How the MUST System Helps Offset Historic PE Price Increases
The price of polyethylene (PE) is rising. Drastically. After years marked by oversupply and softer demand for PE, the market is now facing sharp, rapid price increases – with more increases on the horizon. For operations that rely heavily on stretch film, these increases can quickly turn into six- or seven-figure cost overruns.
But rising material prices don’t have to mean rising spend, at least in your stretch wrapping operation.
Atlantic Packaging’s MUST Stretch Film Management System was built for moments like this. Its designed to help manufacturers and distributors stay ahead of market swings by optimizing how much film they use, how their equipment performs, and how their stretch wrapping systems are managed day to day.
At a time when packaging costs are climbing by 30% or more, MUST can help offset those increases by attacking the real driver of spend: usage inefficiency.
Price × Quantity = Spend
MUST Attacks the Quantity Side of the Equation
When stretch film prices go up, most conversations focus on price. MUST focuses on quantity.
Even best-in-class operations often use far more stretch film than they actually need due to inconsistent wrap settings, underperforming equipment, lack of ongoing monitoring, or changes in load profiles that go unaddressed over time.
MUST systematically identifies and eliminates these inefficiencies, allowing companies to reduce overall film usage while maintaining -or even improving – load containment and product protection.
In today’s market, those reductions matter more than ever.
Three Core Benefits of the MUST System
1. Cost Savings That Offset Industry-Wide Price Increases
In normal market conditions, the MUST System typically delivers 15–20% cost savings in stretch wrapping operations. In today’s environment, where PE prices are climbing rapidly, those savings can be enough to neutralize or significantly offset a 30% increase in film prices.
MUST achieves this by:
- Optimizing stretch wrap application across every machine and load type
- Enabling the use of thinner-gauge, high-performance films
- Reducing overwrapping, film breaks, and rewraps caused by inconsistent performance
- Preventing product damage in transit that leads to costly downstream issues
Instead of reacting to each new price increase, MUST gives teams a way to stabilize spend, even during the most volatile petrochemical markets the industry has seen.
2. AI-Enabled Technology That Keeps Systems Running at Peak Efficiency
What sets MUST apart is the patented technology AND how that technology is used.
MUST is the only completely integrated stretch wrapping system that connects:
- Implementation
- Continuous monitoring
- AI-driven analysis
- Ongoing technical service with our Stretch Application Specialist Team
Using sensors and monitoring tools, MUST collects daily performance data across stretch wrappers. AI-enabled analytics then identify when and why a system is falling off benchmark by analyzing containment force, film stretch, revolutions, and machine behavior.
Instead of relying on alarms with no follow-up, MUST pairs intelligence with action. Our Stretch Application Specialist Team is responsible for monitoring performance and maintaining standards. Issues are diagnosed, addressed, and corrected before inefficiencies turn into excess film usage or damaged loads.
This closed-loop approach ensures stretch wrapping systems start optimized and stay optimized.
3. Sustainability Gains Without Compromising Performance
Reducing plastic usage has become a business and sustainability imperative.
By right-sizing film application and enabling downgauging, MUST helps customers achieve meaningful sustainability gains, including:
- Significant reductions in virgin resin usage
- Lower overall plastic consumption across operations
- Improved load stability that reduces product damage and waste
Many companies pair MUST with high-performance PCR stretch films to amplify these benefits, cutting plastic use even further without sacrificing containment or throughput.
The result is a stretch wrapping operation that supports both cost control and sustainability goals at the same time.
Why MUST Is Different
MUST is different because it’s not just equipment, software, or service. It’s all three, fully integrated. From fast implementation to ongoing optimization, MUST provides the process, people, and technology needed to keep stretch wrapping operations running at optimal efficiency over the long term.
In an environment where PE prices are rising faster than many teams can react, that integration is critical.
The Bottom Line
Historic PE price increases – with more expected ahead – are forcing packaging teams to rethink how they manage stretch film spend.
The MUST System offers a proven way to:
- Offset rising material costs
- Leverage AI-enabled insights to maintain performance
- Reduce plastic usage and support sustainability commitments
Instead of absorbing the next increase, MUST helps companies get ahead of it.
Learn more about how the MUST System can stabilize your stretch wrapping operation—even in today’s volatile market here: atlanticpkg.com/must.