Automatic Pouch sauce production line Price

The price of an automatic pouch sauce production line ranges from $85,000 to $800,000, and its specific price is mainly determined by its technical route (pouch-feeding type or bag-making type), packaging speed, filling accuracy, pouch type compatibility and supporting detection modules. It should be emphasized first that an automatic pouch sauce production line does not refer to the entire line for producing sauce (such as pre-processing, stir-frying and fermentation), but specifically refers to an automatic filling and packaging complete set of systems with “soft pouches” as the final packaging form. It is the “last mile” of industrial sauce production, and its core task is to fill the boiled/blended sauce (regardless of the formula) into pre-made pouches or forming films at high speed, high precision and without pollution, and complete sealing, detection and palletizing. The following content will fully expand each detail in the form of paragraphs, naturally integrate all required equipment terms, use simple and easy-to-understand language, and ensure the total word count reaches 2000 words, focusing on the technical elaboration of this packaging execution section.

Price Impact of Two Parallel Technical Routes

According to the different ways of supplying packaging pouches, automatic pouch sauce production lines are divided into two distinct technical schools, with completely different equipment composition, applicable scenarios and price ranges. This is the core factor determining the initial price positioning of the production line, and users need to choose the appropriate technical route according to their own product positioning and production needs.

The pouch-feeding production line uses pre-formed empty pouches (stacked), and the manipulator takes, opens, fills and seals the pouches one by one. It has extremely strong pouch type compatibility, and can be used for stand-up pouches, zipper pouches, four-side sealed pouches, hand-held pouches, special-shaped pouches, etc. The flexibility of production change is high. Changing the pouch type only needs to replace the corresponding manipulator fixture, which can realize production change in 10 minutes. The packaging speed ranges from 15 to 40 packs per minute, and the technology is highly standardized, with highly consistent parameters among many manufacturers. The price of a small-scale pouch-feeding production line (15-25 packs per minute) is about $85,000 to $180,000, which is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises with frequent production changes and diverse pouch types. The price of a medium-scale production line (25-35 packs per minute) with adjustable manipulator speed is between $180,000 and $350,000. The price of a large-scale production line (35-40 packs per minute) with multi-station simultaneous operation is $350,000 to $500,000. Common equipment manufacturers include Beijing Xinghuo, Zhengzhou Xinghuo, Hefei Xinyuan, etc. The key components of the production line are made of stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant and easy to clean, meeting the food safety requirements of sauce packaging.

The bag-making (VFFS) production line uses roll film to continuously complete the integration of bag making, filling, sealing and cutting on the machine. Its pouch type compatibility is limited, mainly for three-side sealed and back-sealed pillow-shaped pouches. The flexibility of production change is relatively low. Changing the pouch length can be adjusted through the touch screen, and changing the pouch width needs to replace the bag maker, which can realize production change in 30 minutes. The packaging speed is faster, ranging from 30 to 60 packs per minute (higher for small pouch types). The technology is also highly standardized and adopts modular configuration. The price of a small-scale bag-making production line (30-40 packs per minute) is about $90,000 to $200,000, which is suitable for enterprises with large batch production and single pouch type. The price of a medium-scale production line (40-50 packs per minute) with automatic roll film tension control is between $200,000 and $400,000. The price of a large-scale production line (50-60 packs per minute) with high-speed cutting function is $400,000 to $800,000. Common equipment manufacturers include Smart Weigh, Anhui Xinyuan, Xi’an Xinghuo, etc. An Electric Grinder can be used to trim the edge of the roll film before bag making, ensuring the flatness of the pouch, with a price of $2,100 to $5,200. A charger is required to supply stable power to the electrical components of the bag making machine, avoiding equipment failure caused by power fluctuation, with a charger price of $1,000 to $2,400.

Price Impact of Core Process Units and Key Technical Parameters

Regardless of the pouch type route adopted, the automatic pouch sauce production line includes three core units: material pretreatment and conveying unit, metering filling and anti-dripping unit, and packaging forming and sealing unit. The technical level and configuration of these units directly determine the success or failure of the production line and the final price. The price of these three core units accounts for about 70%-85% of the total price of the production line.

The material pretreatment and conveying unit is mainly used to solve the problem of sedimentation and stratification of sauce (especially those containing particles, high oil and high viscosity) in static storage tanks. The standard equipment includes a high-level mixing tank/cold and hot tank, a rotor pump/screw pump, and supporting conveying pipelines. The high-level mixing tank is equipped with a low-speed wall-scraping stirrer, which operates continuously to prevent sedimentation of chili slices, beef grains and garlic grains. It can be optionally equipped with an insulation jacket (heated by hot water/steam) to maintain the sauce at the optimal filling viscosity of 40-60℃, which is forcibly enabled when the temperature is low in winter. The price of a small-scale high-level mixing tank is about $8,000 to $20,000; the price of a medium-scale tank with insulation function is between $20,000 and $45,000; the price of a large-scale tank with automatic temperature control is $45,000 to $80,000. The rotor pump/screw pump is controlled by the level signal of the mixing tank to automatically supply materials to the filling machine. It has the characteristics of low shear, and its through-type structure does not damage the integrity of particles. The price of a small-scale rotor pump is about $6,000 to $15,000; the price of a medium-scale pump with adjustable flow rate is between $15,000 and $30,000; the price of a large-scale pump with anti-clogging function is $30,000 to $60,000.

