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Stretch hood is one of the fastest-growing ways to secure goods on pallets: one fitted film hood instead of many turns of stretch wrap or a heated shrink hood. TFImex imports and exports both parts of it - the stretch hood film and the stretch hood machines that apply it - for factories and warehouses in the Gulf and beyond.
How a stretch hood machine works
- Open: the machine draws a flat, gusseted tube of film from the reel and opens it.
- Seal and cut: the tube is cut to the height of the load and sealed across the top, making a closed hood.
- Stretch: four arms stretch the hood to roughly 80 to 100 percent wider than the film, larger than the load.
- Lower: the stretched hood is pulled down over the load and can be tucked under the pallet edge (underrun).
- Release: the arms let go and the film contracts by itself, holding the load from five sides without any heat.
A complete cycle takes about 15 to 25 seconds per pallet.
The film
- Material: polyethylene, made in three or five co-extruded layers; modern films use metallocene LLDPE instead of the older EVA-based structures.
- Thickness: typically 50 to 150 micrometres, chosen for the weight and shape of the load.
- Width: tubes are supplied flat and gusseted, sized for the pallet footprint.
- Outdoor use: UV-stabilised grades for goods stored in the sun.
- Recycling: a mono-material polyethylene pack; some films take recycled content in their core layer.
Stretch hood, stretch wrap or shrink hood
| Method | Heat needed | Top of the load | Film per pallet | Time per pallet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stretch hood | No | Covered | One fitted layer, often 30-50 % less than wrap | About 15-25 seconds |
| Stretch wrap | No | Open unless a top sheet is added | Many spiral layers | About 1-2 minutes |
| Shrink hood | Yes | Covered | Thicker film, shrunk with heat | Depends on the heat tunnel or gun |
Stretch hood
- Heat needed
- No
- Top of the load
- Covered
- Film per pallet
- One fitted layer, often 30-50 % less than wrap
- Time per pallet
- About 15-25 seconds
Stretch wrap
- Heat needed
- No
- Top of the load
- Open unless a top sheet is added
- Film per pallet
- Many spiral layers
- Time per pallet
- About 1-2 minutes
Shrink hood
- Heat needed
- Yes
- Top of the load
- Covered
- Film per pallet
- Thicker film, shrunk with heat
- Time per pallet
- Depends on the heat tunnel or gun
Machines and when they pay off
Stretch hood machines range from compact models for a few dozen pallets an hour to high-speed lines that hood well over 100 pallets an hour, depending on the model and the load. A stretch hood machine costs considerably more than a stretch wrapper, so it pays off on lines that pack many pallets: one industry guide puts the threshold at about 15 to 20 pallets an hour. Below that, a stretch wrapper is usually the better choice.
Load stability
In Europe the stability of a pallet load is commonly tested to EUMOS 40509: the load is accelerated, usually at 0.5 g, and may deform at most 10 percent elastically and 5 percent permanently, without damage to the packaging. A stretch hood holds the load with the film's own recovery force, which is why the film is matched to the weight and height of each load.
Questions buyers ask
Can we buy only the film for our existing machine?
Yes. Tell us the machine, the tube width, the thickness you use now and the loads, and we match the film.
Is stretch hood suitable for irregular loads?
It works best with regular, repeating pallet shapes; very variable loads are often better served by a stretch wrapper.
How is a machine shipped?
Crated and loaded in a 20 ft or 40 ft container, or on an open-top or flat-rack container for oversize frames.
Sources
- Section
- Stretch hood packaging
- Reading time
- 3 min read
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