How to Choose a Filling and Packaging Line?

The filling and packaging line is the face of your product in the market. A poorly chosen line means dripping nozzles, crooked labels, and stalled conveyors. The right choice lies in the answers to three questions: what are you filling, what are you filling it into, and how many per hour?

1. Product viscosity determines the filling technology

Fluid liquids (water, milk, vinegar): gravity or time-pressure filling
Medium viscosity (oil, syrup, liquid soap): piston/servo filling
High viscosity (tomato paste, mayonnaise, honey): piston + product feeding screw

In products with particles (jam, pickles), nozzle geometry should also be evaluated.

2. Fix the packaging decision

PET bottles, glass jars, cans, and doypacks; each requires different filling, sealing, and labeling equipment. Changing packaging after setting up the line often means purchasing new machines. Complete market research BEFORE ordering equipment.

3. Choose the line speed realistically

If you aim for 1,000 units per hour, select a line with a capacity of 1,200–1,500; format changes, label roll changes, and downtime reduce theoretical capacity. The line balance rule: the slowest machine is the speed of the line — if filling is 2,000/hour while labeling is 800/hour, your line speed is 800.

4. Level of automation

Manual feeding + semi-automatic filling makes sense for a low budget start. A fully automatic line should be considered with bottle unscramblers, cap feeders, and coding. In markets with high labor costs, full automation quickly pays for itself.

5. Don’t forget the end of the line

Date coding, case filling, shrink wrapping, and palletizing — "end of line" equipment is the most overlooked item in quotes and the most sought after in the field.

Example calculation: the real cost of format change

Consider a line filling two different bottle sizes per day:

Line speed: 1,500 bottles/hour, shift 8 hours
Format change: 2 times a day × 25 minutes = 50 minutes downtime
Lost production: 50/60 × 1,500 = approximately 1,250 bottles per day — approximately 375,000 bottles in 300 production days a year

If a quick changeover (tool-free) machine reduces the changeover time to 10 minutes, the same line produces approximately 225,000 more bottles per year. The long format change time of a "cheap" machine silently recovers the price difference.

Technical checklist before the quote

Product(s) to be filled and viscosity class (liquid / medium / high / particulate)
Packaging samples: bottle/jar sizes, neck diameter, cap type
Target speed (units/hour) + 2–3 years growth margin
How many different formats will be filled, how many changes are expected per day
Level of automation: manual feeding or bottle unscrambler
Label type: single face / double face / wrap-around
Date-lot coding technology (inkjet / laser / thermal)
End of line: case, shrink, pallet needs
Electrical and compressed air infrastructure

Common mistakes

Planning with theoretical speed: the reality of format change, label roll, and downtime is always below catalog values (see our OEE article).
Ordering machines without fixing the packaging: machines cannot be configured according to a bottle you do NOT have; samples are the first step.
Excluding the end of the line from the budget: a line without case, shrink, and pallet stations means a line that ends up being hand-packed — the gains from automation are lost at the door.
Setting targets that cannot fit in a single shift: calculate the labor and management costs of a second shift before increasing the target; sometimes a larger class machine is more economical.

The logic of return on automation investment

Manual/semi-automatic lines require low capital but carry labor costs per unit; fully automatic lines are the opposite. The decision formula is simple: compare the "total cost per unit" (labor + energy + waste + depreciation) of both scenarios at the target volume. In low volumes, semi-automatic almost always wins; as volume increases, the curve intersects. Critical point: do not transition to automation without packaging standardization — multi-format irregular production is the biggest enemy of a fully automatic line.

Used machine or new?

When looking for a filling line, second-hand offers may seem attractive; ask three questions for clarity in decision-making. First: is the machine configured for YOUR packaging? A second-hand machine is set up for someone else's bottle; if conversion support cannot be obtained from the manufacturer for format sets, stars, and nozzles, a "cheap" machine becomes scrap metal. Second: is there spare parts and technical documentation (electrical project, PLC program backup)? A machine with a locked program and lost schematics will be held hostage on the first breakdown. Third: hygiene history — turning a machine that has worked with non-food products (chemicals, detergents) back to food is often not economical. General rule: used machines may make sense in simple, mechanically weighted stations (conveyor, accumulation table); in sensitive and hygiene-critical stations like filling-sealing, new + warranty + FAT is safe.

How does commissioning week go?

Set realistic expectations: on the first day, no line will operate at catalog speed. Typical flow; mechanical installation check, idle operation, filling trials with water/placebo, gradual speed increase with real product, and adjustments for weight/torque/label quality. Training your operators at the machine during this week is the main determinant of OEE in the following months. The commissioning report (SAT) should be signed with the target speed and waste criteria written; any adjustment that is said "we will look at later" becomes permanent once production pressure begins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can different bottle sizes be filled on the same line?

Yes; with format set change. The changeover time varies from a few minutes to half an hour depending on the machine type.

Which comes first, the machine or the packaging supplier?

Packaging first. The machine is configured according to the bottle/jar sample you have.

Can the number of nozzles be increased later?

Yes, in most linear filling machines; 4 nozzles can be upgraded to 6–8. Request this flexibility in writing during the offer phase.

Can glass and PET be filled on the same line?

Yes for most products; however, conveyor guides, star/format sets, and sealing heads must be configured for both.

Share your product and packaging knowledge; let’s propose a configuration calculated with realistic capacity, with the line balance established. "Get a Quote for This Line" takes a minute with the capacity options on the line page.