Pouch machines that form stand-up and zipper pouches from roll film, or fill pre-made pouches, for powders, granules and liquids.
The horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine forms stand-up, doypack and zipper pouches from roll film, and can add bottom gussets, zippers and spouts. The horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine opens, fills and seals pouches that arrive already made. For smaller volumes, a semi-automatic filler fills pre-made pouches with an operator placing each pouch: an auger filler for powders, a liquid filler, or a weigher for granules. Each machine is fitted with the doser your product needs. For coffee in stand-up and zipper pouches, see the coffee packaging machine, and for snacks in zipper bags and doypacks, see the snack packaging machine.
These technical realities decide which pouch packaging machine you need and how it is configured.
Pre-made pouches are made on specialised machines and arrive sealed on every side except the top, so the pouch machine only fills them and seals the top. Roll film costs less per pouch than pre-made pouches, but an HFFS machine that forms pouches from film costs more than a machine that fills pre-made ones, because it handles the complicated shapes: bottom gussets, zippers and spouts. The choice is capital against running cost: a dearer machine and cheaper film, or a cheaper machine and dearer pouches.
The pouch machine is fitted with the doser your product needs. Powders are dosed with an auger filler, free-flowing granules with a cup filler or a weigher, and liquids with a pump or piston filler. A piston filler handles thicker products such as yoghurt, and very thick products such as grease use a lobe pump filler, which can mix and heat the product so it flows.
Zipper and gusseted pouches have more layers to seal than a plain pouch. On a pre-made zipper pouch, the zipper is closed and the top is heat-sealed above it. Product dust or crumbs on the seal area stop the pouch closing properly, so dosing is set up to keep the product clear of the seal. This matters most with fine powders such as spices.
Pouches run from about 10 g to about 5 kg. Below 10 g, fill accuracy drops, and packs above 5 kg are bags rather than pouches. Rated speeds on pouch machines we have supplied: an automatic linear fill-seal machine runs 35 to 40 pouches a minute at 500 g to 1 kg; a four-head weigher runs 30 to 40 a minute at 50 g to 500 g; a semi-automatic auger filler runs 15 to 25 a minute at 1.5 kg to 3 kg; and a semi-automatic single-head liquid filler runs 20 to 40 a minute at 500 ml. In practice, a 2 kg pouch runs at more than 20 a minute on an automatic machine and at about 10 a minute semi-automatically. Above about 5 kg the pack is a bag; see the bagging machines.
Food products need stainless-steel contact parts that can be cleaned between products. Our machines are built in SUS304 stainless steel as standard, and in SUS316 where the product carries salt, such as spice powders and seasonings.
A zipper pouch packing machine or stand-up pouch packaging machine forms the pouch from roll film, fills a pouch that arrives already made, or fills it semi-automatically. A spice doypack with a bottom gusset, for example, can run on all three.
A horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine forms stand-up and doypack pouches from roll film, adds the bottom gusset that lets the pouch stand, inserts zippers and spouts, then fills and seals the pouch. It is the most capable pouch machine and the most expensive.
A horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine fills pre-made stand-up, flat-bottom and zipper pouches. We supply it in two layouts. On a rotary pouch packing machine, grippers carry each pouch around a rotary table through opening, filling and sealing stations, in a small footprint. On a linear fill-seal machine, pouches are picked from a magazine, the zipper and the pouch are opened, the pouch is gas-flushed and filled, and the top is sealed twice. Either costs less than an HFFS machine, and pre-made pouches cost more than roll film.
A semi-automatic filler fills pre-made pouches with an operator placing each one, and a band sealer or pouch sealer closes them. We supply auger fillers for powders, four-head weighers for granules, and single-head piston fillers for liquids and pastes. It costs least and runs slowest, and suits smaller volumes. See the semi-automatic filling machines.
A horizontal pouch packing machine moves each pouch sideways through its filling and sealing stations, which suits stand-up and zipper pouches. There are two types. The horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine makes the pouch from roll film. The horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine fills pouches that arrive already made. Both are fitted with the doser your product needs.
“Vertical pouch packing machine” usually means a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine. A VFFS machine makes sachets and bags rather than stand-up pouches: pillow packs, 3-side and 4-side seal sachets, and side-gusset bags for products such as washing powder. It packs powders, granules and liquids, and liquid sachets are filled with a pump or piston filler, as shown on the liquid filling machines page. For small single-dose packs, see the sachet filling machines. For stand-up, zipper and spout pouches, use one of the horizontal machines above.
A pouch filling and packing machine is chosen by the product first and the pouch second. Each page below shows the dosing and the machines for that product form. Where your pouches arrive ready-made, the pouch filling machine (horizontal fill-seal) opens, fills and seals them.
Pouches are the more complex pack formats: they stand up on their own, and many add a gusset, zipper or spout.
These pouch lines come from machines we have supplied and from our case studies, from a semi-automatic filler to a fully automatic line.
