Shrink wrap, flow wrap, vertical and horizontal form-fill-seal, filling and labelling equipment, delivered overnight down the N1 and commissioned on your floor by our own technicians.
A packaging machine is only right when it suits your product, your film and your throughput, so we start with the range, not the sales pitch. Shrink wrapping and shrink sleeve equipment, flow wrappers, vertical and horizontal form-fill-seal lines, canning and can seaming, capsule and sachet filling, cup fill-seal, tube filling, labelling and cartoning. Standalone machines through to fully automated lines. Every type is set up and powered at our Riversands workshop, which is a morning’s drive up the N1 from Bloemfontein.
Ordered by what the Free State actually packs: maize, meal, seed and feed into bags at volume, then dairy, dried product and canned fruit for the retail trade.
Powders, granules, and liquids formed, filled, and sealed from reel film, with auger, weighing, or volumetric dosing or pump to suit the product.
L-bar and side sealers, sleeve sealers and shrink tunnels for multipacks, glass jars, hardware and retail-ready packs.
Stand-up and zipper pouch lines for spices, granules and liquid formats where shelf presentation matters.
Horizontal flow wrappers for bars, biscuits, frozen snacks, small parts and anything needing a fin or lap seal at speed.
We work back from the product and the pack, never from a catalogue page. Six things decide the machine, and we go through all six before a quote is written. Bloemfontein is four hours down the N1, so a site visit before quoting is a day trip and we would rather do it than guess. From there we recommend the most cost-effective machine that still has room to scale.
Powder, granule, liquid or solid. This decides the filler before anything else is discussed: auger, multihead weigher, volumetric cup or liquid pump.
Units per minute at the rate you actually run, not a peak-day figure. In grain and feed the honest number is bags per hour through a full shift at harvest, when the yard is full of trucks, so that is the figure we specify against.
The pack you sell into: 25 kg bag, pillow bag, stick pack, pouch, cup or shrink multipack. Format narrows the machine type to one or two options. Bulk bagging and retail packing pull in different directions, so if you do both, tell us the split and we will quote for the mix rather than the average.
Footprint, ceiling height, three-phase supply, compressed air, and how much dust the room carries. Grain and feed plants are dusty by nature, and dust is what kills sensors, fouls sealing jaws and turns a clean line into a weekly strip-down. We specify guarding, sensor placement and cleaning access for the room the machine will actually stand in, not a showroom floor.
What the line has to cost to make commercial sense. We recommend the most cost-effective machine that does the job, not the largest one we can sell you.
Room to scale is part of the specification. Free State producers who add a retail pack line to a bulk operation usually need a second format inside a year or two, so growth should mean adding to the line rather than replacing it.
Specification on paper only gets you close. Bring your product, the film you intend to use and the bag or carton you pack into, and we will run a sample batch on the machine we have recommended before you commit. From Bloemfontein that is a drive up in the morning and home the same evening, and it is the cheapest four hours you will spend on a capital purchase.
Price is driven by machine type, production speed, level of automation and any customisation. Rather than publish a figure that does not apply to your product, we quote in detail once we understand what you are packing and at what rate. Quotes to the Free State carry overnight freight from Riversands and installation by our own technicians, and because you are on the N1 the travel component is small.
Terms on entry- to mid-level machines are 50% deposit and 50% before delivery. Complex, customised and full-line projects are structured around the Factory Acceptance Test and set out in your quote, and we are open to adjusting terms to suit your cash flow. We do not offer in-house financing, but we are a registered vendor with Wesbank and supply the quotes, specifications and documentation your bank requires. See the payment and financing questions.
A semi-automatic L-bar sealer and a multi-lane VFFS line are different orders of investment. The machine type follows the product and the pack, so this is settled before price is.
Output is the single biggest lever on cost. Doubling units per minute usually means more lanes, heavier framing and faster servo drives rather than the same machine run harder.
