Knowing food and beverage filling and bottling equipment basics can help you assess your operation's production requirements and accurately identify your filling equipment needs. For example, a bottling machine system used for wine and beer is vastly different from the automatic filling machine systems that a frozen foods manufacturer needs.

To purchase the right bottling machines, make sure you choose a supplier that is willing to offer professional advice. Check a wide variety of resources to brush up on food and beverage filling and bottling equipment basics.

1. Understand what industry professionals mean when they refer to an automatic filling machine for liquid products.

2. Know what kind of bottling equipment you'll need for brewing wine and beer.

3. Find out how a can filling machine assembly line works.

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Know which filling machine best suits to your operation's product

Food bottling machines include cappers and labelers. These machines can fill up to 150 bottles per minute with the liquid of your choice. You can customize your machine according to the type of liquid, such as water, orange juice or soy sauce.

I recommend: Read the different filling systems on the Filling Machine Product Guide that Inline Filling Systems maintains on its website. Generic Manufacturing will send you product literature on its varied filling machines, such as pressure fillers, pneumatic piston fillers and twin piston fillers.

Learn what is involved in purchasing a beer bottling machine system

Automated bottling machines for beer and wine refer to the fillers, drainers, spigots, corkers, bottling buckets, corks, hoses and other finishing equipment necessary to brew beer and make wine. The term includes manual, semi automatic and fully automatic bottling and kegging systems.

I recommend: Read more about the beer and wine brewing systems at Beer-wine.com. Brew Plants.com offers a full range of automated bottling machines and will fit them according to each customer's specifications. Search the online product catalog at Mountain Home Brew & Wine Supply to learn about the specifications for beer bottling supplies.

Find out what how a can filling machine system operates

Can filling equipment refers to products that fill liquid and semi-liquid products into small cans designed for individual consumption or into large drums that contain bulk materials for restaurant suppliers.

I recommend: Get more information and product specifications on can filling machines from Accutek Packaging Equipment Companies. Read more about how can filling machines work on the assembly line on the Patent Storm website.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember that a bottling machine system for wine and beer must also include supplies to store the finished brews.

Investing in a bottling machine or other commercial beverage filling machine is an ideal way to break into the food and beverage industry or expand an already existing business. Bottling machines come in all sorts of styles and work well with both high- and low-volume production.

There are many types of commercial bottling machines and equipment, including:

1. Food bottling machines, for items such as salsa or jelly.
2. Water bottling equipment, made specifically for purification and deionization.
3. Liquid filling machines, for thinner liquids such as juice or oil.

Along with filling machines, business owners can purchase labelers, capping and conveying machines to complete their operation.

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Determine the right kind of beverage filling machine for your business

Automatic filling machines come in a variety of sizes. Some include conveyor belts, while others include automatic capping. Also, your beverage or food product will determine what type of filling equipment you need. Thick liquids, such as honey or salsa will need a different type of filler than thinner liquids such as juice or water.

I recommend: A Packaging Systems out of Allentown, Pennsylvania, sells automatic rinser-filler-capper's for all types of liquids. They include a five-year warranty as well. Along with liquid packaging machines, A Packaging Systems also sells bottling conveyors and capping machines.

Consider outsourcing your food bottling needs

Plenty of companies specialize in food and beverage bottling. As a business owner, you may not want to invest in costly equipment during the start-up phase of production. Instead, consider contracting a company to bottle your product for you.

I recommend: Turnkey services offered by Sharp Corporation are ideal for those looking for a custom look without investing in new equipment. Sharp Corporation offers inline cartoning, carton printing and a flexible schedule that works for both high -and-low volume needs.

Purchase used bottle filling equipment

New is nice, but not always a necessity. Plenty of companies carry all sorts of used filling equipment that will work just fine, and cost a fraction of the price of new equipment.

I recommend: Machinery and Equipment specializes in both new and used equipment, including beverage filling machines, labeling machines and conveyors. McEver Distributors (scroll down to find the link to request more information) is another vendor that carries used commercial bottling equipment.

Customize your bottling lines

Great packaging is as important as a great project. Get the perfect look for your bottled food or beverage with customized labels and packages.

I recommend: Businesses can have customized labels and packing created by Generic Manufacturing, which can customize one piece of equipment or an entire line with its custom fabrications.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Bottling machines are very efficient and help businesses save money in payroll costs.
• •  Commercial filling machines can increase productivity and allow a business to rapidly expand its customer base.

Making the most of food and beverage filling and bottling equipment means understanding the nature of your company's product that will be used as fill. Filling equipment is manufactured with certain kinds of products in mind. For example, a food bottling machine that fills glass containers with fruit salad will not work to fill paper containers with orange juice.

