Types of Packaging Machinery for Butter Production

Butter is one of the most temperature-sensitive and oxidation-prone dairy products out there. Getting it from the churning line to the consumer’s table in perfect condition depends heavily on how well it is packaged. That’s where modern packaging machinery steps in. From small artisan dairies wrapping butter by hand to large-scale factories running fully automatic lines at thousands of packs per hour, the machinery used in butter packaging has a direct impact on product quality, shelf life, and overall production efficiency.

Why butter packaging needs specialised machinery 🔗

Butter isn’t like packaging a box of cereal or a bag of chips. It’s a soft, pasty product that changes texture rapidly with even slight temperature shifts. It oxidises easily, absorbs surrounding odours, and is highly susceptible to microbial contamination if exposed to air. All of this means the packaging process must be precise, hygienic, and fast – any delay or mishandling can compromise the product’s flavour, shape, and safety.

Modern packaging machinery addresses these challenges by operating within tightly controlled temperature ranges, using food-grade stainless steel (typically SS316) on all product-contact surfaces, and supporting Clean-in-Place (CIP) systems that allow thorough sanitation without disassembling the machine. The goal is to get butter sealed in protective packaging – whether aluminium foil, parchment paper, or plastic tubs – as quickly and cleanly as possible.

Manual vs. automated packaging 🔗

Before exploring the different machines available, it helps to understand the two broad approaches to butter packaging: manual and automated.

Manual packaging 🔗

In manual packaging, workers weigh, shape, wrap, and seal butter portions by hand. This method is still used in small-scale dairies and artisanal butter production, where volumes are low and product variety is high. Manual packaging offers flexibility – you can easily switch between different sizes or wrapping styles – but it comes with obvious limitations. It is slow, labour-intensive, and difficult to keep consistent. There’s also a higher risk of contamination when human hands come into frequent contact with the product.

Automated packaging 🔗

Automated packaging machinery handles the entire process – or most of it – with minimal human intervention. These machines weigh butter precisely, form it into the desired shape, wrap or fill it into containers, and seal the packaging, all at speeds that manual methods simply cannot match. Automated machines are further divided into two categories: semi-automatic and fully automatic.

Semi-automatic packaging machines 🔗

Semi-automatic machines sit in the middle ground between manual labour and full automation. They handle the core tasks – dosing, forming, and wrapping – but still require an operator to load butter into the hopper, feed packaging material, or initiate certain steps in the process. These machines are a practical choice for medium-sized dairy operations that want to improve their output and consistency without investing in a fully automated line.

A typical semi-automatic butter packaging machine can produce anywhere from a few hundred to a couple of thousand packs per hour, depending on the model and configuration. The operator might need to manually position cartons, monitor the wrapping quality, or handle secondary packaging tasks like boxing. While these machines require more labour than fully automatic systems, they cost significantly less and are easier to install and maintain.

Fully automatic packaging machines 🔗

Fully automatic machines are the backbone of large-scale butter production. Once the butter is fed into the system – typically through a direct pipeline from the processing plant or via a hopper – the machine takes over entirely. It measures out precise, pre-weighed quantities, forms the butter into blocks or fills it into tubs, wraps or seals the packaging, applies date codes, and sends the finished product to secondary packaging or cartoning stations.

The advantages of fully automatic machines are significant. They offer much faster packaging speeds (some models exceed 10,000 packs per hour), deliver highly consistent portion weights, reduce labour costs, and minimise the risk of contamination since human contact with the product is virtually eliminated. Advanced models feature PLC-based control systems with touchscreen interfaces, automatic fault detection, remote monitoring capabilities, and integrated CIP cleaning – all of which help maximise uptime and reduce maintenance costs.

