IN Brief:
- Autopack will supply Weightpack net weight filling and capping systems to UK manufacturers.
- The equipment handles free flowing liquids, powders, and viscous products including peanut butter.
- Joint technical training will support calibration, installation, maintenance, servicing, and faster access to spare parts.
Autopack has entered a strategic partnership with Weightpack, adding net weight filling and capping systems to its portfolio of integrated packaging machinery for UK manufacturers.
The agreement covers applications across food, drink, chemicals, cleaning products, personal care, and other liquid packaging sectors. Food products can range from thin, free flowing liquids to viscous recipes such as sauces, spreads, dressings, oils, and peanut butter.
Weightpack’s systems measure the quantity entering each container during filling rather than relying only on a predetermined volume. Tare and net weight controls compensate for differences among empty packs, while the control system adjusts the filling process as operating conditions change.
The technology can be combined with closures including screw caps, flip tops, pump dispensers, spray triggers, and specialist formats. Filling and capping can therefore be configured as connected processes, with container handling, headspace, closure presentation, and torque considered across the complete line.
Autopack will provide UK commercial advice, project engineering, installation, and after sales support. Technical teams from both companies will undertake joint training covering calibration, commissioning, maintenance, and site service, while customers will receive faster access to replacement parts.
Jonathon Stewart, UK Sales Director at Autopack, said: “Our role is to bring together the right technology, engineering knowledge and local support to deliver packaging lines that perform. Weightpack adds a proven, high-quality net weight filling solution to our portfolio and strengthens our ability to support customers looking for accuracy, flexibility and long-term reliability.
“Combined with our existing international partnerships, this gives customers access to best-in-class technology, backed by the practical project management, installation and after-sales support they need on the ground.”
The agreement expands the machinery options available as packaging lines become more flexible, with recent case packing developments also concentrating on wider format ranges and faster changeovers. Filling, closure application, inspection, and secondary packaging increasingly need to be specified together if the completed line is to achieve its planned output.
Net weight control can reduce product giveaway while protecting against underweight packs. Density changes caused by temperature, aeration, ingredient variation, or settling may alter the mass delivered by a volumetric system, whereas continuous weighing provides direct measurement of the product entering each container.
The saving on an individual pack may be small, but repeated over long production runs it can become substantial, particularly where the product contains expensive oils, nuts, dairy ingredients, fruit, flavours, or active components. Stable weight also supports consistent headspace, cleaner closures, and more reliable downstream handling.
Viscous foods require careful selection of pumps, valves, nozzles, product supply, and cut off control because flow can change with temperature, particulates, and shear. A system capable of covering a broad viscosity range still needs product trials and correct configuration for each recipe.
Massimiliano Milletti, Area Sales Manager at Weightpack, said: “The UK is an important market for Weightpack, and working with Autopack gives us a strong local partner with the technical capability and customer relationships to support manufacturers properly. Together, we can make advanced net weight filling technology more accessible while ensuring customers receive the service and support required for successful long-term operation.”
Local engineering support becomes particularly valuable when products, containers, or closures change after commissioning. Filling performance can drift as recipes are reformulated, packaging suppliers change, or line speeds increase, requiring recalibration and mechanical adjustment rather than simple replacement of a worn part.
The partnership combines Italian filling technology with UK line integration and service capacity. Consistent performance across varied products, containers, cleaning cycles, and production volumes will determine how effectively the machinery converts weighing accuracy into lower giveaway, reliable output, and longer term equipment availability.