For sauces with high freezing point such as butter hot pot base, the production line needs to be equipped with an oil separator, a pressure pump and a conveying pipe with an insulation interlayer, which are controlled by electromagnetic valves to ensure that the sauce remains in a molten state in the pipeline. The price of this improved module is about $12,000 to $28,000. A coarse crusher can be used to crush large particles in the sauce before conveying, avoiding clogging of the conveying pipeline, with a price of $5,400 to $12,600. An Air cooled crusher can be used to cool the conveying pipe, preventing the sauce from deteriorating due to high temperature, with a price of $6,100 to $14,300.

The metering filling and anti-dripping unit is the link with the highest technical density and the most concentrated patents in the pouch sauce production line, and its price accounts for about 30%-40% of the total production line price. The mainstream metering methods include piston type volume metering and rotor/gear pump metering. The piston type volume metering adopts the positive displacement principle, driven by servo/cylinder, with an accuracy of ≤±1%, not affected by the fluctuation of material viscosity, suitable for a wide range of 5-1500g. The price of a small-scale piston type metering device is about $15,000 to $35,000; the price of a medium-scale device with high precision is between $35,000 and $70,000; the price of a large-scale device with multi-station simultaneous metering is $70,000 to $120,000. The rotor/gear pump metering is suitable for sauces with good fluidity and continuous filling, with a price of $8,000 to $25,000.

Anti-dripping/anti-wire drawing technology is a necessary configuration for the production line. At the end of filling high-sugar and high-viscosity sauces, “wire drawing and dripping” will inevitably occur, which pollutes the pouch mouth and leads to poor sealing and mold growth. The industry standard configuration is a negative pressure suction filling nozzle. At the moment when the filling valve is closed, the piston sucks back to generate negative pressure, forcing the residual liquid in the nozzle to be sucked back, eliminating the pollution of the sealing. The price of this device is about $3,000 to $8,000. For sauces containing solid materials (such as diced meat and fermented soya beans), a patented improved design (Patent CN113320769A) can be adopted, which uses a structure of rotating disc + multi-layer storage cylinder + closing part. Solid materials are temporarily stored in a specific storage cavity, and the volume of the cavity is adjusted through the closing part to realize segmented quantitative and independent release of solid-liquid mixtures, which significantly improves the filling consistency of sauces containing particles. The price of this patented module is about $18,000 to $45,000. The filling machine hopper is equipped with a liquid level control device (float/electronic sensor) and an auxiliary stirrer, which is interlocked with the feed pump to automatically maintain stable liquid level. A small grinder machine can be used to crush small particles in the sauce before filling, ensuring the smoothness of filling, with a price of $2,200 to $5,600.

The packaging forming and sealing unit is divided into two execution systems according to the technical route. The pouch-feeding execution system has a process flow of pouch storage and taking, manipulator transposition, pouch opening (suction cup), filling (nozzle extending into the pouch mouth), compaction/exhaust, heat sealing, cooling and output. The number of stations is mainly 6 or 8 station rotary structure. It is equipped with key controls such as no filling without pouch, automatic rejection of failed pouch opening, and PID control of heat sealing temperature (intelligent temperature control with an accuracy of ±1℃) to ensure the flatness and beauty of the pouch. The price of a small-scale pouch-feeding execution system is about $25,000 to $55,000; the price of a medium-scale system with automatic pouch detection is between $55,000 and $110,000; the price of a large-scale system with multi-manipulator cooperative operation is $110,000 to $200,000.

The bag-making (VFFS) execution system has a process flow of roll film unwinding, color mark tracking, forming device bag making, longitudinal sealing, synchronous transverse sealing and filling, cutting and finished product output. It is equipped with key controls such as servo motor-driven film traction, arbitrary adjustment of pouch length through touch screen, and photoelectric color mark positioning to ensure the integrity of patterns. An anti-stick cutter is used to avoid the sauce sticking to the cutter. For sauces containing gas or hot filling shrinkage, an automatic exhaust needle/exhaust block is a necessary configuration to discharge excess air in the pouch along the sealing front to prevent pouch expansion. The price of a small-scale bag-making execution system is about $28,000 to $60,000; the price of a medium-scale system with automatic color mark tracking is between $60,000 and $120,000; the price of a large-scale system with high-speed sealing and cutting is $120,000 to $220,000. A Dust Grinder and a dust collector grinder are used to solve the dust pollution problem during the operation of the bag making machine, with a single price of $3,200 to $8,000.

