Background

A leading US specialty materials manufacturer was looking to improve the efficiency of its bulk bag filling operation. The company produces high-value powdered materials where maximizing bag fill, improving stability during transportation and reducing operator involvement are critical to maintaining productivity and minimizing logistics costs.

Its existing bulk bag filling process was unable to unable to de-aerate the product during the densification cycle leading to partially filled bags, extended fill times and inefficient transportation. Following successful testing, Akona Process Solutions supplied a custom-engineered bulk bag filling solution designed to significantly improve the densification process specific to products/blends that aerate easily and reduce the total time required to complete a densification cycle.

The Challenge

The manufacturer’s existing bulk bag filler struggled to adequately densify the product during filling.

This created several operational challenges, including:

• Long fill times while waiting for product to deaerate.
• Inability to consistently fill bulk bags to their target weight.
• Bags that were unstable during transportation.
• Increased freight costs due to partially filled bags.
• Higher packaging costs through inefficient bulk bag utilization.

The customer required a solution capable of filling 2,000 lb bulk bags more quickly, while maximizing product bulk density and requiring minimal operator intervention.

Ultimately, the objective was to create a repeatable, automated filling process that improved throughput, reduced shipping costs and produced consistently stable bulk bags.

The Solution

Following product testing, Akona Process Solutions recommended a Spiroflow CTE Bulk Bag Filler featuring its proprietary cone table densification system.

Unlike conventional densification methods, the cone table technology continuously compacts product throughout the filling cycle, allowing greater product density while maintaining efficient filling speeds.

The solution delivered:

• Spiroflow CTE Bulk Bag Filler.
• Integrated cone table densification technology.
• Automated filling cycle.
• Simple and customizable operator controls.
• Consistent, repeatable bag filling performance.

The cone table design proved to be the key differentiator, enabling significantly improved densification compared with alternative filling technologies while maintaining a straightforward operation.

Installation was completed without issue, and the system was quickly commissioned into production.

The Result

The new filling system delivered immediate operational improvements across the customer’s packaging process.

Key benefits included:

• Significantly faster bulk bag filling.
• Improved product densification.
• Consistently full bulk bags.
• Reduced transportation costs.
• Lower packaging costs.
• Simple day-to-day operation.
• Minimal operator intervention.

Compared with the previous filling system, the customer was able to fill approximately 1,000 lb more product in around half the time, creating substantial productivity gains while improving shipping efficiency and bag stability.

“The new filling system has made a noticeable difference to our operation. The improvement in product densification and filling speed has helped us maximize every bulk bag while making the process far easier for our operators. The system performs consistently and has delivered exactly the operational improvements we were looking for.” – Customer

Want to learn more?

If you’re interested in our bespoke systems and want to learn more, speak with our team. We’ll work closely with you to find the best solution for your material processing and operational goals.