Pouch machines that form pillow, gusseted, stand-up and zipper pouches from roll film, or fill pre-made pouches, for powders, granules and liquids.
A 14-head weigher fed by a Z-type elevator fills snacks and granules into pillow and gusseted pouches from 5 g to 1 kg at 30 to 70 a minute, with nitrogen flushing and a checkweigher.
An auger filler doses powder into pillow, gusseted and 3- and 4-side seal pouches formed from roll film. The one we have supplied fills up to 325 g at 40 to 60 a minute, to within 1%.
Volumetric cups dose free-flowing granules, seeds and snacks into pillow pouches at a fixed volume, such as 9 g to 50 g snack packs at 20 to 60 a minute.
A screw conveyor feeds an auger filler that doses powder into pre-made stand-up pouches, 1.5 kg to 3 kg at 15 to 25 a minute, and a band sealer closes them. Interchangeable screws cover 10 g to 5 kg.
Four weighing heads fed by a Z-type elevator weigh granola, sweets and loose pieces into pre-made pouches, 50 g to 500 g at 30 to 40 a minute, to within 2%.
A single-head piston filler doses liquids and pastes into pre-made pouches while the operator places each one, and a pouch sealer closes them.
Opens, fills and seals pre-made stand-up, flat-bottom and zipper pouches. Our linear fill-seal machine gas-flushes and fills 500 g to 1 kg zipper pouches at 35 to 40 a minute.
Forms stand-up and doypack pouches from roll film, adds the bottom gusset, inserts zippers and spouts, then fills and seals each pouch.
The vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine is the pouch machine we supply most. It forms pillow pouches, gusseted pouches and quad-seal bags from roll film, then fills and seals them in one cycle, with an auger, multihead weigher, measuring cup or pump fitted to suit the product. For stand-up, doypack and zipper pouches, the horizontal form-fill-seal (HFFS) machine forms the pouch from roll film and can add bottom gussets, zippers and spouts, and the horizontal fill-seal (HFS) machine opens, fills and seals pouches that arrive already made. For medium volumes, a semi-automatic filler fills pre-made pouches with an operator placing each one: an auger filler for powders, a liquid filler, or a weigher for granules. 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.
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.
A Z-type bucket elevator feeds a 14-head multihead weigher on a VFFS machine, which forms, fills and seals each pouch from roll film, from 5 g to 1 kg at 30 to 70 a minute. Nitrogen flushing, a thermal transfer printer and a checkweigher complete the line. Read the roasted chickpea case study.
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.
On the semi-automatic line, a screw conveyor feeds an auger filler that doses oat flour into pre-made stand-up pouches, rated at 15 to 25 a minute at 1.5 kg to 3 kg, and a band sealer closes them. Granola runs on a four-head weigher fed by a bucket elevator, which weighs 50 g to 500 g into pre-made zipper pouches at a rated 30 to 40 a minute. Read the oat and granola pouch line case study.
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. This is the automatic line in the oat and granola pouch line case study.
A vertical pouch packing machine is a vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) machine. Compared with a horizontal machine, it takes less floor space for the same output and runs on roll film, the cheapest film format. It makes pillow pouches, gusseted pouches, quad-seal bags and 3-side and 4-side seal sachets, for powders, granules, snacks and liquids. Liquid pouches are dosed with a pump or piston filler, as shown on the liquid filling machines page, and small single-dose packs are on the sachet filling machines page.
A horizontal pouch packing machine moves each pouch sideways through its filling and sealing stations, which suits stand-up, zipper and spout pouches. The HFFS machine makes the pouch from roll film, and the HFS machine fills pouches that arrive already made.
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 any of these.
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 these 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. Each 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.
Pouch machines from the range: a VFFS machine forming pouches from roll film, horizontal form-fill-seal machines making stand-up and zipper pouches, and a fill-seal machine filling pre-made pouches.
A multihead weigher drops a weighed portion into each pouch the VFFS machine forms from roll film.
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.
Case Studies
Pouch projects from the range: a spice powder pouch filler, a frozen fruit pre-made bag line and a roasted chickpea VFFS pouch line.
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. A VFFS machine forms pillow and gusseted pouches from roll film, which keeps the film cost per pouch low for most powders, granules and snacks. An HFFS machine also forms pouches from film, but it 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.
A gusset pouch packing machine forms or fills pouches with side or bottom gussets. A VFFS forms gusseted pouches from roll film, and an HFFS adds the bottom gusset that lets a pouch stand. 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.
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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.
We have supplied packaging machines since 2017. 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. Installation and operator training are included in your quote, and spares are held in Johannesburg.
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 50 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, or on an automatic rotary spout pouch machine, which we have supplied to fill 100 ml to 1,000 ml at 16 to 41 pouches a minute and cap each spout. 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.
Yes. A VFFS machine forms pillow pouches, gusseted pouches and quad-seal bags from roll film, then fills and seals them in one cycle, and it is the pouch machine we supply most. It packs powders with an auger filler, granules and snacks with a multihead weigher or measuring cup, and liquids with a pump. For stand-up, zipper and spout pouches, an HFFS or HFS machine is the better fit.
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.
A pouch packing machine is quoted to your configuration, so the price depends on whether the pouch is formed from roll film (VFFS or HFFS) or arrives pre-made (HFS or a semi-automatic filler), the filling system, the pouch sizes, any zipper or spout, and the speed. A fill-seal machine costs less than a form-fill-seal machine, and a semi-automatic filler less again, while roll film costs less per pouch than pre-made pouches. Installation, commissioning and operator training are included in the quotation, and our sales team replies within 24 hours. Our packaging machine cost guide and HFFS machine cost guide explain what moves the figure.