Hand-loaded, semi-automatic, or fully automatic with infeed and end-of-line. Automation is priced against the labour and rework it removes, and on a seasonal operation it is priced against harvest overtime and the cost of a queue in the yard, so it is worth quoting both ways.
Product dimensions, pack size and added features such as date coding or gas flushing. Standard-range machines cost less and arrive sooner than a custom build.
Our workshop, showroom and spares base is at Riversands in Johannesburg, four hours up the N1. Machines are kept set up and powered, so bring your product, your film and your bag and we will run it before you commit. Installation happens at your plant by our own technicians, and because you are on the freight corridor a wear part ordered in the morning is usually on the road the same day.
Riversands, Johannesburg
Our single workshop, showroom and spares base. Address and trading hours on the contact page.
Machines are freighted from Riversands down the N1, usually overnight to Bloemfontein, Welkom, Sasolburg and Kroonstad, with the eastern Free State a little behind. Our technicians drive down to install and commission on site, and a follow-up visit in the first weeks of production is a day trip rather than a fly-in.
Three installs written up in full, with the product, the format and the throughput each line was specified around. The bucket labelling job is the closest read for agri-chemical and feed packers working with drums and pails.
SA Packaging Machinery supplied our VFFS machine, and it has been running well since installation. The team was straightforward to deal with, and the support has been there whenever we’ve needed it.
We’ve been very happy with the equipment supplied by SA Packaging Machinery. It’s straightforward to use, performs consistently, and has helped us improve our production process. The team was easy to work with and made the entire experience smooth.
We’ve had a great experience working with SA Packaging Machinery. The equipment has performed exactly as we hoped, and it’s made a noticeable difference to our operations. The service before and after installation has been excellent, and we’re happy with the overall result.
PackMan purchased an Automatic 6-Lane, 4-Side Seal Vinegar Packaging Machine, and it has been performing reliably since installation. The machine delivers consistent packaging quality, operates efficiently, and has met our production expectations.
Ratings and reviews are published on our Google Business Profile, where they can be read in full and in context.
SA Packaging Machinery offers excellent service and high-quality machines. Their team is knowledgeable, professional, and always willing to assist with the best solutions for packaging needs. The machines are reliable, efficient, and easy to work with, making a big difference in productivity. I would highly recommend SA Packaging Machinery to anyone looking for great value and dependable packaging equipment.
Anything not covered here, phone the workshop. You will get someone who has installed the machine, not a call centre.
Yes, and from Bloemfontein it is a day trip. Riversands is four hours up the N1 and the machines are kept set up and powered, so you can drive up in the morning, watch yours run on your own product, and be home that evening with the sealed packs in the car. Bring the product, the film you intend to use and the bag or carton you pack into. If you cannot get away, courier the product to us and we will run it and send back the packs and the trial footage.
Machines in stock at Riversands: usually overnight on the N1 to Bloemfontein, Welkom, Kroonstad and Sasolburg, then a booked commissioning date, and the eastern Free State a little behind. Machines not in stock: 10–12 weeks from receipt of deposit, covering the factory build, the Factory Acceptance Test and freight. Custom configurations are quoted per project, and we do not quote a lead time we have not confirmed with the factory first.
Our own technicians, not a subcontractor. They drive down, position the machine, connect it to your power and compressed air, dial in the settings for your product and film, and stay until the line is producing sealed packs at the rate quoted. Operator training happens on the same visit, with your staff, on your product. Because you are on the N1, a follow-up visit in the first weeks of production is a day trip.
Sealing elements, heating bands, drive belts, blades, seals and sensors sit on the shelf at Riversands. You are on the main freight corridor, so a part ordered in the morning is usually on the road the same day and with you the next, rather than an eight-to-twelve-week import. Less common assemblies we bring in to order, and we will tell you honestly which category your part falls into.
Yes. Most faults are settings, wear parts or sensors, and those get solved on the phone with your operator. Where a technician is needed, Bloemfontein and the northern Free State are a drive rather than a flight. We service the machines we supplied, and we will look at equipment bought elsewhere where we can source the parts. Worth asking before replacing a machine that may only need a seal kit, an element and a proper service.
