There is something important that you need to know, and once you do, it will change everything you thought you knew, and your approach to shrink wrap moving forward.
The shrink wrap used on construction jobs in New Zealand for over 20 years wasn't designed for that purpose.
It was designed over 30 years ago and was only ever intended to wrap small boats for one Winter storage season, or goods for packaging or transport.
That's right.
Read that again and let it sink in.
The NZ shrink wrap industry has repurposed a product into construction environments that it was never engineered to handle.
The ramifications of this are massive – best practice, insurance cover, Health and Safety…….
Suppliers and installers of the old-style wrap will claim that what I’m telling you is not true. They have a market share to protect.
New Zealand is the only country in the world where others have made false and misleading claims about Safe Seal Wrap, and the now superseded USA brands.
Thankfully, New Zealand and Australia have some very robust and regulated Fair-Trading laws and it is illegal to make false and/or misleading claims about your own products, or the products of another company.
We don't take this step lightly, but the proof is irrefutable and verified.
Accordingly, we have no qualms about publishing the information below.
THE PROOF
Some simple web browsing, speaking with the Dr. Shrink 0800 number, some queries posted on several Shrink Wrap forums overseas, and email queries direct to the USA companies themselves all came back the same.
THE MANUFACTURERS
Calls to the Dr. Shrink 0800 number in the USA asked the question "can I wrap a building with Dr. Shrink product". The operators on all occasions advised it was "theoretically possible, but not what the product was generally used or designed for". When asked what the purpose is, the answer was always "marine and transportation containment".
We went one step further and enquired in writing. See the reply below from Dr. Shrink Sales.
We then contacted Zormot, one of the other USA made brands sold in New Zealand.
Their marketing and website is primarily marine and containment for transportation focussed, but to verify we emailed them directly.
They confirm that the product was designed for packaging and marine – not designed with construction in mind, though some use it for that unintended purpose.
Guess where the photos he mentioned originated – that’s right. New Zealand.
THE INDUSTRY
We also asked questions on some shrink wrap forums regarding the origins of shrink wrap. The replies all came from USA based wrappers with a significant amount of industry experience.
Chad Gibson – owner at shrinkmobile.com USA
James Day (USA) on the Shrink Wrap Mafia Facebook Page
Carlos M Palacios on the Shrink-wrapping L.I Facebook page
The 'original' shrink wrap ??
On top of that, the NZ market is still told today that the USA made products being sold here are “the original shrink wrap”
It’s moot anyway as they weren’t designed for construction, but even that statement is untrue.
The extract below is from the official Dr. Shrink Site https://dr-shrink.com/category/shrink-wrap-stories/page/9/
"Back in 1985 before the birth of Dr. Shrink, Mike Stenberg worked as a shrink wrap installer. He wrapped boats, machinery, airplanes, buildings, etc. for about 7 years where he perfected the craft and skills of shrink wrapping.”
Mike Steinberg was already wrapping with another shrink wrap, then went on to develop his own product. It is, by admission here, by no means “the original”.
Stock img by magnific.com
