providing enhanced tightness for storage and transportation.
- Conveying line: The project includes a pallet entry line connected to the palletizing line and adapted to Rodacal's loading vehicles, as well as a pallet centering system before Stretch Hood wrapping. The outfeed conveyor line from the stretch hooding consists of a pallet turning system and an accumulation and collection conveyor line for already wrapped loads.
Innova Group and Rodacal Beyem: A technological alliance for excellence in packaging
The modernization of Rodacal Beyem's end-of-line in La Roda has resulted in significant benefits such as improved productivity, faster packaging, and optimized logistics. The decision to adopt this technology was not solely based on the need for better product protection and presentation, but also on the energy efficiency and sustainability of the Stretch Hood system compared to heat-shrink and other systems. In fact, this sustainability objective aligns with Rodacal Beyem's focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
With this project, the technological alliance between Innova Group and Rodacal Beyem is once again consolidated, marking a milestone in efficiency, sustainability, and quality in the packaging of building materials. This project not only reflects the innovative vision of both companies but also their joint commitment to excellence at every step of the production and end-of-line logistics chain.