There are several factors to use in calculating ROI on the purchase of a new overwrapper.
If you are switching from another wrapping process, look at the following variable costs:
- material costs: overwrapping uses 20% less film than shrink wrap and from 12-50% less film than flow wrappers, based on product comparison measurement
- energy: while flow wrappers and overwrappers use 30 amp service, shrink wrappers require 60 amp service and draw a lot of heat to use in the shrink tunnel. This can also increase climate control costs.
If you are switching from an older overwrapper, assess the following costs:
- downtime: how much time and labor is going into keeping your machine running. Is this affecting the entire line? What staffing levels are needed for servicing older machines?
- changeover: do you run different SKUs on the same machine? If so, how long does it take to switch over? This clearly impacts downtime.
- speed: is your overwrapper the pacing item? Could your product run faster?
- Mechanical vs servo: mechanical machines tend to be less expensive to purchase, but often have higher labor costs, since there is more to adjust and replace. Servo overwrappers use 65% fewer moving parts, so your operating cost is less and your downtime reduced. More changeover can be done in the controls and less by mechanically changing the machine.
If you are new to wrapping:
- current material costs of current packaging
- weight of current packaging vs. film
- impact on size and bulk of intermediate packaging
- shipping cost reduction
For more information, look here. Call us at 413.732.4000 or email sales@packagemachinery.com for help in calculating our potential savings.