Where are Conflex Shrink Machines Manufactured?
All Conflex shrink wrap machines are manufactured in our centrally located factory in Germantown, WI, outside of Milwaukee. All design and assembly is done in house and we are dedicated to providing a USA made shrink machine experience. Our Midwestern pride in manufacturing builds quality into every Conflex shrink wrapping machine, guaranteed.
Can Conflex Provide Custom Machinery?
Yes, in fact we are known in our industry for taking on the tough jobs that other manufacturers turn down. The Conflex passion for advancing the state of shrink wrapping is what drives us to work harder and come up with creative solutions when other manufacturers decide to only offer stock solutions. When it comes to shrink wrapping, there is very little we don’t do.
How does Conflex Sell our Shrink Wrappers?
Conflex sells our shrink wrappers through a world-wide distributor network of qualified dealers of packaging equipment. We choose the most qualified distributors in your local markets to handle the training and installation of our shrink wrap systems. Providing local distribution we are able to respond as quickly as possible to your shrink wrapping applications.
What is an automatic L bar sealer?
An automatic L bar sealer is an “automatic” version of the most basic type of shrink wrapper. It is the first step into a faster shrink wrap system. The shrink wrapper utilizes folded film on the roll and an “L” shaped sealing system to fully envelope the product in film. The automatic portion of this process is provided by conveyors that transport the product through the shrink wrapping process and sensors that pinpoint its position throughout the process. This type of wrapping will produce a waste tail of shrink film which is wound up for periodic disposal. Typically users of automatic L bar sealers will require no human intervention in the shrink wrapping process.
What is a Side Sealer?
A side sealer is a type of shrink wrapper that is the next step up in production from the automatic L bar sealer. There are two main types of side sealers, Intermittent motion side sealers and Continuous motion side sealers. The continuous motion wrappers will typically run faster as your product will never stop during the sealing process. The side sealer style of wrapper will utilize a center-folded roll of shrink film and an inverting head to automatically place the product between the layers of film. The side sealing unit itself will place a seal along the “side” of the package enclosing the product into a tube of shrink film. The tube of film is then sealed into individual packages using sensors and the cross seal. This type of wrapping will produce a waste tail of shrink film which is wound up for periodic disposal. A main benefit to side sealing versus other types of shrink wrapping is that a side sealer will allow the user to change from one product to another with only machine adjustments and no change parts. It tends to be a more flexible style of shrink machine when a user has several different sizes of products to shrink wrap.
What is a Lap Sealer?
A lap sealer is a type of full enclosure shrink wrapper that utilizes an overlap method to fully enclose the product in shrink film. The main benefit to lap sealing is that it produces no scrap or waste in the shrink wrapping process. This method ultimately saves up to 30% in shrink wrap per package making it the most economical type of shrink wrapper on a per package basis. Conflex is well known in the industry for producing the best lap sealing equipment as we have the most experience and expertise when it comes to lap seal. In fact many of our competitors will claim that lap seal cannot be used in certain industries for this reason or that, but it truly is because of their lack of expertise. Lap sealing utilizes a forming plow to form the film into the shrink tube and insert the product into the tube. These forming plows are necessary for each product size and have a corresponding shrink film size to accommodate the forming plow. To find out if lap seal can save you 30% on shrink wrapping your product, contact a Conflex representative for an analysis.
Is Conflex known for anything special in the Shrink Wrapping Industry?
Many things in fact. On the machinery side Conflex popularized the automatic L bar Sealer almost 30 years ago in North America. As the production lines demanded higher speeds, Conflex developed and manufactured some of the fastest shrink sealers with our rotary seal head wrappers. As servo motors came into more common use around the turn of the century, Conflex was one of the first adopters of this servo technology for use on shrink wrappers and continues to push the boundaries of servo use. Conflex has one of the most user friendly control platform on our Intellitouch controls platform – a blend of high tech and simplicity. Conflex offers some of the most competitive side sealer wrappers on the market with our FUSION series of shrink wrappers. We are also known for taking on tougher project that other manufacturers refuse to do. Our response rate to your questions or issues is also rated second to none of our competition.
What is a Static Seal?
When using a lap seal wrapper a static seal is used to “weld” the layers of film together as they are overlapped. Conflex does this better process than anyone in our industry which is why we are known for our lap seal equipment. The static bond is typically strong enough to make a great overlapped seal, but when it is not, Conflex also offers a thermal seal option that will heat weld the film layers together.
What is Form Fill Seal Equipment?
