Quick Summary & Key Specifications:
- Definition: A trim chopper (or Granulator/Cutter in Europe) is an in-line rotary cutting unit that reduces continuous edge trim, matrix, film, foil, paper, and nonwoven waste into uniform pieces for pneumatic conveying.
- Cutting Principle: Rotary scissor-action shearing (hardened wolfram-carbide rotor knives against a fixed bed knife) for clean cuts and minimal knife wear.
- Performance Envelope: Process speeds up to 2,500 m/min, pipe diameters from Ø80mm to Ø400mm, air volumes up to 10,000 m³/h, and material thicknesses down to 8 microns.
- Sticky/Adhesive Materials: Equipped with silicone-oil rotor lubrication and anti-stick internal coatings for self-adhesive matrix cutting.
- Manufacturer: Designed and produced in Koege, Denmark by Lundberg Tech A/S (12,000+ units installed globally).
A trim chopper is the machine that turns continuous production waste — edge trim, skeleton waste, release liner, film, foil, paper or nonwoven offcuts — into small, uniform pieces so it can be pulled away from a converting, packaging or printing line by vacuum or pressure air, instead of piling up, wrapping around rollers, or being handled by hand.
In the US converting and packaging market, this machine is commonly called a trim chopper. In Europe, the same category of equipment is more often marketed as a Granulator or Cutter — which is exactly what Lundberg Tech has designed, built and shipped from its own factory in Denmark since the early 1980s.
Lundberg Tech is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of trim choppers for integration into vacuum and pneumatic systems, shipping more than 1,000 Granulators and Cutters every year, with over 12,000 units and 7,000 complete waste handling systems installed across the label, flexible packaging, film extrusion, nonwovens, paper, printing, battery and food/pharma packaging industries worldwide. This page walks through what a trim chopper does, how it works, what to look for when specifying one, and how Lundberg Tech’s GR Series Granulator and Cutters come together with a pneumatic conveying system into a complete trim chopper solution.
What Is a Trim Chopper?
Every converting, packaging or printing process that trims, slits, dies-cuts or shapes a web of material generates waste along the way: the narrow strip trimmed off the edge of a roll, the skeleton left behind after die cutting, the release liner peeled off a label, the flash trimmed from a thermoformed pack. Left uncut, this waste is a continuous, often tangled ribbon of material — hard to convey through a pipe, hard to store, and a genuine safety hazard when an operator has to pull it away from moving rollers by hand.
A trim chopper solves that problem. It is a rotary cutting unit, usually mounted directly in the waste extraction line, that reduces the continuous trim into small, confetti-sized pieces the moment it is captured. Once chopped, the waste can be conveyed pneumatically over long distances, packed densely into a collection bag or bin, compacted, baled, or fed straight into a recycling stream — all without an operator ever touching it.
You’ll hear this same category of machine described a few different ways depending on the industry and the region: trim chopper, trim cutter, edge trim chopper, confetti cutter, or — as Lundberg Tech and much of the European converting industry calls it — a Granulator or Cutter. The function is the same regardless of the label on the machine.
How a Trim Chopper Works
Lundberg Tech builds every trim chopper around what it calls the scissor principle: a rotor fitted with hardened, wolfram-carbide knives spins past a fixed bed knife, cutting the incoming material the same way a pair of scissors cuts paper — a clean shearing action rather than a tearing or crushing one. That matters for two reasons: it produces a more consistent piece size (important for downstream conveying and, in many cases, for recycling value), and it puts far less wear on the knives than an impact or hammer-mill style cutting action.
A few design details separate a trim chopper built for continuous, high-speed converting duty from a general-purpose shredder:
- One-piece rotor, cast-iron housing. Lundberg Tech machines the rotor from a single piece of round metal and houses it in cast iron, which keeps the cutting geometry stable at speed and over years of duty cycles.
- Self-cleaning housing. The interior geometry is designed so chopped waste doesn’t build up and pack inside the housing, which would otherwise force downtime for manual clearing.
- Configurable knife count. Standard rotors run 3 knives at 1,400 or 2,800 rpm, but Lundberg Tech offers 2 to 12 knives depending on the material and the piece size required.
- Adhesive handling. A adhesive release oil lubrication system can feed oil directly through the rotor, along with a non-stick internal coating, so the trim chopper can cut self-adhesive label matrix and other sticky materials without gumming up.
