Reflecting on my early engineering days dismantling and commissioning machinery at our Manchester facility, I quickly learned that product handling is the most variable element of any packaging line. On traditional horizontal flow wrap machines, the packaging film is fed from an overhead reel down onto the product. While this works perfectly for uniform items like trayed goods or solid blocks, it poses major mechanical challenges when handling loose, sticky, fragile, or irregularly shaped products.
For these problematic applications, the solution lies in an inverted machinery design.
The Inverted Feed Advantage
On an Inverted Flow Wrapping machine, such as our specialised Scorpion configuration, the film layout is completely reversed. The film reel is mounted underneath the machine, and the packaging material is fed from below.
Instead of pushing a delicate product along a stainless steel bed where it might catch, stick, or deform, the product is deposited directly onto the moving film. The film effectively acts as the conveyor belt, gently carrying the item forward into the sealing jaws. This process minimises friction and prevents product damage entirely.
“When I am supervising machinery commissioning on-site, I often see clients amazed by how much an inverted configuration changes the handling dynamic. By letting the film carry the product, we eliminate the friction that causes soft or sticky products to deform.” – Andrew Murphy
Ready to take your packaging to the next level? Contact us today.
We specialise in box motion flow wrap machines and our friendly staff are ready to assist you. Get in touch by giving us a ring or completing the contact form on our website. We’re looking forward to discussing how our machines can streamline your operations!
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Maximising Product Integrity and Reducing Waste
Inverted flow wrappers are widely utilised across the UK fresh produce, bakery, and contract packing sectors. Items like loose vegetables, soft cakes, or multi-packs of hardware can be tightly wrapped without the need for a rigid plastic tray, reducing raw material waste and helping businesses comply with modern environmental expectations.
Furthermore, because inverted systems can be configured with advanced gas-flushing systems for Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP), they provide a highly reliable hermetic seal to extend product shelf life naturally.
Our engineering team has deployed numerous custom inverted wrapping systems tailored to complex product requirements. You can evaluate the performance and efficiency gains achieved by our UK clients by browsing the data on our case studies page at https://recordpackaging.com/case-studies/.
Discover the Right Solution
Do not let difficult product handling slow down your factory output or compromise product quality. Contact Record Packaging Systems Ltd today to speak with our technical and applications team about our specialist inverted flow wrap systems.
