Our Document Management System Just Got Leaner and Greener

Have you ever been to a restaurant where the waiter accidentally misheard your order, or the chef accidentally didn’t hear the waiter said and as a result cooked the wrong dish? Would you ever want to go back to a restaurant like that? That’s the experience many people have when it comes to dealing with many types of business: somewhere along the chain of communication, something gets lost in translation, and chaos asserts itself. 

At Stamar we believe that orderliness of service is a customer right, not a privilege. In an effort to streamline our turnkey interactions with online customers – keeping them informed of the status of a particular order from the time they make it until the moment they receive the final shipment – we’ve begun implementing Zetadocs.

Zetadocs is a useful tool for any company that prides itself on having greater orderliness, not to mention having less of a carbon footprint. When a customer’s order request finds its way to our inbox, Zetadocs allows us automatically to transcribe the order’s specifics into one standardized format. From purchase order, to warehouse pick ticket, to shipment order, to delivery number – Zetadocs is a convenient (some might nearly say flawless) way for customer and manufacturer “to be on the same page” throughout the course of a particular order. 

Furthermore, in keeping with our ethos of being a greener company, our use of Zetadocs eliminates a huge amount of paper. For example, fax orders via Zetadocs get transcribed onto a computer screen – there’s no printing involved. Wastage and redundancy are things of the past, as are any possibilities for error.

The Uses of Custom Corrugated Boxing and Packaging

If one-size-fits-all boxes were the order of the day for global packaging, then UPS and FedEx executives would doubtlessly be running for Congress. But sometimes, the product one wishes to ship isn’t of a standard size, or even of a generic dimension. Sometimes the product is simply too big for any normal warehouse to have the necessary corrugated packaging at-the-ready to provide a solution. At other times, the product is oddly-shaped, with parts that wildly jut out or spring up from the main body of the item. In cases such as these, it is most likely that your best bet is for a customized corrugated solution.

The fact that there are specific CAM/CAD packaging design programs that can help manufacturers plan and execute customized corrugated designs is of no small benefit. Here at Stamar, we make ample use of both CAD and CAM to determine what the optimal custom-fit for your product is. With our ISTA testing qualifications, as well as our command of vibration and drop testing, we insure that your product will come to no harm on the long journey from warehouse to merchant aisle. We can also work around your own specs and needs, from beginning until finish, to build the best corrugated packaging that money can buy. That’s our final word on the subject, and that, as they say, is a wrap.

Just-in-Time Warehousing Services at Stamar

Just-in-time warehousing was a concept developed in the 80s by big box retailers like Wal-Mart and K-mart, who realized they could save considerable money and manpower by warehousing their retail products and retail packaging at off-site locations. Not only would they save on time-consuming warehousing procedures, but they’d be able to free up more space on their show-floors to sell more items. Then, once they started running low on a particular item in their retail location, they could send notice to their constituent companies to send more of the same products, thus replenishing their stock conveniently and effectively.

At Stamar Packaging, we’re glad to offer JIT warehousing services to all of our clients. With three new distribution centers in addition to our original facility in Addison, IL, we’re able to meet the storage needs (both packaging and otherwise) of any number of customers throughout the United States. Our vendor managed inventory system of management lets you decide how many storage items you need and when precisely you need them delivered by. All you have to do is notify us, and we’ll handle all the heavy-duty lifting and scheduling.

The Differences between Stretch and Shrink Wrap

There are a lot of people out there who should know better, but either don’t know, or have only a hazy appreciation of the differences between stretch and shrink wrap. Yes, both are synthetic plastics derived from petrochemicals. Both are durable materials with monumentally slow decomposition rates, and both will soften and/or melt when exposed to temperatures of around 210 degrees F. Nevertheless, the means by which stretch wrap and shrink wrap are produced, as well as their practical industry applications, are completely different. 

Blown Hand Stretch Film

Stretch wrap is made from low-density polyethylene (“polyethylene” coming from the Greek root-words “poly,” meaning “many”; and “ethyl,” meaning “purer air”), a common variety of plastic that gets its famous elasticity from the chemical synthesis of ethylene with alpha-olefins. Once these two different types of molecules are blended together through copolymerization, they are either left to cool in the open air, or are passed over with cooling rollers. The end result is a plastic with a surface that can be stretched up to 500% of its original area before breakage. The fact that stretch wrap is both pliable and sturdy make it the perfect plastic wrap for industrial palletizing. Large, bulky shipments are much less likely to spill when covered in stretch wrap.

LTG ShrinkFilm

Unlike stretch wrap, shrink wrap is a polymer plastic intended for packaging individual items and products. A randomly arranged set of plastic molecules gets heated with either a heat gun or a heat tunnel, causing the molecules to expand into a neater, more uniform arrangement. Once this new arrangement of plastics cools off, the wrap then “shrinks” back down to its original, rough dimensions. The plastic can be shrunk to fit around a packaged item very tightly (as in a CD case), though it can also be shrunk to fit more loosely around a particular item if a certain amount of flexible capacity is required. A new automobile would be an example of a larger item where shrink wrap gets applied more loosely, allowing for easier shipping and handling.

At Stamar, we specialize in both types of plastics. We carry many different varieties of stretch film: blown machine stretch film (stretch film that’s been naturally air-cooled), cast machine stretch film (stretch film that’s been machine-cooled), and our patented Goodwrapper ®stretch film, which allows for reduced friction on the hands when being wrapped or unwrapped. As far as shrink films, we offer LTG shrink film (ideal for individual food packaging), polyolefin shrink film (good for containing industrial equipment), and PVC shrink film, which is designed to shrink faster around its product when time is of the essence.

And that’s a wrap on plastic for now. Either way, we’ve got you covered.

Avoiding Falls in The Workplace

In 2009, 605 workers lost their lives and another 212,760 were seriously injured by falls while on the job. Falls are a persistent hazard found in all occupational settings, they can occur in acts as simple as walking or climbing a ladder. And yet, studies have shown that 99% of these tragedies could have been prevented with better safety procedures, including the use of supplies that help eliminate slips and falls.

A safe workplace benefits everyone from the worker to the employer. A small investment in simple but vital safety products can save billions.  Workers’ compensation and medical costs associated with occupational fall incidents have been estimated at approximately $70 billion annually in the United Sates.  More importantly, these safety precautions will spare workers and their families the unnecessary suffering of preventable injury and death.

Building cleaning and maintenance is one of the industries with the highest counts of injuries resulting from falls. Circumstances associated with falls in the workplace frequently involve slippery, cluttered, or unstable walking/working surfaces.

Stamar provides janitorial supplies that can prevent the circumstances that cause these falls to happen.  Our fast-acting, anti-caking Ice Melter is particularly useful in these icy winter months to reduce slippery weather-related hazards on walkways and parking lots.  We also offer Oil Dry, a quick and easy means to absorb oil and other liquids to prevent slips.  Our Wet Floor Signs, will alert people of potential slippery areas and our high-quality cleaning tools such as mops, bucket/wringers and sweeping compounds assure quick and thorough clean-up so that you can be confident that your building is a safe place for everyone.