- Speed and width range. Lundberg Tech’s range choppers covers pipe sizes from Ø80mm to Ø400mm, air volumes up to 10,000 m³/h, air speeds up to 80 m/s, feed openings up to 660mm wide, and process speeds up to 2,500 m/min — with dedicated models for cutting ultra-thin material down to 8 microns.
Where a Trim Chopper Fits in a Waste Handling System
A trim chopper rarely works alone. It’s the second of several stages in a complete edge-trim or scrap handling system, and understanding the full sequence is what actually determines which chopper — and which surrounding equipment — is the right fit:
- Capture. A dedicated pick-up point captures the trim right where it’s generated, at the slitter, die cutter, printing press or extrusion line.
- Chop. The trim chopper cuts the continuous waste into small pieces — the step this page is about.
- Convey. A vacuum / pneumatic system transports the chopped trim through a dedicated pipe system, often to a ventilator positioned away from the production floor to cut noise on the shop floor.
- Separate and filter. A separator and filter pull the chopped material out of the air stream before the clean air is discharged or recirculated.
- Collect, compact or recycle. The chopped trim is bagged, compacted for density, or fed directly into a recycling process.
Lundberg Tech supplies equipment for every stage of that sequence, not just the cutting step. For a single machine, the TrimCutter or WasteTechs series is a complete package of: trim chopper, ventilator, separator, filter and bag holder into one plug-and-play unit.
Where waste is generated at label-matrix removal points specifically, Lundberg Tech’s MatrixCompactor series handles that job. For plants running several machines at once, a central system connects multiple pickup points and trim choppers back to one shared ventilator and collection point is the right solution.
Industries and Applications That Rely on Trim Choppers
Trim choppers show up anywhere a web or sheet of material is being trimmed, slit, printed on, laminated, coated, converted, die-cut, unwrapped or packaged at speed:
Label converting. Glassine and release-liner trim generated during printing and die cutting of pressure-sensitive labels.
Flexible packaging and film extrusion. Edge trim from slitting and rewinding of blown or cast film, and from the extrusion line itself.
Slitting of adhesive raw materials. Self-adhesive laminates that need the oil-and-non-stick-coating combination to cut cleanly.
Nonwoven production. Thin-fiber nonwoven trims, including materials below 20 microns.
Paper production and sheeting. Paper trim generated when converting reels into sheets, often at process speeds where stopping the line isn’t an option.
Printing and converting. Waste from printing presses and downstream finishing equipment.
Packaging and thermoforming. Trim and skeleton waste from packaging lines and thermoforming machines, particularly in food and pharmaceutical production.
Battery converting. Edge trim, punching and notching waste generated during EV battery production
Trim Chopper vs. Granulator vs. Shredder vs. Scrap Chopper
These terms get used inconsistently across the industry, which makes sourcing confusing — especially when a US buyer is searching for “trim chopper” and finding results labeled “granulator.” Here’s how they typically map:
- Trim chopper — the US converting-industry term for an in-line rotary cutter built to chop continuous web trim (paper, film, foil, nonwoven, label matrix) so it can be pneumatically conveyed.
- Granulator and Cutter — the term Lundberg Tech and much of the European market use for the same machine. Functionally, this is what a US buyer means by “trim chopper.”
- Scrap chopper — more commonly used for chopping metal banding, strapping or wire, rather than web trim from converting lines.
- Shredder — typically a heavier, lower-speed machine built for bulk downsizing of thick, rigid, or high-volume scrap, rather than continuous, high-speed reduction of thin web trim.
If your team refers to this equipment as a trim chopper and you land on a Lundberg Tech product page labeled Granulator and Cutter, you’re looking at the right category of machine.
The Lundberg Tech Trim Chopper Range
Lundberg Tech’s trim chopper range covers everything from a standalone cutting head for OEM and retrofit integration, to a complete plant-wide system:
- GR Series Granulator and Cutter — the core trim chopper line, sold as a standalone unit for integration into an existing or new exhaust/vacuum system. Available across the full Ø80mm–Ø400mm pipe range with 2 to 12 knives and options including stainless steel construction and gear motors for tougher materials.
- TrimCutter — a mobile, All-in-one trim chopper and collection unit on wheels for a single machine, popular in label and flexible packaging converting.
- MatrixCompactor — purpose-built for label-matrix removal and compaction.
- WasteTech series – collection of waste from multiple production machines, available in several sizes and configurations
- TrimCompactor — similar to the WasteTech series, but with a integrated screw / auger compactor – for compaction of waste
- Central Systems — connects multiple trim choppers and pick-up points across a plant into one central ventilator and collection system.