In order to find the right equipment, you will also need to get a sense for the supplier you're planning to do business with. Find one with a staff of trained sales representatives who are willing to guide you in determining the automatic filling machine equipment that will perform best in your enterprise. Consider a wide variety of resources explaining how other business owners are making the most of food and beverage filling and bottling equipment:

1. Purchase liquid filling machines if you need equipment to fill plastic or glass containers with liquid.

2. Consider purchasing a full line of bottling equipment to limit downtime.

3. Choose food bottling machines that auto weigh your product and eliminate product movement on the assembly line.

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Locate liquid filling equipment with precision measurement capabilities

A filling machine is made so that it has the capability of measuring liquid according to its weight and volume.

I recommend: Read more about the different capabilities of filler liquid equipment at the Frain Group website. If you need to fill 5-gallon pails, bulk boxes or any other large container, consider the automatic and semi-automatic filling machines made by Specialty Equipment. If you need to fill plastic or glass containers with acidic juices, thick syrups or oils, check out the filling machines at Filamatic.

Know your operation's bottling equipment requirements

Bottling machines are necessary for water manufacturers, in particular. They need water tube boilers, air cleaners for bottles, cap sorters and even chillers.

I recommend: Read more about the capabilities of certain bottle filling equipment by searching the online catalog at Ager Tank & Equipment Company. If you're looking for an innovative bottle unscrambler that feeds plastic and metal bottles, then consider the equipment made by ACASI Machinery. If you're looking for an affordable water bottling system that is eco-friendly, find out how to make the most of these machines at Flex News.

Choose food filling equipment based on your production requirements

A food bottling machine will not only fill containers with products like frozen vegetables, cereals, meats and poultry and cheese, it will also weigh those products to ensure volume remains the same in all packages. Food bottling depends upon whether your operation's production-small, medium or high volume packaging.

I recommend: Find out more about auto weigh food filling equipment in general at the Weigh Pack Systems Center website. Articles on the Engineering Talk website will help you learn which type of food filling equipment is best for your product.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Filling machine manufacturers urge business owners who are in the market for this equipment to rely upon the proven experience of professionals when making their final decision. A reputable dealer will be able to assist you in deciding which food filling machine is right for you.

You’re making a considerable investment when you purchase any food and beverage filling and bottling equipment. You know what products you have, how they must be filled and what your production goals are. The next step is to buy filling and bottling machines that have been custom designed to your packaging operation. You should also consider the training your employees will need in order to operate the new equipment. That’s why it’s helpful to learn key terms describing the unique features of filling and bottling equipment.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Time gravity filler

Highly economical, a time gravity filler machine works best with beverages known to have thin viscosities. They are also the machines of choice when you don't need the beverage to circulate as it is being filled.

I recommend: Go to Inline Filling Systems to find out more about the limited number of applications a time gravity filler is intended for. You’ll also learn what kinds of beverages these fillers are most often used for.

Palletized drum filler

When you must store beverages in drums, you're best bet is to use a palletized drum filler. This machine works by placing drums on a pallet directly beneath the filler's dispenser. You just press a button to release the beverage into the drum.

I recommend: Specialty Equipment not only gives you a step-by-step guide to using a palletized drum filler, it also explains the “tare out” feature these machines have which alerts the operator when a drum has been filled to capacity.

Semi-automatic bench top capping machines

Ergonomic and easy to use, semi-automatic bench top capping machines make hand capping obsolete. Once your operators situate uncapped bottles at the machine's base, the machine's capping function is activated. The bottles are capped and tightened in assembly line fashion.

I recommend: Kinex Cappers specializes in these machines and takes you through the entire process of semi-automatic bench top capping. It also explains the benefits of the machines’ “air operation” functions.

Pressure filling machine

Unmatched when it comes to speed, a pressure filling machine operates at the production rate you set. They use fewer dispenser heads than other filling machines but still manage to quickly pump beverages and other liquids into bottles on assembly lines.

I recommend: Get advice from Busch Machinery on the beverages these pressure filling machines work best with.

Piston filling machines

Piston filling machines are used to fill containers with thicker beverages and even semi-solid foods, such as yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and ice cream. The beverages or foods are first placed in hoppers. The piston filling machine removes the correct amount of beverage or food from the hopper and fills your containers to the desired weight.

I recommend: T.D. Sawvel explains the value of the volume adjustment feature on piston fillers.

Automatic mineral water filling machine

An automatic mineral water filling machine, also known as a fully neck holding machine, works well when you must bottle non-carbonated beverages, such as juice and energy drinks. Bottles or containers are placed on a rotating belt. The machines grip bottles by the neck and fill them to capacity.

I recommend: Venus Packaging explains why the automatic mineral water filling machines are preferred for PET bottles. It also explains the benefits of features like fully neck holding, monoblock construction and VENT PIPE filling.