Unitech debuts packaging conversion technology for improved product consistency
What you'll learn:
- Unitech's film rewinder automates stretch-film conversion for greater consistency and material savings.
- The technology helps improve pallet-wrapping quality while reducing manual labor.
- The company highlighted its North American expansion and plans for future U.S. manufacturing.
CHICAGO—Unitech, a designer and manufacturer of end-of-line packaging automation, showcased its high-speed packaging conversion technology at PACK EXPO 2026 here that is engineered for manufacturers and commercial distributors of industrial stretch film to achieve better product consistency.
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The Model T012 Automatic PreStretched Film Rewinder is an advanced converting system that processes master rolls of stretch film by running the material through servocontrolled rollers to achieve variable pre-stretch ratios, according to the company
"You can set any of the parameters on the on the [machine interface] on how you want the film rewound," said Kristian Hulgard, executive sales director for North America at MotionTech, which owns Unitech.
With a new product also comes expansion
Hulgard said the company's expansion to the U.S.is a reflection of larger trends. MotionTech recently established a regional operational base in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, area, aiming to support its North American portfolio.
"We've been talking about this for years now in terms of the big trends that push automation in general. [The] labor shortage is not getting any smaller," he said. "Then in terms of tariffs and bringing technology into the U.S., MotionTech as a group has plans on local manufacturing in the near future."
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The Model T012 Automatic PreStretched Film Rewinder is being launched as manufacturing faces tighter labor markets, fewer skilled workers, product complexity, and pressure to meet deadlines.
T012's consistency and accessibility
The Model T012 automatically folds the edges of the film to reinforce roll borders against tearing before rewinding the material into smaller rolls for manual stretch wrapping of pallets, according to Unitech.
By using the rewinder instead of a human worker to stretch film, distributors of stretch film achieve a more consistent quality job and save money and materials, he said.
"[Users] save a lot of money [by doing] a more consistent quality job when they're wrapping their pallets or selling it to whoever's wrapping the pallets," he said.
The Model T012 enables film converters to improve material yield, increase throughput, and deliver rolls to end users as opposed to someone stretching the film manually, according to the company.
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One use case for the product is on factory floors, when a palette comes stacked with boxes. It is then rotated and wrapped in different configurations. Instead of having a worker manually wrap up the palettes, the Model T012 does this with consistency that is not achievable by a human worker.
"That effort for the operator doing it manually, eight hours a day, pallet after pallet, is not consistent. They cannot achieve the same force, and they use a lot more material than they should per pallet," said Rafael Minassian, the business development manager at MotionTech.
Hulgard said Unitech’s product also follows an industrywide trend of accessibility in automation through its programming interface and price point.
About the Author
Sarah MattalianSarah Mattalian
Staff Writer
Sarah Mattalian is a Chicago-based journalist writing for Smart Industry and Automation World, two brands of Endeavor Business Media, covering industry trends and manufacturing technology. In 2025, she graduated with a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, specializing in health, environment and science reporting. She does freelance work as well, covering public health and the environment in Chicagoland and in the Midwest. Her work has appeared in Inside Climate News, Inside Washington Publishers, NBC4 in Washington, D.C., The Durango Herald and North Jersey Daily News. She has a translation certificate in Spanish.