No. We run one workshop, in Johannesburg, and supply the whole country from it. In your case that matters less than it sounds: you are four hours up the N1, which is closer to our spares shelf than most of Gauteng is to an imported machine’s nearest parts, which is usually a container in transit. We are a South African company with the machine, the parts and the people in the country.
We do not provide in-house financing, so machines are paid for directly. Many customers finance through their own bank, and we supply the quotes, specifications and documentation banks require. We are a registered vendor with Wesbank, and have supplied machines financed through Nedbank and Absa.
For entry- to mid-level machines, 50% deposit and 50% before delivery. For complex, customised or full-line projects, terms are structured around the Factory Acceptance Test and set out in your quote. We are open to adjusting terms to suit your cash flow, and we know a farming or milling operation’s cash flow follows the season.
Yes. CE marking is the manufacturer’s declaration that a machine meets European health, safety and environmental requirements, covering guarding, emergency stops and electrical safety, and the documentation is supplied with the machine. It is not a South African legal requirement, but it is a recognised safety benchmark and food-trade buyers and auditors ask for it. If you need more, tell us what and we will obtain it from the manufacturer.
Factories specialise. A plant that builds powder fillers builds little else, and perfects it. Rather than sourcing everything from one supplier, we work with a different manufacturer for each machine type. For anything outside our standard range we obtain quotes from three factories, and we visit and inspect them in person before a build is committed.
We work back from the product and the pack. Product type first (powder, granule, liquid or solid), then output in units per minute, the pack format you sell into, the floor space and power you have, your budget, and where you expect production to be in three years. For a Free State plant we add the room itself to that list, because dust and cleaning access decide how a machine ages here.
Both. Plenty of Free State customers start with one bagging or sealing machine and add to it as volumes grow. We also supply complete lines, including weighing, filling, sealing, wrapping, labelling, coding and end-of-line automation, laid out as one system.
Yes. Send us your line layout and conveyor heights, or let us come and measure. We assist with layout planning and automation integration, and for a plant on the N1 we would rather do that in person before anything is quoted.
Yes, and it is the right question to ask in a grain or feed plant. Dust is what kills sensors, fouls sealing jaws and turns a clean line into a weekly strip-down. We specify sensor placement, guarding and cleaning access for a dusty room, and we show your operators how to blow down and clean the machine properly at commissioning. Tell us what the room is like and we will specify for it rather than around it.
That is the number that matters here, so tell us the harvest week rather than the annual average. We quote a sustained rate through a full shift with your product and your film, not a factory headline figure, and we would rather specify a machine that holds its rate in March than one that looks impressive on paper in July.
Yes, within limits we will be straight with you about. Common changes are product dimensions, pack size, output speed and features such as date coding, plus specification for dusty environments. Anything outside our standard range is quoted from three factories, and we inspect the plant before a build is committed.
Price is driven by machine type, production speed, level of automation and any customisation. Rather than publish a figure that does not apply to your product, we quote in detail once we know what you are packing and at what rate. Quotes to the Free State include overnight freight and installation by our own technicians, and the travel component is small because you are on the N1. Payment terms and financing documentation are covered above.
Yes. Every machine includes a warranty period, set out in your quotation and sales agreement. Beyond the warranty, support continues: phone and remote assistance first, parts on the road the same day, and a technician on site when the fault needs hands on the machine.
Phone the workshop, and phone early rather than after a day of trying. Most stoppages are settings, a worn sealing element, a belt or a sensor, and we train your operators at commissioning to clear a jam and change a seal themselves for exactly this reason: mid-season, a line down is a yard full of trucks. Parts go on the road the same day, and a technician drives down when it genuinely needs one.
Tell us what you are packing. Product, pack format, target output and film if you know it. We will come back with the machine that fits and what it costs to run, not a catalogue.
