Features manufacturers of liquid and dry fillers that deposit product into flexible bags and pouches, including form/fill/seal machines and equipment for filling pre-made bags. Also includes suppliers of wrapping equipment for individual products, such as shrink wrappers and flow wrappers.
Form/Fill/Seal
Machines that, in a single operation, transform printed or unprinted film rollstock into pouches, bags, or sachets, before filling them with product, and sealing them via heat, ultrasonically or other means, in either a vertical or horizontal orientation.
- Horizontal Form/Fill/SealHorizontal Form/Fill/Seal:
Bagging or pouching equipment that works in a horizontal orientation to form bags or pouches from roll stock film. Horizontal Form/Fill/Seal (hf/f/s) equipment makes a vertical cut in a horizontal flow of film to form individual pouches and bags. After forming and filling, bags are sealed via heat, ultrasonically or another method.
- Vertical Form/Fill/SealVertical Form/Fill/Seal:
Bagging or pouching equipment that forms individual bags or pouches from roll stock film in a vertical orientation. Vertical Form/Fill/Seal (vf/f/s) machines draw the film over a forming collar to create a vertical tube of film. The machines then horizontally cut and separate the tube into individual bags, filling the bags or pouches with product before sealing. The top seal of one bag becomes the bottom seal of the next bag. Commonly used for free-flowing, fragile, or hard to handle products in the food industry, such as potato chips, in combination with weighers.
- Zipper/Reclosure ApplicatorsZipper/Reclosure Applicators:
Equipment that is incorporated into vertical or horizontal form/fill/seal equipment that applies a reclosable strip or feature to individual packages. The reclosable feature allows consumers to open and re-seal the bag or pouch using a zipper or reclosure feature, rather than having to permanently rupture the package seal.
Pre-made Bag Loading & Sealing
Any machinery that takes bags that have been pre-formed on a separate line or operation (typically by a bag manufacturer) and fills and seals them, in contrast to the form/fill/seal method.
- Bag Closing Equipment:Bag Closing Equipment
Machinery used to close any preformed bag, that is closed by a method usually other than heat sealing or sewing. Note: form/fill/seal machines are not included here.
- Bag Loading, Filling & Sealing:Bag Loading, Filling & Sealing
Machinery that enables manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic loading of product into pre-made bags, and then seals them. Note: form/fill/seal machines are not included here.
- Bag Sewing Equipment:Bag Sewing Equipment
Equipment that seals a preformed bag by sewing threads (in contrast to most heat sealing methods), such as for a bag of fertilizer.
- Vacuum Chamber Lines:Vacuum Chamber Lines
Specialized equipment that wraps a preformed bag tightly around a food product such as meat, poultry or cheese, by placing it into a vacuum chamber that seals by flushing gas and air from the chamber to eliminate oxygen for preservation and prevent air pockets.
Wrapping Equipment
Machinery that envelops a product and sometimes a primary package with a thin plastic or paper layer.
- Flow Wrappers
Flow wrappers are a specialized type of horizontal form/fill/seal (hf/f/s) machine that features a film reel mounted above the operating level, whereby the product is loaded horizontally and a longitudinal seal is formed below the pack. Typical applications include wrapping individual candy or granola bars.
- Overwrappers
Machinery that applies a layer of paper or plastic wrapping over a primary package or another form of packaging, often for cylindrical or cubical products, such as an overwrap for a sealed carton of perfume.
- Shrink Wrappers & Heat Tunnels
Equipment that shrinks thermoplastic film tightly around the surface of an individual product or group of products, where the shrink is activated by heat.
- Twist Wrappers
Also known as bunch wrappers, twist wrappers cut and wrap pieces of film via a twisting mechanism, usually around small, individual products such as candies.
