Learn
How poly bags are manufactured
From resin pellets to a finished, branded bag — a look at every step we run in-house at our New Jersey facility.
The process
From resin pellets to a finished bag
We use them every single day — from grocery shopping to taking out the trash to shipping goods. Flexible packaging has become essential at work and at home. With so many everyday uses, you might wonder: how exactly are poly bags made?
At Rutan, we have over 50 years of experience creating and manufacturing polyethylene bags — and we handle every step ourselves. Here’s how a bag goes from raw resin to a finished, ready-to-pack product.
50+ years
Manufacturing custom polyethylene bags and film.
Made in the USA
Produced at our New Jersey facility — never outsourced.
Every step in-house
Extrusion, printing, converting, and packing under one roof.
Step by step
Five steps, one facility
Material selection
Every order starts with the right resin. We choose LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, or a custom blend — virgin or recycled — and add any performance additives the application calls for, such as UV inhibitors, anti-static, or slip agents.
Extrusion
Resin pellets are melted and extruded, then blown into a continuous tube of polyethylene film. Controlling the blow and cooling sets the film’s width, gauge (thickness), and clarity to your spec.
Printing
When a bag is branded, the film is printed on high-quality flexographic presses — up to 9 colors — for logos, product information, handling instructions, warnings, or barcodes.
Converting & sealing
The film is converted into finished bags: cut to size and sealed into the right construction — bottom seal, side weld, side gusset, wicketed, and more — with options like lips, hang holes, vents, or zippers added as needed.
Quality control & packing
Every run is checked for size, seal strength, and print accuracy, then packed the way your line needs it — boxed, on rolls, or in wicketed stacks — and shipped from our New Jersey facility.
Go deeper
Curious about the plastic itself, or ready to spec a bag? Explore the materials we run and the full range of constructions we manufacture.
Have a packaging challenge?
Tell us about your application and we’ll engineer a custom solution.
