Pellet producer: one HQ 90 µm hood instead of two 120 µm hoods, over 60% less film per pallet

A wood pellet producer exporting to southern Europe wrapped every pallet twice in a 120 µm stretch hood and still received complaints about faded print on the bags. A single NEX-HOOD HQ 90 µm hood with a UV absorber and UV stabiliser replaced the two: over 60% less film per pallet and a packing cycle twice as short.

01 Customer

A Polish wood pellet producer. Bagged pellets travel on pallets for export to Italy, Spain and further south in Europe.

02 Challenge

Every pallet was wrapped twice in a 120 µm stretch hood, a total of 240 µm of film per pallet. The reason: the long export route to southern Europe. Pallets stood outdoors, were reloaded many times and were exposed to strong sunlight.

Despite the double wrapping, complaints came in about print on the bags fading under UV. On top of that came a high packaging cost per pallet and a long packing cycle.

03 Solution

• One hood instead of two: NEX-HOOD HQ 90 µm replaced double wrapping with a 120 µm hood.
• 5-layer variant: a film with increased mechanical strength.
• UV absorber: protects the bags inside the pallet.
• UV stabiliser: extends the service life of the film itself during outdoor storage.

04 Results

Before and after

Film per pallet	2 × 120 µm (240 µm) → 1 × 90 µm, over 60% less film*
Packing cycle	twice as short, one hood instead of two
Complaints about faded print	no more complaints from customers in Italy and Spain
Pallet stability	maintained despite the reduced thickness
Material footprint	lower, reported under PPWR

05 What this means for you

If you wrap pallets twice because a single hood does not survive transport or sunlight, the problem is usually not the thickness but the formulation. A well-designed 90 µm film does more than two 120 µm films and costs less on every one of your pallets.

*Reduction calculated from the total film thickness per pallet: 240 µm (two hoods of 120 µm) versus 90 µm, i.e. 62.5%. The case study is anonymised.