Automated Pallet Wrapping – Transforming End-of-Line Operations

Across the manufacturing and logistics sectors, companies continue to strive for streamlined operations that provide enhanced efficiency and consistency.

With the ongoing challenges in the UK to meet rising customer demands, maintain high operational standards, and offer the agility needed to adapt to a dynamic market, end-of-line packaging automation — including the integration of robotics — has become an integral part of palletised warehouse operations, specifically when it comes to pallet wrapping.

What is Automated Pallet Wrapping?

Automated pallet wrapping refers to the use of pallet wrapping equipment to wrap stretch film around palletised products. This process secures goods during storage and transit, protecting them from damage to pallets, dust, and moisture. Unlike manual wrapping, which is time-consuming and inconsistent, automated pallet wrappers deliver precision, speed, and repeatability.

These machines can be semi-automatic (requiring some level of human intervention) or, more often, fully automatic pallet wrapping solutions (requiring no manual input). They typically handle tasks such as load detection, film application, wrapping cycle execution, and film cutting, all without requiring human involvement.

The Role of End-of-Line Operations

Automated pallet wrapping is a crucial part of end-of-line (EOL) operations, which involves preparing finished goods, either manufactured, co-packed or re-packed on-site, or those already held in warehouse storage, ready for dispatch. Once the required products are collated, packed and stacked safely and accurately onto pallets to ensure a stable load and Maximum pallet weight limits, they are sent to the pallet wrapping station. Here, the automatic pallet wrapper applies the required pallet wrap films around the pallet to ensure that each loaded pallet is tightly fastened according to predefined criteria. This key stage of wrapping each pallet securely ensures packaging efficiency and minimises the risk of damage to goods during loading and onward transportation.

By automating the process of end-of-line pallet wrapping, manufacturers and distributors can benefit from:

Reduced labour costs and manual handling
Improved packaging consistency
Minimised wrapping material waste
Increased throughput and wrapping speed
Improved safety for transit
Improved compliance in the warehouse

Industries Using Automated Pallet Wrapping

The food and beverage sector comes out on top for volume of pallet quantities used, but industries such as logistics, retail, agriculture, and manufacturing also rely heavily on pallets for efficient and reliable transportation and storage of goods.

This widespread usage supports the case for automation with key challenges with manual operations, that need to be overcome to enhance packaging efficiency and remain competitive. From labour shortages and high production speeds to material handling safety and load stability, manual operations attempting to handle large volumes of goods with varying sizes, shapes and weights are no longer viable, paving the way for cost-effective solutions.

With millions of products moved each year, automated pallet wrapping is fast becoming one of the key processes used within UK industry operations, with the most common applications for each sector including:

Food & Beverage – Securing everything from bottled drinks to bulk food items.
Pharmaceuticals – Ensuring hygiene and tamper-evidence for sensitive goods.
FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) – Wrapping high-volume consumer products quickly and consistently.
E-commerce & Retail – Supporting distribution centres with rapid order fulfilment.
Manufacturing – Protecting a wide variety of industrial components and equipment during transit.

Technologies Used in Automated Pallet Wrapping

Modern pallet wrap machines utilise a range of integrated technologies to achieve efficiency and precision. Some of the most commonly used automated technologies for packaging operations include:

Turntable Wrappers

These are ideal for stable, uniform loads where the pallet sits on a rotating platform while the required pallet film is applied.

Rotary Arm Wrappers

Better suited to unstable or heavy loads, the arm rotates around a stationary pallet to securely fasten the pallet wrap films in place.

Ring Wrappers

These are designed with high-speed applications in mind, widely seen in the FMCG environment.

Conveyor Integration

Lines of automated infeed and outfeed conveyors integrate seamlessly with a range of pallet wrappers to streamline the material flow of goods for end-of-line operations.

Load Height Sensors

These are used to detect the height of each pallet load to ensure film placement is accurate with minimal waste.

Pre-stretch Film Systems

Stretching the required film before application to the pallet reduces waste and improves load stability. This type of pallet wrap provides superior qualities and often includes recycled content.

Automated Film Cutting and Sealing

These two processes enhance the overall cycle time of pallet wrapping and eliminate the need for manual finishing, helping to improve productivity and safety of operations.

Integrating with Broader Automation Solutions

To fully automate end-of-line operations and benefit from enhanced efficiency, throughput, and safety, pallet wrapping systems are often integrated with other smart manufacturing technologies to offer a comprehensive automation solution. Some of the most widely integrated technologies working alongside automatic pallet wrapping machines include:

Palletising Robots

AMR & AGV

Palletising Robots

Palletising Robots are used to accurately and efficiently stack products onto pallets before the automatic pallet wrapping process, enabling bespoke pallet formations.

Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)

Highly versatile, intelligent AGVs and AMRs are ideally suited for transporting pallet quantities between production lines or storage areas and the wrapping stations, or then onward to the loading bays for dispatch.

Vision Systems and Barcode Scanners

Advanced vision systems and scanners are highly effective at verifying load contents and ensuring product traceability, vital for industries such as pharmaceuticals.

Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)

These are integrated to coordinate inventory, wrapping data, and dispatch schedules to streamline the overall packaging process for optimised cost efficiency and throughput.

IoT and Remote Monitoring

Using these integrated technologies allows operators to monitor machine health and performance remotely.

Automatic Labelling Systems

The final stage of the automated wrapping process is to accurately apply the required shipping labels for full traceability and accurate inventory management.

This integrated approach using a wide range of advanced technologies provides a turnkey solution which ensures seamless communications between machines and central systems, resulting in faster throughput rates, fewer errors, and a more agile supply chain.

Automated Pallet Wrapping for the UK

As the UK continues to face mounting pressures from global competition, post-Brexit trade complexities, and the push for efficiency, automation offers a robust and reliable way forward. Automated pallet wrapping not only supports lean manufacturing and logistics practices but also helps UK operators to meet regulatory, health & safety, and environmental standards through efficiency, traceability and minimised material waste.

With robot pallet wrappers, machine pallet wrap, a pallet wrap dispenser, and a range of pallet wrapping options available, businesses can select the type of pallet wrap that best suits their packaging requirement and type of product, achieving notable cost savings and cost improvements in the process.