Plastic Strapping: The Kale of Industrial Packaging

Hazle Township, PA –  The other day a coworker admitted feeling a little embarrassed about working for a ‘strapping’ company, which got me thinking. I understand that our product can seem mundane and of small significance relative to the bigger issues of our day. Granted, most of us dream of more romantic occupations growing up, myself included. Apparently, while the previously much-maligned vegetable Kale has become hip and well accepted, plastic strapping remains under-recognized and under-appreciated.

Plastic Strapping. Banding. Strap. 

Like many manufacturing concerns in the U.S., EAM-Mosca Corporation makes a component that is very important to many other companies that may also be making a component of something bigger. We make plastic strapping. Banding, strap – that material you see cross-tied around newspaper bundles at the newsstand? And the equipment that applies it at high speed, so says Ralph E. Morini, company president.

A lot of our strapping goes to tying bundles of corrugated boxes together to protect them between where they are made and where they are filled, often with food and household products. Our equipment allows the box production equipment to run at its fastest, holding costs down. A bundle of corrugated sheets that have been die-cut, folded and glued contains about $15 worth of boxes. We hold it together with a penny’s worth of strap while preventing damage and waste. Strapping is our contribution to keeping food and other consumer product costs down.

Efficient Delivery 

We work closely with magazine and catalog printers. They sort their products by zip code and we tie the bundles together, improving Postal Service efficiency and reducing mailing costs. We sell these printers and other mailing customers clear smooth straps for securing their bundles so that automated equipment can read bar-coded zip code information through the straps, enabling automatic processing and further helping to hold down mail costs.

We do similar work in many other areas: We strap boxes of beef, pork, chicken, and fish for shipment. We do the same for agricultural products including apples in the U.S., bananas in Central America, and tomatillos in Mexico. We hold bundles of linens together for transport to hotels and restaurants; the same for bundles of scrubs going to hospitals. Our machines delicately place straps on bundles of banknotes in high-security settings.

We tie cartons of ceramic tiles, wood flooring, and moldings together for display in home centers. Our clear strap holds boxes of flat-screen televisions closed without obscuring the sophisticated graphics on their covers designed to make you buy.

A growing business with pharmaceutical distributors and convenience chains closing plastic tote bins, strapping helps to protect controlled substances like prescription drugs from damage and theft during shipment to pharmacies. In this application, replacing manually applied tabs, we speed up production to save on packaging costs and improve workplace safety. We also strap aftermarket auto shock absorbers in a compressed condition, to make it easy for mechanics to install them.

The boxes of copier paper we buy are strapped closed with our strapping and proprietary Sonixs ultrasonic sealers to keep them wrinkle and damage-free. Our combination of fast, reliable equipment and low-cost strapping is key to efficient delivery of many products that touch our lives every day. So, maybe we don’t make high-profile or glamorous products, but we help those who do get them to their customers safely and economically. See how a machine automatically applies strapping!

Recycled and Recyclable 

We work hard at being good citizens of the planet as well. Strapping is used in smaller quantities per package than alternative packaging materials like stretch and shrink films. An increasing amount of our strap is made from recycled plastic. And, all of our strapping is recyclable after it is used. We sold millions of miles of strapping last year, and none of it need have ended up in the trash.

We all have a path to walk in life. Some paths are more alluring than others, but I think making a solid contribution to our community, is more important than standing in the spotlight. That is the path that we and our strapping are walking.

EAM-Mosca Corporation provides high-performance strapping system solutions to a variety of industries, including corrugated, food, graphic arts, mailing, fulfillment, logistics, wood, and other industrial or consumer goods. The company combines innovative equipment with strapping materials manufactured to maximize machine performance, and customer support programs that help customers meet their performance and productivity goals.

EAM-Mosca is headquartered in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, USA, and was founded in 1982. Manufacturing facilities are located in Hazle Township and Ontario, Canada. Sales and service offices are located throughout North America, along with distributors and contract service providers in Central and South America, and sales/services offices in Monterrey, Mexico.

For more information about EAM-Mosca and its cost-saving, planet-friendly and protective products email us or call us at 800-456-3420. You can also connect with EAM-Mosca on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/EAMMoscaCorp), Twitter (https://www.twitter.com/EAMMoscaCorp) or LinkedIn via the company’s website, https://www.eammosca.com.