The company began shipping with plastic wrap late last year. It offered paper wrap to customers who wanted it, but most customers now want the plastic wrap. N Tek's shipping warehouse, a coil conveyor transports the steel to one of the plant's two wrappers, both supplied by Fleetwood International. When the coil is in place, it's within two U-shaped tracks that form an oval. As the dispenser circles, the coil conveyor turns the coil so that the plastic gradually is stretched around the entire coil.
Employees place plastic edge-protectors on the coil.
The wrapping machine then places another layer of plastic wrap around the coil. N Tek's largest coils take about two minutes to wrap completely. You are stretching the plastic under tension, so there are no air gaps under the material. There is no opportunity for water vapor to form between the material and the steel. N Tek's customers like the plastic wrap because it can be recycled, unlike the treated-paper wrap.