Key features of fully automatic machines 🔗

Several features set fully automatic butter packaging machines apart from their semi-automatic counterparts. Volumetric dosing systems – using piston pumps or auger extrusion – ensure each pack contains the exact amount of butter required. Because butter is a viscous, pasty product, weight-based dosing doesn’t work well; volumetric systems are the industry standard, with the best machines achieving dosing accuracy of around ±1%. The wrapping mechanism uses aluminium-laminated foil or parchment paper, folding it with precision to create an airtight seal that prevents oxidation and light exposure. Many machines also support multiple packaging formats – blocks, rolls, oval shapes, and cups – and can switch between sizes with relatively short changeover times.

Types of butter packaging formats 🔗

Packaging machinery is designed around the specific format of butter being packed. The three main formats are block wrapping, tub or cup filling, and mini-portion packaging.

Block wrapping machines 🔗

These are the most common type of butter packaging machine. They extrude butter into a rectangular block (typically 100g, 200g, 250g, or 500g), cut it to the precise size, and wrap it in aluminium foil laminate or parchment paper. The wrapping can use a bottom-fold or side-fold technique. Side-fold wrapping can save up to 30% of packaging material compared to bottom-fold, making it increasingly popular among producers looking to reduce material costs. The block’s surface can also be decorated with logos, images, or text during the wrapping process.

Tub and cup filling machines 🔗

For spreadable or whipped butter, tub-filling machines are the preferred choice. These machines automatically denest empty cups, dose a precise amount of butter using servo-controlled dosing units, optionally place an inner foil disc on the surface to minimise oxidation, and heat-seal a lid onto the cup’s rim. Cup sizes typically range from 125g to 1000g. The dosing process is synchronised with the cup’s vertical movement to ensure even distribution of butter inside the container.

Mini-portion packaging machines 🔗

Hospitality, airline catering, and institutional food service all require butter in small, single-serve portions – typically 7g to 25g. These are produced on high-speed form-fill-seal (FFS) machines or dedicated mini-portion wrapping lines. Some mini-portion machines, such as the Benhil Multipack 8358, can produce up to 24,000 packs per hour, making them ideal for high-volume operations.

Bulk butter packaging 🔗

Not all butter goes directly to retail shelves. A significant portion is packed in bulk – typically in 10kg to 25kg cartons lined with plastic or parchment – for industrial customers, food manufacturers, or further processing. Bulk packing machines like the Gerstenberg Schröder Butter Bulk Packer BP5000 are fully automatic systems that fill cartons with high accuracy, seal the liner before the carton leaves the machine to prevent airborne contamination, and can switch between different carton sizes (for example, from 10kg to 25kg) with minimal downtime. These machines often come with clean air filtration systems around the filling area for additional product safety.

Notable brands in butter packaging machinery 🔗

Several established manufacturers dominate the global market for butter packaging equipment. Understanding what each brand specialises in can help producers choose the right machinery for their needs.

Benhil (now IMA Dairy & Food) 🔗

Benhil is one of the most recognised names in butter packaging worldwide. Originally founded as Benz & Hilgers, the company was later acquired as part of the Oystar Group, which became part of IMA Group in 2015. Benhil’s Multipack series of wrapping machines is widely used across Europe, Asia, and beyond. Models range from the compact Benhil Junior 8311 (producing around 2,400 packs per hour for 50-250g portions) to the high-capacity Benhil Multipack 8362, which handles up to 10,000 packs per hour. The more recent IMA Benhil Multipack 2000 produces up to 100 packs per minute with a filling range of 100g to 500g and exceptional dosing accuracy. Benhil machines use a horizontal folding table design and are known for their mechanical reliability – many units have operated continuously for 30 years or more.

SIG (now IMA Dairy & Food / Ecopack) 🔗

SIG, now operating under the IMA Dairy & Food umbrella as SIG Ecopack, produces wrapping machines known for using less packaging material compared to traditional methods. Models like the SIG Ecopack F100 (6,000 packs per hour) and SIG Ecopack FD140 (8,400 packs per hour) are popular choices for medium to large-scale butter producers. SIG Ecopack machines are especially suited for wrapping products with slightly higher viscosity, and they pair well with CIP-compatible compensators for direct connection to the butter production line.

