Our Company History
Lantech is widely recognized as the world leader in stretch wrapping technology. Not surprising, since we invented the first rotary stretch wrapping machine and have continually re-invented the product with new features and performance enhancing technology ever since. We also are industry leaders in robust and efficient case and tray handling equipment, with a worldwide client list.
Our mission is to dramatically reduce the billions of dollars of damage that happens in transit – making sure products get from the factory floor to the retailer’s door in pristine condition.
Disruptive Innovation Since 1972.
There was a time when boxes of products were held together on pallets either by bands of highly tensioned steel or shrink wrapped with infrared shrink ovens and 2 lbs. of film. The invention of the stretch wrapping machine in 1972 by Pat Lancaster and his brother Bill changed all that – for the better.
What is now commonplace sounded impossible back in the early 70’s. Using plastic film just microns thick to hold thousands of pounds worth of products in place on a pallet? But it worked – and proved to be a faster, more cost-effective, lighter and safer way of containing loads, saving product manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars in freight damage every year.
Later on, Pat pioneered the concept of pre-stretching the film – reducing film usage (and related costs) by half. In plants wrapping 40 loads per hour, running two shifts a day, that saves up to $10,000 per year in film costs alone.
One of the founding principles at Lantech is the conviction that anything and everything can be improved. Over the years, we’ve been awarded over 100 US patents related to the machines and how they work. Today, that includes everything from tools that accurately and automatically measure load containment force to touch-screen monitors that show SPC trend data for preventive maintenance.
