“Please quote a packing machine” gets you a price for something, but rarely the right thing. A clear packaging machine RFQ (request for quotation) is the single best way to get accurate quotes, avoid surprises after the order, and compare suppliers fairly. This guide explains what to include and gives you a spec sheet you can copy.
Why a good packaging machine RFQ saves time and money
- Accurate quotes: suppliers quote the machine your product needs, not the cheapest model in the catalogue.
- Comparable quotes: every supplier quotes the same scope, so you compare like with like.
- Fewer surprises: change parts, conveyors, coders and installation are in the quote, not an extra later.
- Faster decisions: fewer rounds of questions before a proposal arrives.
Section 1: the product
- What it is, and its physical form: powder, granule, pieces, liquid, paste, solid item.
- How it behaves: free-flowing, sticky, dusty, fragile, oily, frozen, hot.
- Bulk density for powders and granules, or viscosity for liquids, if you know it.
- Piece size and whether pieces vary.
- Any hygiene or safety requirement: food contact, allergens, halal handling, wash-down.
Offer a sample. Nothing tells a supplier more than running your product on their machine.
Section 2: the pack
- Pack type: pillow bag, gusseted bag, stand-up pouch, sachet, stick pack, bottle, jar, tray, flow wrap.
- Pack dimensions and fill weight or volume, for every size you will run.
- Packaging material: film structure (laminate or polyethylene), thickness, and roll size; or container type and closure.
- Features: zip, tear notch, hang hole, gas flush, date code position.
- Accuracy you need on fill weight or volume.
Attach photos or samples of the finished pack, and the film specification from your film supplier.
Section 3: output and operation
- Required output: packs per minute, and packs per shift or per day.
- Shifts per day and days per week.
- Number of products and pack sizes, and how often you change between them.
- Growth you expect in the next two to three years.
- How many operators will run the line.
Section 4: the rest of the line
- What feeds the machine: manual loading, hopper, conveyor, mixer, processing line.
- What must happen after: date coding, checkweighing, metal detection, cartoning, case packing, palletizing, wrapping. If you are unsure what the end of the line needs, see our guide to palletizing and end-of-line solutions.
- Existing machines the new one must connect to, with their make and model.
- Whether you want one supplier to take responsibility for the whole line.
Section 5: the site
- Floor space available, with a simple layout drawing and ceiling height.
- Power supply: voltage and phase.
- Compressed air availability and pressure.
- Environment: temperature, humidity, dust, wash-down.
- Access for delivery: door sizes, stairs or lifts.
Section 6: commercial and service
- When you need the machine running.
- What must be included: delivery, installation, commissioning, operator training, factory acceptance testing.
- Warranty and after-sales support you expect, including response time.
- Spare parts you want supplied with the machine.
- Documents you need: manuals, drawings, spare parts list, certificates.
The packaging machine RFQ spec sheet
Copy this into your enquiry and fill in each line. “Not sure” is a perfectly good answer; a good supplier will help you work it out.
| Item | Your answer |
|---|---|
| Product name and form | |
| Product behaviour (flowing, sticky, fragile…) | |
| Pack type | |
| Pack sizes (dimensions) and fill weights | |
| Packaging material and roll size | |
| Required output (packs per minute) | |
| Number of products and changeovers per week | |
| Before the machine (feeding) | |
| After the machine (coding, inspection, end of line) | |
| Floor space and layout | |
| Power and compressed air | |
| Hygiene and cleaning requirements | |
| Required start-up date | |
| Installation, training, warranty expected |
Mistakes to avoid
- Asking for “the fastest”: buy for the output you need with sensible room to grow, not the maximum speed on a brochure.
- Leaving out future sizes: change parts added later cost more than parts ordered with the machine.
- Forgetting the line: a fast machine feeding a slow manual station does not raise your output.
- Comparing different scopes: check each quote line by line before comparing totals.
- Skipping the product test: a machine that has never run your product is still a promise.
Comparing the quotes that come back
When the quotes arrive, put them side by side before looking at the totals:
- Scope: tick off each machine, option, change part and service against your spec sheet. Anything missing is a cost you will pay later.
- Performance: is the output stated with your product and pack, or with a test material?
- Machine fit: did the supplier propose the type you expected, for example a vertical form fill seal machine with a multihead weigher packing machine, and if not, did they explain why?
- Support: who installs, where the technicians are based, which spare parts are stocked locally.
- Timeline: delivery, installation and commissioning dates, and what they depend on.
A supplier who asks you good questions about your RFQ is usually a sign of a supplier who will get the machine right.
A vague RFQ and a clear one
The difference is easiest to see side by side.
Vague: “Please quote a packing machine for our coffee. Need fast machine. Best price.”
Clear: “Ground coffee, dusty, does not flow freely. 250 g and 500 g in gusseted laminate bags with a one-way valve. We need about 30 bags a minute on one shift, two sizes, changing once a day. Filled by hand today from a hopper; after the machine we need date coding on the bag and a checkweigher. Space available 4 m by 3 m, 3-phase power and compressed air on site. We clean dry, no wash-down. Target start-up: March. Please include installation and operator training.”
The second enquiry can be answered with a real proposal in one round. The first starts a week of questions, or gets a price for the wrong machine. The numbers in the example are illustrative; use your own.
Send your RFQ to Welpack
Welpack supplies primary packaging, coding, inspection, conveyor and end-of-line equipment, and our own technicians install and support it from Puchong, Selangor. Send us your completed spec sheet and we will reply with a proposal, usually within 2 working days. Send your RFQ.