Bundling Machine Suppliers & Manufacturers

Bundling methods: shrink, tray+shrink, and stretch

Bundling machines group multiple primary-packed units (bottles, cans, cartons, pouches) into a multipack held together by film — a retail multipack or wholesale club pack. The main bundling methods are: shrink bundling (film only, trayless) — primary packs are grouped and wrapped in a shrink film tube or sleeve; the film is sealed around the group by a heat sealer (L-bar sealer or longitudinal seal); the wrapped group passes through a heat shrink tunnel which shrinks the film tightly around the pack group; the result is a film-only multipack with no base tray; this is the standard for PET water bottles (6-pack, 12-pack), beverage cans, and glass jars. Tray + shrink bundling — a corrugated or paperboard tray (a shallow open tray) is erected under the product group; the tray + product group is then shrink-wrapped in the same way as a trayless bundle; the tray provides base stability and a surface for barcode labels and branding; common for canned goods, heavy bottles (glass, HDPE), and any product group that would be unstable or difficult to handle without a base tray. Stretch bundling — a stretch film is wrapped around a group of products, holding them together without heat; used for heavier or heat-sensitive products; not as common as shrink bundling for retail multipacks. For grocery and beverage production, the shrink bundler + shrink tunnel is the standard secondary packaging for bottled water, carbonated soft drinks, fruit juice, cooking oil in PET bottles, and canned beverages. The tray + shrink format is used for canned food retail multipacks (6-pack or 12-pack canned vegetables, canned fish) and glass bottle multipacks.