NORCROSS, Ga., July 1  -- Unisource Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading distributors of paper, packaging and facility supplies in North America, today announced a new stretch film wrapper equipment program featuring three outstanding lines of equipment with nationwide availability.

Highlighting the new equipment program is a Unisource Private Brand stretch film wrapper model, and the lineup also comprises offerings from the ARPAC Group and a full line from Orion Packaging. The Unisource model is the company's first entry into Private Brand packaging equipment and includes the introduction of a machine with features not available on other equipment currently on the market.

"Someday, all stretch wrappers may come as smartly equipped as this new Unisource Private Brand model," said Mike Schoenberger, Vice President -- Packaging Systems for Unisource. "But if you're going to invest in a stretch wrapper machine, why wait? We have designed the Unisource Private Brand model to include features that today's unitizing operation can really benefit from!"

Made in the U.S.A., the Unisource stretch wrapper is a feature-rich machine that can handle loads that weigh up to two tons, are almost seven feet high, and exceed four feet wide.

Among its features are:

-- An Allen-Bradley PLC; -- A belt-driven roll carriage; -- A dual-speed roll carriage; and -- A lifetime guarantee on the pre-stretch rollers.

Using a belt drive on its roll carriage, the Unisource machine is designed for quieter operation and less maintenance than stretch wrappers that use the traditional chain-and-sprocket carriage drive design. Another cost and maintenance benefit with the Unisource stretch wrapper is that replacement parts can be sourced locally because they aren't proprietary to Unisource.

The Unisource stretch wrapper's dual-speed roll carriage also offers the benefits of a fast up-speed to stabilize irregular profile loads and a slower down-speed for securing loads. The pre-stretch rollers are guaranteed for the life of the machine, because they can't be damaged when operators need to load or remove stretch film.

The Private Brand stretch wrapper represents a new strategy for Unisource in the packaging systems field. The company is already shipping its Private Brand stretch wrapper units to customers and additional inventory is staged throughout the company's U.S. distribution network, according to Schoenberger. "The stretch wrapper is our first entree of a full line of packaging equipment that we intend to introduce," he said.

"We put our name on this stretch wrapper because it represents the essence of Unisource value," added Schoenberger. "Value, to Unisource, not only means a lower price, but also the lowest total operating cost."

The other brands available to sell in Unisource's new stretch film wrapper equipment program are manufactured by the ARPAC Group and Orion Packaging. ARPAC, dedicated to developing innovative packaging solutions that drive bottom-line results for its customers, has been a longtime supplier to Unisource's Packaging equipment business. The company is committed to partnering with Unisource to meet the long-term needs of the nationwide packaging equipment marketplace.

Orion Packaging is a division of Pro Mach's "End-of-Line Solutions" Group. The company is known throughout the packaging industry for its heavy-duty, dependable line of stretch wrapping equipment and its superior film delivery systems. The Orion partnership with Unisource provides customers with a complete line of equipment for solving any stretch film wrapping need in the marketplace.

Unisource also announced that, effective October 1, 2008, it will no longer sell packaging equipment from Lantech. However, all Lantech equipment previously sold by Unisource will be covered by the full Lantech warranty and will continue to be serviced by Unisource technicians with Lantech certification. Unisource will also continue to sell Lantech parts to service its customer base.

"This new stretch film machine program will enable our sales professionals to continue to sell a complete stretch film solution to our customers in this critical product category of our Packaging business," said Schoenberger. "The program also allows Unisource to provide our customers with a stretch film machine equipment program that is consistent across a national selling platform."

For more information on Unisource products, please visit http://www.unisourcelink.com, or contact Unisource at 1-800-unisource.