This section provides an overview for shrink tunnels as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 16 shrink tunnel manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked shrink tunnel companies as of September, 2023: 1.Sleeve Technology, 2.PlexPack, 3.Accutek Packaging Equipment Company, Inc..
Table of Contents
Shrink tunnels are machines that use heat-shrinkable wrapping film to protect products during transportation or to wrap multiple products together.
Products to be shrink-wrapped are rolled by a conveyor or other means through a tunnel-like furnace at approximately 150°C, and wrapped in plastic packaging material that shrinks at high temperatures.
Shrinkable packaging films used for shrink wrapping are classified into uniaxial shrink, which shrinks in only one vertical direction, and biaxial shrink, which shrinks horizontally and vertically.
The uniaxial type is used for packaging beverage containers and fluorescent light bulbs, while the biaxial type is used for packaging CDs, stationery, and lactic acid beverages.
There are tabletop types, simple types in which the wrapping film is manually set on the product, and automatic types in which the film is set and the product is wrapped by simply placing the product on the conveyor.
Shrink tunnels are used in the food industry for packaging beverage containers, seasonings, canned foods, cup noodles, etc., as well as in cases for books, CDs, boxes, and pharmaceuticals, etc.
There are also specialized machines that can apply powerful hot air and uniform heat to the entire bottom of products such as sprays and polishes, known as R-packaging.
Dedicated label and cap machines apply hot air evenly to caps and labels while rotating the product.
Steam (steam type) machines are used for shrink-wrapping cans, glass bottles, and PET bottles.
Machines that use far-infrared heat instead of hot air or steam as the heat source save power, minimize the thermal effect on the product, and are used for shrink wrapping thin plastic containers.
Shrink film, a film that does not shrink at room temperature but utilizes heat to shrink, is used for labeling and packaging products and for grouping multiple products together for transportation convenience.
Shrink film is wrapped manually, semi-automatically, or automatically by machines that apply a heat source such as hot air or steam.
There are two types of shrink films: uniaxial, which shrinks only vertically and horizontally, and biaxial, which shrinks vertically and horizontally.
The uniaxial type is used for sleeve wrapping, in which both ends of the product are open, and is used for bulk packaging of dry cell batteries and paper carton beverage containers.
PET bottle labels are also made of uniaxial PET material, which shrinks in only one direction, and require a large amount of heat to shrink, so steam processing is used.
Steam is used to process PET materials because of its efficient shrinking time.
Biaxial types are used in four-way seal packaging, pillow packaging (pillow-like tubular shape), and L-shaped three-way seal.
Shrink film is available in polyolefin (PO), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyester (PET), which differ in terms of transparency and impact strength.
PO can be processed at low temperatures, while PET requires processing at high temperatures.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Accutek Packaging Equipment Company Inc., founded in 1989, is a US-based manufacturer and supplier specializing in complete turnkey packaging solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes packaging equipment such as filling machines, capping machines, labeling machines, conveyors, and complete packaging systems. They also offer tailor-made solutions and can customize machinery to accommodate different requirements and existing packaging lines. Their products and solutions serve industries like food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and more. Accutek has multiple locations across the US including their headquarters in California as well as outlets in Texas and Florida.
Sealed Air (SEE), formerly called Sealed Air Corporation, was founded in 1960 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the US, as a supplier of packaging solutions for food and beverage processing, healthcare, consumer, commercial, and industrial applications. The company offers trays, films, packaging systems, and easy-to-open packaging solutions. It also operates manufacturing plants, laboratories, packaging centers, and customer learning facilities. In addition to its operations in the Americas, Sealed Air has expanded its geographical focus to many countries across Africa, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East.
nVenia is a manufacturer and supplier based in Wood Dale, Illinois, specializing in designing, manufacturing and servicing packaging equipment. The company’s product portfolio comprises integrated primary, secondary, and end-of-line packaging equipment, featuring Arpac, Hamer-Fischbein, and Ohlson brands. Their products include shrink wrappers, bag sewing systems, case packers, palletizers, and more. These products cater to diverse industries including consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, automotive and other industrial sectors. nVenia’s solutions help customers with automation, production enhancement, and labor cost reduction.
U.S. Packaging & Wrapping LLC., situated in Austin, Arkansas, is an American manufacturer specialized in producing flexible packaging supplies, tools, and machines. Originally a shrink wrap supply provider, the company has evolved to encompass contract packaging solutions. These include shrink and stretch wrapping, along with a range of packaging options such as biodegradable, sustainable, paper, plastic, recyclable, renewable, and reusable materials. It also offers supplies, tools, and machines, including shrink and stretch wraps and bundling film, as well as heat guns. Additionally, the company caters to business and industrial packaging needs with selections like food packaging, garment bags, and laundry film.
Texwrap Packaging Systems LLC., founded in 1979 and located in Washington, Missouri, is a designer and manufacturer of fully automatic shrink wrapping, shrink bundling systems, and e-commerce systems. The company offers a broad range of products, including L-seal wrappers, single roll bundlers, lap seal wrappers, side seal wrappers, and forced air convection tunnels. The company’s product lineup caters to diverse applications. These applications encompass individual product packaging, bundling items, accommodating long products, handling a range of items, and activating shrink-wrapping. Texwrap's solutions are used for efficient and secure packaging in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, retail, and the food sector.
Complete Packaging Solutions & Systems Inc., founded in 2001 and located in Alpharetta, Georgia, is a distributor of packaging machinery. The company’s broad range of products includes continuous motion side sealers, bundlers, intermittent side sealers, and shrink tunnels. The company’s products find specific applications in industries such as manufacturing, distribution, retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods. These machines are used for high-speed sealing, bundling, intermittent sealing, and shrink-wrapping, which are used for efficient and secure packaging processes across sectors.
