Case Study: Shrink Wrap and Case Packer Solution for Small Bottles at Plaid Enterprises

For over three decades, Plaid Enterprises has been a leader in the arts and crafts industry, producing a wide variety of products for hobbyists and creators around the world. As demand for their iconic paint bottles grew, so did their need for a packaging system that could keep up with production while ensuring every bottle was neatly shrink-wrapped and boxed for shipment.

Polypack and Plaid began working together in 1992, developing a custom pick-and-place shrink wrap system. Since then, the relationship has grown—Plaid now has a Polypack machine on every production line, including their latest addition: the ILB-24DL-P shrink wrap system with integrated case packer.

A Solution Built for Speed, Precision, and Care

The packaging process begins as rows of small paint bottles enter the Polypack system. The first step is to secure the bottles using a Product Hold Down mechanism, which gently stabilizes each bundle during the seal cycle. This ensures the bottles stay upright and aligned before entering the shrink tunnel.

As the sealed bundles move forward, they enter the Shrink Tunnel, where a carefully controlled combination of heat and airflow causes the film to shrink tightly around the product. Thanks to replaceable heater banks and adjustable baffles, the tunnel maintains consistent temperature and even shrinkage—critical when working with lightweight or delicate products like paint bottles.

The bundles then continue to the Discharge Gantry, which picks up each finished pack from the conveyor and delivers it to the Box Funnel. This funnel directs the shrink-wrapped bundles into corrugated boxes, which arrive single file on a Box Loading Conveyor. The system uses a clamp and gate to stage each box under the funnel, ensuring proper alignment as the product is dropped in.

As the fill cycle completes, the Box Funnel lifts, allowing the filled box to move forward on the Discharge Conveyor for downstream processing and palletizing. This seamless, fully automated flow has helped Plaid improve both throughput and product protection while reducing labor requirements on the line.

A Trusted Partnership, Decades in the Making

During installation and testing, Polypack worked closely with the Plaid team to tailor the system to their specific needs—just as we have since the very beginning.

“Plaid Enterprises began its relationship with Polypack with the purchase of our first shrink wrapper in 1992. Right from the start, Polypack was willing to work with us to engineer the ideal solution for packaging our products—the first pick and place/robotic shrink wrapper. Since that first machine, we have purchased a total of 12 machines from Polypack and we have one on every production line. With each machine we purchase, Polypack listens to our feedback to make each machine better. We consider Polypack to be part of our family, a relationship we plan to continue for years to come.”— Fred Kessie, General Manager, Plaid Enterprises

The ILB-24DL-P has become an essential part of Plaid’s production line, helping them meet demand, maintain presentation quality, and ship efficiently.

At Polypack, we’re proud to support Plaid’s growth through dependable packaging solutions—and even prouder to be considered part of their family.

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