What Ska Fabricating does

Ska Fabricating is a private US-based industrial automation specialist that designs and manufactures packaging line end-of-line equipment, including depalletizers, palletizers, conveyance systems, flame treatment units, and bagging equipment. The company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan with additional operations in Durango, Colorado, and holds proprietary technology including its patented Rotary Table depalletizer and the more recently introduced Microbus compact depalletizer introduced in May 2023 to serve smaller-footprint craft and co-packing operations. Ska's systems use recipe-based HMI controls and are engineered to integrate with third-party line equipment such as conveyors, fillers, and printers, supporting a wide range of can, bottle, and container formats.

Ska Fabricating serves a diversified end-market base spanning craft brewing, beverage, food manufacturing, co-packing, can decoration, blow molding, pharmaceutical, dairy, petroleum/automotive, and household/personal care customers, with named accounts including Reily Foods, Kinsbrae Packaging, Canworks Printing, and Elsner Engineering Works alongside a long tail of craft breweries, cider producers, and mobile canning operators. The company makes money primarily through capital equipment sales of integrated packaging cells, supplemented by integration, training, and field service work tied to customer installations.

The firm acquired GR-X Manufacturing in January 2022 to broaden manufacturing capacity, appointed Steve Sherman as CEO in early 2023 to strengthen automation engineering leadership, and established a European sales channel via [email protected] to extend geographic reach. Ska is privately held with 11-50 employees and has not disclosed external funding rounds, indicating growth has been financed organically and through acquisition.

Name

Ska Fabricating

Legal name

SKA FABRICATING, INC.

Website

https://skafabricating.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ska Fabricating designs and manufactures packaging line end-of-line automation equipment—depalletizers, palletizers, conveyance, flame treatment, and bagging systems—for beverage, food, pharmaceutical, dairy, can decoration, and craft brewing customers across the US and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Packaging Equipment

NAICS

Packaging Machinery Manufacturing (333993)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

End-of-Line Integration & Packaging Line Systems (IMAHAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Conveying, Feeding & Accumulation Systems (Packaging Lines) (IMAHAOAK), Tertiary Packaging & Unitization (Palletizing, Slip-Sheeting, Strapping) (TLAIAGAC), Bagging, Pouching & Sachet Packaging Equipment (IMAHAOAH)

Keywords

• Packaging line automation
• Container handling equipment
• Depalletizing systems
• Palletizing equipment
• Conveyance systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Equipment Sales: Sale of depalletizers, palletizers, conveyance systems, flame treatment equipment, baggers, container rinsers, and other packaging line automation equipment. Both manual and automated solutions are offered.
2. Equipment Rentals: Short-term and long-term equipment rental options for customers wanting to try equipment before purchasing or needing temporary capacity.
3. Spare Parts & Replacement: Replacement parts and spare parts service for maintained equipment, providing ongoing revenue from installed base.
4. Service & Technical Support: Technical support, installation, commissioning, and ongoing service agreements for equipment maintenance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Ska Fabricating designs and manufactures packaging line automation equipment including depalletizers, palletizers, and conveyance systems for efficiently loading, discharging, lowering, elevating, rinsing, and moving bulk-layered pallets of metal, glass, plastic, and fiberboard containers. The company also specializes in baggers and flame treatment equipment systems, serving beverage, food, co-packing, pharmaceutical, dairy, and other industries through direct sales and rental programs.

