There is a problem often found when considering answering a question when you have no idea of the context in which it was asked. In this case; there could be dozens of very different answers if we simply consider the phrase Polypropylene Strapping.
What Is Polypropylene?
Polypropylene is a thermoplastic addition polymer made from the monomer propylene. It is based on organic hydrocarbon chemistry and is a product of the downstream petrochemical plants that are supplied by either crude oil refineries or natural gas plants. Some 55 million metric tons or more polypropylene are produced annually to be further processed for a very wide variety of uses. Polypropylene is popular for things like ropes and textiles as well as finding wide usage in packaging (both bulk and individual items), automotive parts and even plastic banknotes. It is a relatively strong plastic with very good resistance to chemical attack. In all these uses, there are likely to be a number of times when the polypropylene will take the form of a strap.
What Is A Strap?
Dictionaries give us a fairly wide selection of meanings when they say that a strap is a strip of flexible material, used for fastening and securing things together so they may be securely carried or held on to. So, are we looking at straps for holding dresses in place by hanging them over ladies’ shoulders; the thing on top of a handbag enabling you to carry the bag; or the thing we hold onto when travelling standing up on a bus or subway train? Or, something else altogether – maybe more akin to the luggage strap we might place around a well stuffed suitcase to ensure that it stays shut?
That last suggestion is (by volume used) the most popular application for polypropylene straps and this is the type of Polypropylene Strapping that we are considering here. But, not for keeping suitcases shut; the main use is a part of packaging for shipping and transportation.
Secure Bundling
Whether it is 24 food cans in a carton box or, palletized loose goods or simply a number of identical “things” bundled together; they all need to be kept stable and together during storage handling and transportation. I suppose that we could tie them up with string (like a parcel) but quantities and sizes involved would make this somewhat impractical and, possibly not tight enough to be reliably secure.
It is now standard practice to use special tools to tightly wrap lengths of Polypropylene Strapping around the final packaging before transportation. The tools and reels of strapping are economically available from companies like Quality Strapping, Corp.
