PET strapping has a very high break strength and maintains strap tension during shipment and is a good replacement for steel strap. It is also much safer to use than steel strap which can cause injury to workers with minimal experience.

Most of our strapping can be used with hand-held tensioners and sealers.

Yes, most strapping can be recycled. Industrial recyclers prefer you to chop strapping into sacks for easy collection and storage until it is collected for recycling.

Your OH&S safety policy should have precautions in place for handling the different types of strapping. Steel strapping should be handled with safety gear such as gloves, safety goggles and strap dispenser.

There are different tools for applying, tensioning and sealing strapping. It will depend on the types of bundles and pallet loads you are securing and the size of your operation as to which tools you will need.

• Strapping Hand Tools - manual tools that include shears, tensioners and crimpers used with seals and buckles.
• Strapping Machines - automation of strapping applications with an automatic or semi-automatic machine.
• Strapping Power Tools - are a good option for odd-shaped bundles. They can be battery operated or pneumatic and are hand-held, some of which tension, heat seal, crimp and cut the strap.

If you have a busy production line, strapping machines are a good investment. Depending on your level of output we sell fully or semi-automated strapping machines. Strapping machines can perform all day without a break which can't be expected from staff with handheld tools who may acquire repetitive strain injury. See our strapping machines here.

Each type of strapping has its own method and tools for tensioning and sealing. The different strapping types have different load strength and stretch recovery. It is important that you have the right tools for the job.

• Steel strap is usually applied with either manual or pneumatic hand tools, either a tensioner and sealer or a combination tool.
• Polypropylene strap is applied with either manual or powered hand tools and sealed with buckles.
• Polyester strap is applied with hand tools, either manual or powered or with an automatic strapping machine.
• Woven strapping is sealed with a wire buckle and can be tensioned by hand or by a manual tensioner.

Sometimes you do. A tight wrap with a film wrapping machine can go a long way to stabilising a pallet load. To provide extra security strapping is applied to help heavy loads stay firmly on the pallet. Odd shaped bundles and stretch wrapped items by hand need strapping reinforcement too.

PET strapping is made from polyester so it won't rust like steel strap and is UV resistant.

Once strapping has been used it is not as effective and may have lost its stretch recovery or resistance. Poly woven strapping is the only type that has been made for re-use.

Yes you can. PET (polyester) strapping is considered the steel alternative. It is safer and easier to use and doesn't damage the edges of pallet loads. PET strapping has high shock absorbance and stretch recovery.

Placing cardboard edge protectors on the edges of a pallet load is essential for preventing surface damage from strapping. Edge protectors also protect cartons from strap tension and can be used to line the inside edges of a carton to stop them collapsing. They can also be used to stabilise stretch wrapped freight. See our edge board protectors and cutter product pages here.

Steel strapping is strong and has little to no tension loss. It is good for pallet loads and bundles that weigh more than two tonnes and for containing pallet loads that are likely to be loaded and unloaded multiple times.

Break strength is a term used to determine the amount of force needed to break the strap. Another term for it is break load. It is important to know what force load you will need before determining the type of strap to apply.

Embossed strapping has raised diamond-shaped texture to provide grip against the buckle seal to maintain tautness during shipment. We sell PET embossed strapping.

The weakest part of the strapping is in the join. Buckle joins are equal to less than half the break strength of the strap. Friction welds done by a power tool produces a joint stronger than 80%. It's important to know the break strength variations of your joins so you can use the right strapping, buckles and joiners for the load you are shipping.

Zinc coated steel has the highest break load at 904kg, and in second place is PET strapping with a 900kg break load.

To see our strapping types available visit our product page here.

PP (polypropylene) is lightweight, cost-effective and made for lighter strapping applications while PET (polyester) has strength and durability closer to that of steel. PET strapping can be used in a wider variety of industries.

PET strapping is used on pallet loads because it is the stronger of the two. It is considered the steel strapping alternative. PP strapping is used on smaller and lighter loads such as carton sealing because it has the lowest break strength.

Heavy-duty phosphate buckles work with woven polyester strapping.

Composite strapping works with composite buckles.

Pet strapping works with serrated open seals.

PP strapping work with heavy-duty open seals, heavy-duty plastic seals, standard open seals and wire buckles. To see our range of PP strap seal visit our product page here.

Heavy-duty pusher seals, knock over seals and snap-on seals can all be used to seal steel strapping. To see our range of steel strap seals see our product page here.

The best strapping for your needs depends on the load types and how far your shipments need to travel, including loading and unloading conditions. Steel strapping is considered the strongest with no stretch so is used on very heavy loads, exceeding two-ton. Strapping is made out either steel, polyester (PET) and polypropylene (PP) and the strapping we sell are variants of these materials. Steel strapping has been around for a long time but now there are safer, lighter and more weatherproof strappings that are as strong as steel. PET strapping is a perfect example. If you are moving pallets of bricks or heavy building materials, steel strapping is still the go-to product. If you are sealing cartons and lighter loads then PP strapping is adequate enough. It's best to speak to one of our consultants in regards to your strapping needs, so you get it right the first time.