How to Compare Industrial Bagging Machine Quotes: A Buyer's Checklist

Start with the same bagging duty

Give both suppliers the same material information, bag construction and target filled weight. Include the liner, if any, and describe how material reaches the proposed machine. Flow behaviour, bulk density, dust and variations in supply can affect feeding and weighing; a matching bag weight alone does not establish a matching configuration. HAVER & BOECKER's packaging guidance explains the interaction between material, packaging and machine technology.

Define where the quoted unit starts and finishes: for example, material entering the agreed feeder through to a filled, closed bag at the agreed discharge point. Each quotation should identify deviations from that requirement. A quote ending at a filled bag and another ending at a closed bag contain different work.

Keep open-mouth, valve-bag and FIBC requirements separate. An FIBC filling station needs its own bag connection, support, closing and filled-bag removal assessment. It is not an equivalent quotation for an ordinary bagging machine with a higher weight setting. Use the Open-Mouth Selection Guide or Bulk Bag Selection Guide to define the relevant duty first.

Compare the actions behind “automatic”

Compare the equipment and operator action at each step:

• Bag placement: who presents, places and secures the empty bag?
• Feeding and weighing: which feeder and weighing arrangement are quoted, and what supply conditions do they require?
• Filling: which actions are controlled automatically, and when must the operator intervene?
• Closing: is the closing machine included, and who transfers or presents the bag to it?
• Discharge: how does the filled bag leave the unit, and what must happen before the next cycle?

Automatic filling with manual bag placement can be a valid configuration, but it is not the same operating scope as automatic bag handling. Treat them as offered alternatives if their operator duties differ. The Automatic vs Semi-Automatic Guide explains that selection decision in more detail.

For open-mouth bags, confirm sewing against the actual bag construction. Heat sealing needs confirmation for the bag or liner and the proposed equipment; it should not be assumed from a general “bag closing” label. For valve bags, ask how the quoted bag-and-machine combination achieves the required closure. None of these closing methods should automatically carry over to an FIBC quote.

Separate the base machine, options and exclusions

For every important item, record one status: included, optional and separately priced, excluded, or not stated. “Compatible with” describes possible integration; it does not say that an item is supplied. HAVER & BOECKER's INTEGRA TOPLINE documentation describes gross or net weighing according to the product, several bag-closure methods and modular configuration choices. These are manufacturer-specific alternatives to clarify in a quotation, not standard WISDOM inclusions.

The quotation should name the included feeder, weigher, controls, bag support, closing equipment and discharge equipment. List relevant bought-out components and agreed alternatives separately. A component brand or a long options list does not establish whether the offered unit meets your duty.

Check connections and services as well: material supply, power, air if required, dust extraction if applicable, site preparation, installation, commissioning and training. Ask who supplies or performs each item and what the buyer must arrange. These are quotation questions, not standard WISDOM inclusions or a turnkey commitment.

Show the base equipment price, currency and price of each selected option separately. Obtain a total for the same agreed equipment, options and delivery/service scope, with exclusions visible. Identify charges already included so they are not counted twice. If currencies differ, use an agreed conversion basis for the comparison.

State the delivery location and applicable rule as “[rule] [named place or port], Incoterms 2020”. FOB and CIF are for sea or inland waterway transport; FCA, CPT, CIP and DAP can be used for any mode, including multimodal transport. Check where delivery occurs and transit risk passes; a stated freight destination is not necessarily that point. Bob Ronai's guest overview on ICC Academy explains these distinctions.

Clarify freight, insurance and packing responsibilities and charges. Keep lead time and its starting condition, quotation validity, payment terms, installation/commissioning, warranty coverage and spare-parts responsibilities explicit in the quotation. Incoterms do not define the machine's technical scope, payment terms or warranty, and do not make installation or after-sales services standard inclusions.

Put output and acceptance on the same test basis

A bags/hour figure is comparable only when its conditions and counted operations are clear. Establish whether it covers filling alone or the agreed cycle through bag placement, filling, closing and discharge, and how operator work, interruptions and bag changes were treated.

For each offered output, obtain the following test details:

• the tested material and its condition, bag and liner, and target weight;
• the feeder, weigher, closing and discharge configuration used;
• the upstream supply conditions and operator tasks;
• the observation period and how acceptable completed bags were counted;
• whether the result was observed in a test, calculated, or proposed for later verification.

Agree acceptance criteria for the exact quoted configuration. Define which weight checks, closure checks and handling observations will be recorded, who reviews the results, and how unresolved results will be addressed. Separate proposed factory tests from site checks still needed. Do not treat either as included until the scope is written down.

Concetti's technical description of packaging lines describes factory acceptance testing with customer products and packaging against design specifications. That supports using representative inputs and agreed criteria; it does not establish a WISDOM test procedure or performance guarantee.

Quotation Comparison Checklist

Use this blank worksheet for the same machine or bagging unit. In each supplier column, enter the written quote detail and its status: included, optional, excluded or not stated. Leave unresolved points visible; do not interpret a blank cell as inclusion.

List unanswered questions below the table and send the same clarification request to both suppliers. Obtain revised written quotations showing the remaining deviations and comparable totals. If the configurations still differ, keep them as separate alternatives rather than assign them an invented adjustment or score.

RFQ information you can send

Start with four inputs: material, bag type or photos, target bag weight and required output. If an input is uncertain, state that and ask what sample or trial is needed.

Copy and complete this brief:

• Material: [name; photo or sample information; known flow or dust concerns]
• Bag: [type, material, dimensions and liner; attach photos if available]
• Target filled weight: [requirement and units]
• Required output: [requirement and operating period; identify estimates]
• Unit boundary: [material inlet to filled/closed-bag discharge, or need advice]
• Operator tasks: [preferred manual/automatic steps, or need advice]
• Existing equipment: [what will be retained and connected]
• Site information, when available: [space, inlet/discharge position and known utilities]
• Requested response: [included equipment, priced options, exclusions, bought-out components, buyer responsibilities and unresolved assumptions]
• Performance and acceptance: [proposed test inputs, full-cycle basis, recorded checks and remaining confirmation work]

The first four inputs are enough to start a discussion. Add the other details as the scope becomes clearer, then use the completed brief for both suppliers.

Technical sources

The manufacturer sources support general comparison principles; their equipment options, tests and performance remain their own. A guest article by Bob Ronai published by ICC Academy supports the Incoterms explanation. None of these sources establishes WISDOM's supply or service scope.

• HAVER & BOECKER — Decisive basics: material, packaging and machine technology
• HAVER & BOECKER — INTEGRA TOPLINE open-mouth bagging
• Concetti — Complete packaging lines and factory acceptance testing
• ICC Academy — Bob Ronai on Incoterms 2020: delivery, risk and transport