Price Impact of Supporting Detection, Auxiliary Units and Production Line Selection

High-end and complete automatic pouch sauce production lines are often integrated with post-detection and auxiliary modules to realize “unmanned” quality control. These modules are optional configurations, and their selection directly affects the total price of the production line. The weight sorter is used for online dynamic weighing and automatic rejection of unqualified products, with a price of $8,000 to $20,000. The metal detector is used to detect iron and non-ferrous metal foreign bodies in the pouch, ensuring food safety, with a price of $10,000 to $25,000. The coding/marking machine uses pneumatic thermal transfer or high-resolution coding to print the production date and batch number, with a price of $5,000 to $12,000. The finished product conveyor connects the packaging machine with the cartoning/palletizing station, with a price of $6,000 to $15,000. The disc turntable collects finished products to assist manual cartoning, with a price of $3,000 to $8,000. These auxiliary modules can increase the total price of the production line by 10%-25%.

In the process of production line selection, different grinding equipment can be matched according to the type of sauce to be packaged, so as to improve the packaging effect. For example, a universal grinder can be used to grind spices such as black pepper, dry ginger and licorice added to the sauce, with a price of $2,900 to $7,800. A dry ginger grinding machine and a licorice grinding machine are special equipment for grinding corresponding spices, with a single price of $3,100 to $7,600. A black pepper grinder is used to grind black pepper into powder, which is added to the sauce to enhance flavor, with a price of $2,700 to $6,700. A Dry Fruit Powder Grinder Machine can grind dry fruits such as Seasam and Peanut into powder and add them to the sauce, with a price of $8,600 to $21,000. A 200KG grinder is suitable for small and medium-sized production lines to grind auxiliary materials such as salt, sugar, wheat, corn, rice, flour, coffee, tea and bean, with a price of $2,600 to $6,700. A 500KG Grinder is suitable for large-scale production lines, with a price of $7,000 to $17,200. A CE Certificate grinder, which has passed European safety and quality certification, can be used to process high-grade spices and auxiliary materials, with a price of $4,800 to $11,200.

When choosing between pouch-feeding type and bag-making type, users need to consider their own needs. The pouch-feeding type is suitable for scenarios with complex finished pouch types, high-end retail markets, frequent production changes and extreme sensitivity to pouch mouth pollution. Although its initial investment is slightly higher, it can meet the needs of diverse product positioning. The bag-making type is suitable for scenarios with cost priority, large batch and few specifications, small specifications and high-speed demand, and no storage space for pre-made pouches on site. Its roll film is more cost-effective than pre-made pouches, which can save 20%-30% of packaging material costs, and is suitable for enterprises with large-scale continuous production.

In addition, for special sauces, corresponding special equipment needs to be configured, which also affects the total price. For example, a cryogenic grinding machine can be used to grind heat-sensitive materials such as mushroom and Medicine added to the sauce, with a price of $18,000 to $45,000. An airflow pulverizer, vibrating pulverizer, turbo grinder and Ultrafine Grinder are used for fine grinding of materials to ensure the delicate texture of the sauce, with a single price of $10,000 to $30,000. A Hammer Mill is used for preliminary crushing of materials such as bone, meat and seeds, with a price of $5,800 to $13,800. A high speed Dry Grinder and cutting type grinder are used for efficient crushing of materials such as tobacco, chemical and metal (for auxiliary equipment maintenance), with a single price of $8,000 to $20,000. A cassava grinding machine is used to grind cassava added to the sauce, with a price of $6,500 to $15,500. In regions where it is legally permitted, an Industrial Weed Grinder can be used to process cannabis as an auxiliary material, with a price of $12,800 to $29,500. All these equipment are made of stainless steel, which is corrosion-resistant and meets food safety standards.

In conclusion, the automatic pouch sauce production line is a highly standardized complete set of systems with “piston metering + anti-dripping filling” as the core and “pouch-feeding type” or “bag-making type” as the route. Its price ranges from $85,000 to $800,000, which is mainly affected by technical routes, production capacity, core equipment configuration and supporting modules. Its technical risk is extremely low, and the production capacity parameters are transparent. The selection decision mainly depends on the packaging pouch form, production change frequency and product positioning, rather than the sauce flavor. Purchasers only need to clarify the “pouch type + production capacity + whether the material contains particles”, and they can obtain highly homogeneous mature schemes from dozens of equipment manufacturers. At the same time, according to the type of sauce, selecting appropriate grinding and auxiliary equipment can further improve the quality of the finished product, but it will also increase the corresponding investment cost. Enterprises can choose the appropriate configuration according to their own economic strength and product needs.