By Adam Chapis
For manufacturers packaging large-format products, finding the right automation solution can be a challenge. Whether producing pet food, fertilizer, potting soil, spices, or other products, many companies continue to rely on labor-intensive packaging processes that limit productivity and make it difficult to keep pace with growing demand.
That’s beginning to change thanks to the partnership between ProMach’s Flexible Packaging Group and Umbra Packaging, based out of Italy. By bringing Umbra’s proven large-format bagging technology to customers throughout North America, the partnership gives manufacturers access to automated packaging systems specifically engineered to package products in bags weighing up to 110 pounds.
More importantly, it provides access to a purpose-built bulk bagging platform designed specifically for powders, granular products, and other challenging applications where package quality, weight accuracy, dust control, and operational efficiency are critical.
Meeting the Needs of a Growing Market
Many manufacturers handling larger bag sizes have reached an important crossroads. Business is growing, but their packaging operations have not kept pace.
Companies producing products such as pet food, fertilizer, or potting soil often start with manual packaging because it requires a lower initial investment. However, as production volumes increase, these manual processes quickly become operational bottlenecks.
The challenge is not limited to small manufacturers. Regional and larger producers experiencing rapid growth often face similar constraints. As order volumes increase, manually filling, sealing, and palletizing heavy bags becomes increasingly difficult to sustain efficiently and safely.
Automation offers a path forward, but large-format bagging presents unique challenges that require specialized equipment. Manufacturers need systems capable of handling heavy bags, improving weight accuracy, managing dust, and maintaining package quality throughout the packaging process.
The Hidden Costs of Manual Packaging
At first glance, manual packaging can appear economical. In reality, its costs often extend far beyond labor.
Manual operations create greater potential for inconsistent package weights as operators become fatigued throughout a shift. Even small weight variations can accumulate across thousands of bags, resulting in unnecessary product giveaway or underweight packages that may reach customers.
Repeatedly lifting, carrying, and sealing heavy bags day after day places significant physical strain on employees. Over time, repetitive motion and strenuous lifting can contribute to workplace injuries, higher workers’ compensation costs, and employee turnover. At the same time, manufacturers continue to face challenges attracting and retaining employees for physically demanding packaging roles.
Why Umbra is Different
The partnership between the Flexible Packaging Group and Umbra Packaging brings together complementary strengths.
Umbra has spent years developing technology specifically designed for large-format bagging applications. Unlike many packaging systems that have been adapted from smaller bag formats, Umbra’s equipment was engineered to fill, handle, and seal large pre-made bags while maintaining package quality, accuracy, and operational reliability.
One of Umbra’s key differentiators is its all-in-one design. Multiple packaging functions are integrated into a single platform, helping customers reduce complexity, minimize labor requirements, and simplify line layout.
Integrated capabilities include:
- Pinch-top, sewing, glue, fold, and heat-seal closure options
- Nitrogen gas flushing capabilities
- Proprietary bag alignment technology for improved seal consistency
- Integrated dust collection systems
- Auto-expanding funnels that allow fast, tool-less changeovers
By consolidating these capabilities into a single machine, manufacturers gain a more streamlined operation while reducing the footprint required for large-format packaging.
Improving Package Quality and Performance
For many manufacturers, throughput is only part of the equation. Package quality is equally important.
Umbra incorporates several proprietary technologies designed to improve the finished package. Its gusset-protective filling system helps maintain bag shape during filling, while a bag-mouth cleaning system removes residual product before sealing to improve seal integrity.
The company’s proprietary alignment system helps create straighter, more consistent seals, while integrated air-elimination technology produces tighter, more compact bags that stack better and palletize more efficiently.
These capabilities are particularly valuable for manufacturers packaging products such as pet food, powders, grains, fertilizer, and lawn and garden products, where package appearance, durability, and stability matter throughout the distribution process.
Umbra also utilizes highly accurate electronic weighing systems to help manufacturers improve fill accuracy and reduce product giveaway. Over time, even small improvements in weight accuracy can generate meaningful cost savings.
Designed for Flexibility and Long-Term Growth
Today’s manufacturers often need equipment capable of supporting multiple products and bag formats.
Umbra systems are designed to accommodate a wide range of packaging materials, including paper bags, polyethylene, laminated structures, raffia bags, and paper-plastic combinations. This flexibility allows manufacturers to adapt to changing customer requirements without investing in entirely new packaging platforms.
The systems are also built for demanding industrial environments. Heavy-duty construction, flexible footprints, and the ability to handle challenging products make Umbra a strong fit for industries including agriculture, pet food, powders, grains, household products, and specialty ingredients.
Beyond the Bagger: Complete Line Integration
One of the biggest advantages of the partnership is the ability to offer more than just a bagging machine.
ProMach’s Flexible Packaging Group is designed to simplify the packaging equipment buying process by bringing multiple packaging technologies and industry experts together under one organization. Rather than selling a single machine, the group helps manufacturers identify the best overall solution for their application, production goals, and future growth.
By adding Umbra to the portfolio, ProMach can design complete turnkey solutions for larger bags while incorporating additional automation where needed.
Manufacturers can integrate Umbra bagging systems with Umbra, Quest, or Brenton palletizers, Orion stretch wrappers, and other end-of-line technologies to create a fully integrated packaging operation with a single point of accountability.
Customers also benefit from local parts and service support through the Flexible Packaging Group. While Umbra brings decades of engineering expertise from Italy, customers work directly with a North American team for technical service, spare parts, and aftermarket support, helping minimize downtime and simplify long-term equipment ownership.
Helping Manufacturers Grow with Confidence
Ultimately, the Flexible Packaging Group and Umbra Packaging partnership is about much more than installing new equipment.
It provides manufacturers with a pathway to safer operations, better labor utilization, improved package quality, and greater production efficiency while positioning their businesses for future growth.
By combining Umbra’s specialized expertise in heavy-duty bagging technology with ProMach’s application knowledge, engineering resources, integration capabilities, and customer support network, manufacturers now have access to a complete solution designed specifically for the realities of large-format packaging.
For companies looking to improve efficiency, reduce complexity, and prepare for future growth, the partnership offers a unique combination of specialized technology, operational flexibility, and industry expertise.
Adam Chapis is a Regional Sales Manager for ProMach’s Flexible Packaging Group. He can be reached at Adam.Chapis@ProMachBuilt.com.
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Bartelt delivers reliable, long-lasting pouching and cartoning solutions to food and non-food industries. A pioneer in automated packaging, Bartelt was the first to develop intermittent motion HFFS pouching machines. Today, Bartelt offers durable solutions for both primary and secondary packaging, from simple to advanced applications.