All of it is designed, machined, assembled and tested in Lundberg Tech’s own factory in Koege, Denmark, with local support in Germany, the US, Spain, Poland, UK, Italy and Asia, and partners covering the rest of the world.
Why Converters Choose Lundberg Tech for Their Trim Chopper
- Scale and specialization. Lundberg Tech has built its own Granulators and Cutters since the early 1980s and ships more than 1,000 units a year — this is a company that builds trim choppers as its core business, not a side product line.
- Track record. More than 12,000 Granulators and Cutters and over 7,000 complete waste handling systems installed worldwide
- In-house manufacturing. Design, turning, milling, grinding, assembly and testing all happen in Lundberg Tech’s own machine shop — which is what makes custom cutting challenges solvable rather than theoretical.
- Engineered for your material, not a generic one. From 5-micron nonwoven film to thick, stiff board, and from dry paper trim to fully adhesive label matrix, the same scissor-principle platform is configured knife-by-knife and coating-by-coating for the material actually running on your line.
- Global support, local presence. Locations in Denmark, Germany, the US, Spain, Poland, UK, Italy and Asia, backed by a partner network, means there are local experts close to your production site
- Test before you commit. Lundberg Tech offers you to send samples to their facility for a proper cutting test before you buy a product
Trim Chopper Results in Practice
Lundberg Tech’s trim chopper and waste handling systems are running today at manufactures and converters including UPM Raflatac and CCL Label, among others. Full write-ups of these and other installations are available in the Lundberg Tech case study library.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a trim chopper?
A rotary cutting machine that reduces continuous edge trim, skeleton waste, release liner, film, foil, paper or nonwoven scrap into small, confetti-sized pieces, so it can be conveyed by vacuum or pneumatic air system and collected, compacted or recycled instead of handled by hand.
What is the difference between a trim chopper and a granulator?
Largely a matter of geography and vocabulary. US converters typically say “trim chopper”; European suppliers, Lundberg Tech included, typically say “Granulator and Cutter.” Both terms describe the same rotor-and-bed-knife cutting unit built into a trim removal or vacuum waste system. A shredder is a different, heavier class of machine built for bulk downsizing of thick or rigid scrap.
What companies make and supply trim choppers?
Trim choppers are built by a relatively small number of specialist manufacturers serving the converting, packaging, printing and film extrusion industries. Lundberg Tech is one of the world’s largest, shipping more than 1,000 units a year from its factory in Denmark.
What materials can a trim chopper cut?
Paper, plastic film, laminated film, foil, nonwoven material, woven material, thermoforming web, release liner and label matrix. Lundberg Tech’s range spans ultra-thin material down to 8 microns up to thick, stiff sheet through openings up to 1600 mm wide, at process speeds up to 2,500 m/min.
Can a trim chopper handle adhesive or sticky materials?
Yes, when equipped with the right options — a self-cleaning housing, non-stick internal coating, and a silicone-oil lubrication system fed through the rotor, all available on Lundberg Tech’s trim choppers.
Is a trim chopper the same thing as a scrap chopper?
Not quite. “Scrap chopper” more often refers to machines built for metal banding, strapping, wire or stamping scrap. “Trim chopper” more commonly describes machines — like Lundberg Tech’s Granulators and Cutters — built specifically for continuous web and sheet trim from roll-to-roll processes.
How does a trim chopper fit into a pneumatic waste handling system?
It’s typically the second of five steps: capture at the point of generation, chop the trim into pieces, convey it pneumatically through ducting, separate and filter it from the air stream, then collect, compact or recycle it. Lundberg Tech supplies equipment for every stage, from a standalone GR Series chopper to a full central waste handling system.
What size or model trim chopper do I need?
It depends on your material, web width, line speed, and the pipe diameter and air volume of your conveying system. Lundberg Tech’s GR Series spans Ø80mm to Ø400mm pipe sizes and air volumes up to 10,000 m³/h, with configurable knife counts, grinding options for thin materials — a specification review with a Lundberg Tech engineer is the fastest way to confirm the right fit.
Talk to Lundberg Tech About Your Trim Chopper Application
Every trim chopper on this page is built and tested at Lundberg Tech’s own factory, and every application — from a single retrofit chopper to a full plant-wide waste handling system — starts with understanding your material, your line speed, and your existing (or planned) conveying setup.
Inquire online today or call +1 302 738 2500 to talk through your trim chopper application with a Lundberg Tech specialist.
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