Kustner 🔗

Kustner is a Swiss manufacturer with a long history in dairy packaging machinery. Their machines are designed for wrapping butter, processed cheese, and other pasty products in foil or parchment paper. The Kustner Micropac ET, for instance, handles portions as small as 35g at speeds of around 3,600 units per hour. Kustner machines are valued for their precision engineering, compact footprint, and versatility across different product types and packaging formats.

Other notable manufacturers 🔗

Beyond the three most commonly cited brands, several other manufacturers play important roles in the butter packaging equipment market. Vezzadini, an Italian company with over 60 years of experience, offers highly versatile machines that can pack butter in rectangular, oval, roll, and special shapes with weights from 90g to 1000g. Trepko, APV (now part of SPX FLOW), and Gerstenberg Schröder are also well-established names, particularly for continuous butter churns paired with integrated bulk packing solutions.

Packaging materials used in butter machinery 🔗

The type of packaging material a machine can handle is a critical consideration. The most commonly used materials for butter wrapping include aluminium foil laminate (which provides excellent barrier properties against light, oxygen, and moisture), parchment paper (a traditional option that works well for shorter shelf-life products), and plastic films or laminates for tub lids and mini-portions. The aluminium foil coating is particularly important because it prevents light from penetrating the packaging – light exposure accelerates rancidity in butter, so a good barrier is essential for maintaining flavour and freshness over time.

The industry is also moving towards more sustainable packaging options. IMA Benhil’s FoldWrap Machine introduced a new packaging style that allows the use of more environmentally sustainable, recyclable wrapping materials while still providing hermetic sealing and tamper evidence – a significant step forward from the traditional aluminium-coated paper.

How to choose the right packaging machine 🔗

Selecting a butter packaging machine comes down to a few key factors. First, determine your packaging format – blocks, tubs, or single-serve portions – since this dictates the type of machine you need. Second, assess your production volume. A small dairy producing a few hundred kilograms a day can manage well with a semi-automatic machine, while a factory handling several tonnes per hour will need a fully automatic, high-speed line. Third, prioritise hygiene standards: all product-contact surfaces should be made of SS316 stainless steel, and the machine must support CIP cleaning. Fourth, evaluate dosing accuracy, especially if you are packaging for retail where weight compliance regulations apply. Finally, consider the manufacturer’s track record in the dairy industry, availability of spare parts, and after-sales support – butter packaging machines are long-term investments, and reliable service is essential.

The role of packaging in butter quality preservation 🔗

Good packaging machinery does more than just wrap butter neatly. It plays a direct role in preserving the product’s quality throughout its shelf life. Proper sealing prevents oxygen from reaching the butter surface, which slows down oxidative rancidity. Effective barrier packaging blocks light exposure, which can cause off-flavours and discolouration. Tight, consistent wrapping maintains the butter’s shape during handling, transport, and retail display. And hygienic packaging processes reduce the risk of microbial contamination, which is particularly important for a high-moisture, high-fat dairy product like butter.

For industrial and bulk butter, proper packaging is equally important. Bulk packers that seal the liner before the carton exits the machine reduce the risk of airborne yeast and mould contamination – a common concern in dairy processing environments.

What do you think? If you were setting up a new dairy operation, would you invest in a fully automatic packaging line from the start, or would a semi-automatic machine be a smarter first step? How much weight do you give to sustainability features when choosing packaging equipment for dairy products?

References

1. https://litianpacking.com/2025/07/11/butter-packaging-machine/
2. https://www.spxflow.com/gerstenberg-schroder/products/butter-bulk-packer-type-bp5000/
3. https://vezzadini.com/butter/
4. https://lekkerkerkerequipment.com/used-butter-packaging-and-filling-machines
5. https://lekkerkerkerequipment.com/ima-packaging-machines
6. https://www.italianfoodtech.com/ima-benhil-multipack-2000/
7. https://making.com/butter
8. https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/fachpack-2021-ima-benhil-unveils-world-first-foldwrap-machine-for-hermetically-sealed-butter-packs.html