4 Tips for Purchasing Packaging Equipment for a Winery
Small wineries often cork and package their bottles of wine themselves. But as a winery becomes more popular and larger, this packaging method may no longer be possible, and investing in packaging equipment may become a necessity. However, before this investment is made, it is important to be informed so you can buy the right type of packaging equipment. If you're a winery owner, use the following tips to purchase packaging equipment:
1. Establish a Budget
Before you begin looking for packaging equipment for your winery, it is important to know how much you can afford to spend. Determine whether you can afford to purchase the equipment outright or if you will need financing options. One thing you may consider is buying pre-owned packaging equipment; in many cases you can get high quality packaging equipment at an affordable price if you choose to buy pre-owned equipment.
2. Think About Bottle Cleaning
When you're looking at packaging equipment for your winery, it is in your best interest to select a piece of equipment that has the ability to clean the bottles for you before they are filled. If you live in an area that has low humidity, a piece of equipment that uses rinsing to clean a bottle works well. In humid climates, it is better to purchase packaging equipment that blows pressurized air to clean out the empty wine bottles.
3. Select a Gravity Filler
There are different types of packaging equipment that uses different methods to fill up empty wine bottles. When you're purchasing your first piece of packaging equipment, a gravity filler tends to work well. This type of filler can fill hundreds of bottles of wine each hour, and since there are not a large number of parts, gravity fillers tend to last a long time without having any problems or needing to be repaired. For best results, make sure that the gravity filler is made of stainless steel.
4. Automated Corking
One of the keys when purchasing packaging equipment for a winery is to find a machine that offers automated corking. When your winery is producing hundreds or even thousands of bottles a day, the last thing you want to have to do after the bottles are cleaned and filled is cork them by hand. Packaging equipment that is equipped with automated corking will streamline the packaging process and ensure that every bottle is tightly sealed before it is shipped out.
​Contact a industrial supplier, such as Ferguson Packaging Machinery, to find quality pre-owned packaged machinery to fit your winery needs.
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