The term Form Fill Seal equipment is used universally in many different packaging machinery types. Conflex refers to our lap seal equipment as form fill and seal equipment because of the process we use while enclosing the package in the film. First we “form” the shrink film through the former, then we “fill” the film with the product, next we “seal” it closed.
Does Conflex offer Food Packaging?
Absolutely, about 30% of all Conflex wrapper project are food packaging projects. We offer primary packaging of food items like our pizza wrappers and tray wrappers and also secondary packaging like our multipack wrappers when our customers are attempting to enclose two or more of their products in one package. Conflex offers stainless steel shrink wrappers for wash-down food plants and powder coated shrink machines for standard plants. Conflex has shrink wrap machinery in all types of food plants including egg tray wrappers, bakery tray wrappers, frozen food wrappers, pizza wrappers and many more. We also provide the automation necessary to deliver product to and from the shrink wrapper.
What is a Mushroom Blade?
The mushroom blade sealing system gets its name from its mushroom shape. It is a unique seal bar system that has the ability to seal and cut the film on one motion. In short, it works fantastic and Conflex uses the mushroom blade seal system on many of our shrink wrappers.
How Important is the Shrink Tunnel?
The shrink tunnel plays a very important roll in the final appearance of a shrink wrapped product. The temperature of the shrink tunnel is very critical to the particular shrink film used. The air velocity and direction of the air in the shrink tunnel is also very important. It is often said that shrink wrapping is more an art than a science and the shrink tunnel can play a very important roll in the final appearance of your product. Conflex offers a wide variety of shrink tunnels to handle every shrink wrap application. Many people consider the shrink tunnel to be an afterthought in the process, but should be thoroughly considered for product capacity and efficiency when choosing a shrink system. In short, the shrink tunnel is critical to a great looking package.
Does Conflex offer all the Shrink Wrapper styles?
Conflex offers all the main styles or categories of shrink wrappers including Automatic L bar Sealers, Side Sealers and Lap Sealers and their accompanying shrink tunnels. We also offer conveyors and custom automation equipment to make the whole packaging process run smoothly.
Does Conflex offer Medical Packaging?
Yes, Conflex offers certain styles of medical packaging. Consult your representative for more information.
Does Conflex offer Conveyors?
Yes, Conflex has a wide variety of conveyors to suit your application.
Does Conflex sell Shrink Wrap?
No, Conflex does not sell shrink wrap. We prefer to leave the consumable part (shrink wrap) to our local representatives.
What are the different Types of Shrink Wrap run on Conflex wrappers?
Conflex mostly runs polyolefin shrink films on our equipment. However we make sealing systems for virtually all types of shrink film. We make polyethylene wrappers, PVC wrappers and we even have sealing systems for polypropylene based shrink film.
Can Conflex Wrappers be used as Bagging Machines?
Absolutely. Many of our customers use our wrapping equipment as bagging machines. Essentially our bagging systems are our shrink wrappers without using the shrink tunnel. Typically there is a non shrink film used and the wrapper will operate normally.
What is Conflex’ Philosophy on the use of Technology?
Our shrink wrappers are built for today’s packaging world. And the truth is, no size fits all. All production environments have different levels of automation and technology. And we want our customers to be comfortable with the shrink wrapper that fits their environment. Conflex offers shrink wrappers with very basic electronics and shrink wrappers with state of the art electronics. The operator and maintenance department have to be comfortable with the level of technology in their wrapper. Conflex commits to using technology when it adds to the design of the shrink wrapper. When we do use our higher level controls packages, we provide the operator an unparalleled level of ease in use. Technology can be annoying when it’s not easy to use and at Conflex we understand this.
Where can I buy parts for my Conflex Machine?
Conflex sells our shrink wrapper parts through our local distributor network or direct to the customer. Same prices no matter where you purchase them.
How can I locate an authorized Conflex Dealer?
Contact Conflex. Conflex has regional representation that will direct you to the best local distributor in your area.
How do I get technical support for my Conflex Wrapper?
Conflex has a technical staff that will direct you to the best local distributor in your area. We can provide telephone assistance when you need it and we do have field service, but we recommend our local distribution for the majority of our support.
How can I get a manual for my Conflex shrink wrapper?
All new equipment is sold with a manual. But contact Conflex when in need of one. We offer printed and digital versions of all our manuals.
Does Conflex offer a Trade-In Program?
Conflex does not have a published ongoing trade-in program. However if you would like to trade in an existing Conflex machine for a new model, we should talk. Our Tag line “Flexible People Make Flexible Systems” means we are open to hearing ideas from our customers. If you have problems, have ideas or want to make a deal, we promise to listen and give you our best response.