Mahan Oven & Engineering Co., Inc., founded in 1964, and based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, is a manufacturer of industrial ovens and heat processing equipment. Mahan Oven offers products such as batch ovens, conveyor ovens, and custom-designed heat processing systems in which these ovens are used in industries like aerospace, automotive, and electronics for various applications, including curing, drying, and heat treating. The company ensures their product equipment meets industry standards and provides efficient heat processing solutions for diverse industrial applications.
Industrial Packaging is an American contract manufacturer specializing in flexible packaging solutions that was established in Webster, Massachusetts in 1950. The company utilizes a wide range of packaging machinery including fillers and stretch hooders to produce pallet, film, tape, and label wraps from various plastic materials. They also commonly manufacture flexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), container liners, jerry cans and drums to client specifications. Aside from contract manufacturing, Industrial Packaging also offers contract packaging services to their clients in the food and beverage, consumer goods, and pharmaceutical markets.
Sun Packaging Technologies, Inc., is a complete packaging solution provider company, founded in 1991. It is a family-owned company in South Florida with headquarters in Pompano Beach and businesses throughout the Caribbean and the Americas. Products and services of Sun Packaging Technologies, Inc. include bagging, cartoon sealing, corner protection, food packaging, and form-fill-seal. Other products of the company are inkjet printing, material handling, pallet covers, PPE products, protective packaging, and used equipment.
Kyana Packaging Solutions was founded in 19776 and operates in Louisville, Kentucky. Kyana Packaging Solutions is a market provider of smart solutions in packaging design and productivity improvements. Kyana’s iPAR Process, which stands for innovative Packaging Accelerating Results Process. iPAR is a service that helps clients identify problem areas both known and unknown, increase profitability, increase responsiveness to customer feedback, increase options for customer strategies, and provide leading-edge solutions for clients’ individual business situations. Kyana’s ASR Soultions assists clients with third party and reverse logistics, kitting assembly, custom manufacturing, marketing promotions, and metal stamping.
VC999 is a global manufacturer of vacuum packaging machines with a parent company in Herisau, Switzerland, and offices in Kansas City, Missouri, Germany, Canada, Austria, Colombia, and over 70 other countries. The brand name VC999 is an acronym for vacuum capacity 99.9%. It refers to the highest vacuum performance achievable, which echoes VC999 quality and performance. From small tabletop vacuum machines to dryers and thermoformers, VC999 stocks different types of vacuum machines to cater to various client needs.
Sleeve Technology, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Deurne, The Netherlands, is a supplier of sleeve application solutions. Its broad range of products includes sleeve application machines, shrink tunnels, autosplicer continuous reels, and rotary capsleeves. These products are used for applying sleeves or labels, employed to heat and shrink plastic sleeves or labels around products to ensure uninterrupted production, and designed for applying sleeves to the caps or closures of containers, ensuring brand consistency and tamper-proof sealing. The company serves industries such as beverage, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and home care, providing efficient labeling and packaging solutions for products.
Plexpack Corporation, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, is a manufacturer and supplier specializing in packaging machinery solutions. The company’s product portfolio includes bag sealers, shrink wrappers, bundlers, modified atmosphere packaging, and more. Their solutions include systems such as Emplex Bag & Pouch Sealing, VacPack Vacuum & Gas Sealing, and Damark Shrinkwrap & Bundling. They also offer custom engineering and expert consultative sales to meet customers’ specific requirements. The company offers multilingual support with locations in Canada and the U.S., serving customers in various industries including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and more.
LONG DURABLE MACHINERY CO., LTD., founded in 1995 and located in Yunlin County, Taiwan, is a designer, supplier, and manufacturer of full line of packaging machines. The company’s diverse range of products includes an automatic L sealer machine, a sleeve type sealer, a shrink tunnel wrapping machine, automatic palletizers, and an automatic plastic packing machine. The company’s products are used for secure wrapping and sealing, tamper-evident packaging, enhanced packaging, efficiently stacking products on pallets, and safeguarding products in food, consumer goods, and industrial contexts. These products have applications across these diverse sectors, such as manufacturing, cosmetics, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.
Ranking as of September 2023 in United States of America
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Sleeve Technology |
7.1%
|
2 | PlexPack |
7.1%
|
3 | Accutek Packaging Equipment Company, Inc. |
7.1%
|
4 | nVenia, A Duravant Company |
7.1%
|
5 | LONG DURABLE MACHINERY CO., LTD. |
7.1%
|
6 | Sealed Air |
7.1%
|
7 | U.S. Packaging & Wrapping LLC. |
7.1%
|
8 | Texwrap Packaging Systems LLC. |
7.1%
|
9 | Complete Packaging Solutions & Systems Inc. |
7.1%
|
10 | Mahan Oven & Engineering Co., Inc. |
7.1%
|
Ranking as of September 2023 Globally
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Accutek Packaging Equipment Company, Inc. |
13.3%
|
2 | Sleeve Technology |
6.7%
|
3 | PlexPack |
6.7%
|
4 | nVenia, A Duravant Company |
6.7%
|
5 | LONG DURABLE MACHINERY CO., LTD. |
6.7%
|
6 | Sealed Air |
6.7%
|
7 | U.S. Packaging & Wrapping LLC. |
6.7%
|
8 | Texwrap Packaging Systems LLC. |
6.7%
|
9 | Complete Packaging Solutions & Systems Inc. |
6.7%
|
10 | Mahan Oven & Engineering Co., Inc. |
6.7%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the shrink tunnel page as of September 2023. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
1 product is listed.
Satoru Pack
■ Product overview It is a standard shrink tunnel.