An HFFS machine forms zipper bags with bottom gussets from roll film and doses fine spice powder into them, with SUS316 contact parts for the salt. Read the spice HFFS case study.
A screw conveyor feeds a semi-automatic auger filler, which doses oat flour into pre-made stand-up pouches, and a continuous band sealer closes them. The filler is rated at 15 to 25 pouches a minute at 1.5 kg to 3 kg, and interchangeable auger screws cover packs from 10 g to 5 kg.
A bucket elevator feeds a four-head weigher, which weighs 50 g to 500 g of granola into pre-made zipper pouches at a rated 30 to 40 a minute. The pouches are then closed on a semi-automatic pouch sealer.
A linear fill-seal machine opens pre-made zipper pouches, gas-flushes them, fills them with a 10-head multihead weigher or an auger head, and seals the top. It runs 500 g to 1 kg pouches, 90 mm to 240 mm wide and 110 mm to 350 mm long, at 35 to 40 a minute.
Pouch machines from the range: horizontal form-fill-seal machines making shaped, gusseted and zipper pouches from roll film, and fill-seal machines filling pre-made pouches.
An HFFS machine forming irregular-shaped pouches with a bottom gusset from roll film.
A horizontal packaging machine forming, filling and sealing irregular-shaped pouches.
A horizontal form-fill-seal machine forming pouches from roll film and filling them with a granular product.
A horizontal form-fill-seal machine forming pouches and dosing powder into them.
A linear form-fill-seal machine forming stand-up zipper pouches, filled by a multihead weigher.
A full-servo horizontal form-fill-seal machine forming zipper bags with bottom gussets and filling them with spice powder.
A horizontal fill-seal machine opening, filling and sealing pouches that arrive already made.
A linear fill-seal machine opening, filling and sealing pre-made bags.
Case Studies
Pouch projects from the range: a full-servo HFFS line for spice zipper pouches, a spice powder pouch filler and a frozen fruit pre-made bag line.
A pouch packaging machine is only as good as the support behind it. Before you choose a manufacturer or supplier, check where the spares are held, who installs the machine, and whether you can see your own product run on it first.
SA Packaging Machinery has supplied packaging machines since 2017. Each machine is specified to suit your product, pouch and output, installed by our own technicians, who have a combined 45 years’ experience, and supported with spares held in Johannesburg. Machines can be CE marked on request and are built in SUS304 stainless steel, or SUS316 where the product carries salt. Every machine carries a 12-month warranty on mechanical parts, and our technical team installs it, tests it and trains your operators on site. You can send a sample for a trial run at our Riversands showroom before you order.
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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.
SA Packaging Machinery delivered a solution that has met our expectations. The equipment has been reliable in daily production, and we’re pleased with its performance. We found the team knowledgeable, professional, and willing to assist whenever required.
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.
Send us a sample of your product and the pouch you want to use. We run it on the machine at our Riversands showroom, so you can see the fill, the seal and the finished pouch before you order.
The size of the machine, the output you need, and whether the machine forms the pouch or fills a pre-made one. A fill-seal machine costs less than a form-fill-seal machine, and a semi-automatic filler costs less again. Bigger pouches need a bigger machine, which costs more. Running cost matters too: roll film costs less per pouch than pre-made pouches.
Pouches run from about 10 g to about 5 kg. Below 10 g, fill accuracy drops. Above 5 kg, packs are usually bags rather than pouches, and a larger semi-automatic filler handles bags up to 25 kg. On a semi-automatic auger filler, interchangeable screws cover packs from 10 g to 5 kg, and our linear fill-seal machine takes pre-made pouches 90 mm to 240 mm wide and 110 mm to 350 mm long.
Yes. Sauces, dressings, cooking oils, juices, dairy liquids, syrups, liquid detergents, cleaning chemicals, lubricants, shampoos, liquid soaps and hand sanitisers are all packed in pouches. Liquids usually go into spout pouches. An HFFS machine can form the pouch, insert the spout, fill it and cap it. A pre-made spout pouch is filled through the spout on a single-head filler and then capped. A piston filler handles yoghurt, and thick products such as grease use a lobe pump filler, which can mix and heat the product. For liquid pillow packs formed on a VFFS machine, a dosing pump measures each fill, from thin liquids to viscous gels.
Yes. An HFFS machine forms zipper pouches from roll film and inserts the zipper, and it can add spouts and bottom gussets too. An HFS machine or a semi-automatic filler fills zipper pouches that arrive already made: the zipper is closed and the top is heat-sealed.
Fine powders such as spices are dosed with an auger filler, and the contact parts are SUS316 stainless steel where the powder carries salt. A spice doypack with a bottom gusset can run on an HFFS machine, an HFS machine or a semi-automatic auger filler, depending on your volume and budget.
Your product and how it flows, the pouch style and size you want, the fill weight per pouch, whether you will use pre-made pouches or roll film, and the output you need. A sample of your product and a few of your pouches lets us trial it before we quote.
