Layertite - an Irish company - has manufactured a new baling film that is approximately 70% thinner than standard agricultural film - that's according to Philip Doran - Product Developer at Silox Films.
Philip had been manufacturing stretch films since the mid-1980s and was CEO of Durapak Ltd for twenty years.
Thoughts of retirement were interrupted when a major baling company asked him to make some film and he discovered that nothing had changed in the agricultural plastics market. “Basically, it had stood still,” Philip told That's Farming.
Improvement
The industrial sector that he had been working in had reduced the thickness of stretch film by about 70%, with no loss of performance and this had not yet been applied to the agricultural film market.
“The reality of this is, it’s a fairly serious saving for cost savers, farmers and distributors alike,” said Philip - who also outlined that there is a 60% carbon footprint reduction when people use this film.
Layertite has re-engineered the film completely, making it less oxygen permeable and they have also made it twice as strong, giving the bales better protection from osmosis and diffusion.
Research
“We’ve done a lot of trialling and testing with major co-ops last year,” explained Philip.
“They have undertaken independent testing and one of the major companies are carrying it now and are selling it to their customers”.
The new film can wrap 40 bales per 1,000m roll whereas the usual standard is 28 bales per 1,500m with the conventional roll.
It’s available in white, green or black and costs just €100/roll including VAT and levy.
Layertite has the backing of the EU and Horizon 2020 research fund.Benefits of Using Silox;
- Reduced film layers,
- Reduced film usage,
- Reduced wear and tear on machinery,
- Reduced energy consumption per bale,
- Reduced bale re-wraps/spillages,
- Increased wrapping efficiency,
- Increased protection per bale.
Information:
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