Johann Pietersen, specialised product manager at Acepak, walked us through the company’s evolving capabilities in pouch-filling technology.
Unlike many players in the market, Acepak doesn’t manufacture pouches – instead, it focuses on engineering machines that handle pre-made pouches from suppliers such as Kangopak. ‘We take the pouches from the magazine, open them, fill them and seal them,’ Johann explains. ‘Every machine is built to handle the pouch perfectly – spouts, zip locks, hot or cold liquids, whatever the customer needs.’
Acepak’s flagship Acepak-PF4H delivers an output of 80-102 pouches across its four heads, enabling high-volume facilities to achieve throughput of nearly 700 pouches per minute. The system is built from 304 and 316 stainless steel and anodised aluminium to withstand the realities of South African production floors, including heavy cleaning. Johann emphasises: ‘Our machines are made to keep running under tough conditions.’
During our visit, Johann highlighted the PF4H’s tool-free design. Hand knobs, floatable tanks and gender-coded piping allow operators to disassemble, clean and reassemble the machine quickly and safely – no wrenches required. ‘We simplify wherever we can,’ he says. ‘The less complicated the mechanics, the less downtime and the lower the risk of operator error.’
Precision and safety built in
The PF4H incorporates advanced sealing technology imported from Germany, including impulse seal bars designed for retort-safe applications. These bars heat and cool in a single motion, ensuring pouches are sealed under pressure, reducing contamination and the risk of bag failure. Johann explains: ‘We can hot seal and cool in one step. It guarantees the integrity of the bag, even with high-temperature products like sauces or baby food.’
The system also includes zip-opening stations for spices and other tricky products. Rollers partially open pouches, fingers keep the zip separated and the machine fills and reseals with 99.2% efficiency. ‘If a bag fails to open or feed correctly, the machine doesn’t fill or seal it – you can re-run it until it’s perfect,’ Johann adds.
Acepak’s machines are entirely custom-built. Customers provide their pouch specifications and Acepak conducts in-house testing and full production simulation, often running thousands of test pouches before installation. Once delivered, Acepak provides on-site training, process integration and even programs the machines for specific cleaning processes (CIP systems). Johann sums it up: ‘Every PF4H is tailored to the customer, ready to run their exact product from day one.’
Market growth and global reach
South Africa’s pouch market continues to grow, but local production faces constraints such as high raw material costs and competition from Chinese imports. Acepak helps customers navigate these challenges by offering machines that optimise logistics, reduce product waste and maximise production efficiency. High-volume operators like Zoomarati, producer of the Zoom ready-to-drink pouched colddrinks, now run nine PF4H machines simultaneously, producing hundreds of pouches per minute with minimal downtime.
Acepak has also extended its footprint internationally, supplying machines to the US market despite hurdles such as tariffs and complex logistics. Local agents provide on-the-ground support, ensuring overseas customers benefit from the same reliability, efficiency and technical guidance as those at home.
From stand-up spouted pouches for baby food to bag-in-box systems for sauces, liquids and cocktail mixers, Johann says Acepak’s machines deliver high throughput without compromising on durability or precision. ‘Robust stainless steel construction, tool-free maintenance and careful engineering make our solutions well suited to the realities of South African production environments.’
He concludes: ‘We build our machines to European standards and with modularity in mind – durable, user-friendly and engineered to handle the real-world challenges our customers face every day.’