Product overview

Ska Fabricating is a packaging line automation equipment company offering a comprehensive portfolio of container handling solutions. The core product lines include automated, semiautomatic, and manual depalletizers (MAB/Magic Bus, CIB/Can-I-Bus, FHA 3000/5000, HHA 5000, Nimbus, Microbus, FHM 1000, HHM 2000, Manual Tilt) for unloading containers from pallets, and bulk palletizers (BAM, FAR, FHP, Manual Tilt Palletizer) for stacking containers onto pallets. Supporting equipment includes conveyance and accumulation systems with Lowerators, pallet handling conveyors, and table top conveyors; flame treatment systems (two and four burner configurations) for surface preparation in blow molding operations; semi-auto baggers in side and rear load configurations; container rinsers using water and ionized air; and mid-stream auxiliary equipment including date coders, fill level detection systems, and labeling equipment. The company also offers equipment rentals and, following the 2022 acquisition of GR-X Manufacturing, expanded its capabilities in depalletizing and palletizing systems for small to midsize operations across beverage, food, pharmaceutical, dairy, chemical, and automotive industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MAB (Magic Bus) Depalletizer Full-height automatic bulk depalletizer designed for high-speed operations with full or half-height pallet handling capabilities, serving beverage, food, and consumer product manufacturers.
• CIB (Can-I-Bus) Depalletizer Industry-standard bulk can depalletizer for beverage packaging with full or half-height pallet handling, compact footprint, and throughput up to 400 CPM.
• FHA 3000 Depalletizer Automatic depalletizer for full-height pallets processing plastic containers, aluminum cans, and fiberboard materials up to 1,000 pounds.
• FHA 5000 Depalletizer Heavy-duty automatic depalletizer for full-height pallets handling up to 4,000 pounds, ideal for glass containers and jars in industrial applications.
• HHA 5000 Depalletizer High-capacity automatic glass depalletizer designed for handling heavier pallet loads with precision and reliability in glass container facilities.
• Nimbus Depalletizer Semiautomatic depalletizer ideal as entry point into packaging automation for growing operations, with portable design, automated pallet lift, belt-driven sweep, and throughput up to 50 CPM.
• Microbus Depalletizer World's smallest footprint depalletizer optimized for lower-speed applications in small spaces, featuring a patented Rotary Table, manual crank operation for pallet carriage lifting, automated sweep, and throughput up to 30 CPM.
• FHM 1000 Depalletizer Manual depalletizer for full-height pallets of plastic containers that eliminates the need for manual product transfer with economical operation.
• HHM 2000 Depalletizer Manual depalletizer designed for half-height pallets, providing efficient unloading of bulk layered pallets of empty glass, aluminum, or plastic containers.
• Manual Tilt Depalletizer User-friendly manual depalletizer with easily adjustable unloading angle and height, accommodating various stack dimensions, configurations, and product types.
• BAM Bulk Palletizer Automated bulk palletizer offering different levels of automation and speeds for various production requirements including blow molding operations.
• FAR Palletizer Automated palletizer designed for efficient bulk palletizing operations with customizable configurations for varied production environments.
• FHP Palletizer Full-height palletizer for automatic palletization in blow molding and other high-volume manufacturing operations.
• Manual Tilt Palletizer Ergonomically friendly manual palletizer with pneumatic cylinders positioning loads up to 600 lbs, adjustable loading angle and height for consistent stacking.
• Lowerators Vertical conveyance equipment for lowering containers from elevated heights to floor level, integrating with depalletizers for seamless material flow including the S-Grip Lowerator technology.
• Pallet Handling Conveyors Conveyor systems specifically designed for moving pallets through the packaging line, enabling automated material handling.
• Accumulation and Table Top Conveyors Conveyor systems for accumulating containers and smooth table-top transfer between packaging line operations, including DICS kits for efficient container handling.
• Flame Treatment Systems Two and four burner flame treaters used primarily by blow molders to burn off excess material from plastic containers, creating smooth surfaces for optimal label adhesion and printing.
• Semi-Auto Baggers Side and rear load bagging systems that enclose single layers of bottle rows into sanitary sealed plastic bags for clean, convenient transport and pallet loading.
• Container Rinsers Water and ionized air rinsers for cleaning and sanitizing containers prior to filling, ensuring quality from the start of the packaging line.
• Mid-Stream Auxiliary Equipment Line optimization equipment including date coders, fill level detection and rejection systems, labelers, Paktech applicators, and cartoners for comprehensive packaging line solutions.
• Operator Platforms Industrial platforms for operator access to packaging equipment, designed for safety and efficiency in production environments.
• Equipment Rentals Short-term and transitional packaging equipment rental options for facilities needing temporary or transitional packaging solutions before purchasing.
• Service and Technical Support Technical support, installation, commissioning, customer service program, and spare parts replacement services for installed equipment across customer facilities.
• GR-X Manufacturing Depalletizing and Palletizing Systems Depalletizing and palletizing equipment systems acquired through GR-X Manufacturing acquisition in January 2022, serving consumer products and food and beverage industries with minimal overlap in specific market segments for small to midsize operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Eliminates at least one person on packaging line per palletizer
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• GR-X ManufacturingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 January 2022Ska Fabricating acquired GR-X Manufacturing in January 2022 to leverage complementary strengths and technology. GR-X, founded in 2015 and based in Grand Rapids Michigan, specializes in depalletizing and palletizing equipment for consumer products and food and beverage industries. The acquisition expands Ska Fabricating's capabilities with minimal overlap in specific market segments, enabling enhanced packaging line solutions for small to midsize operations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Krones AG: Krones is a global leader in beverage and packaging line engineering, offering depalletizers, palletizers, and complete line integration. Competes with SKA in higher-speed, larger-customer packaging line opportunities far beyond SKA's scale.
• BEUMER Group: BEUMER is an international manufacturer of intralogistics and packaging systems including palletizing and depalletizing technology. Competes with SKA in heavier-duty palletizing applications across beverage and industrial customers.
• Sidel Group: Sidel is a global provider of packaging solutions for beverages, food, and home/personal care, including palletizing and container handling. A broad incumbent whose offering overlaps with SKA's end-of-line scope.
• KHS GmbH: KHS is a major manufacturer of filling and packaging equipment for beverage, food, and dairy, with included palletizing and depalletizing solutions. A larger incumbent that competes with SKA at the higher end of the same end markets.

Direct peers

• ABE Equipment: ABE Equipment supplies depalletizers, palletizers, and container handling equipment primarily for the craft beverage industry. A close direct competitor within SKA's craft brewing core vertical.
• Columbia Machine (now part of Regal Rexnord/Promach): Columbia Machine is a long-standing manufacturer of palletizing and depalletizing equipment, particularly high-speed bulk palletizers used in beverage, food, and container handling. Direct product overlap with SKA's palletizer and depalletizer lines.
• Pester Pac Automation: Pester Pac Automation provides end-of-line packaging equipment including palletizers, depalletizers, and stretch wrapping systems for pharmaceutical, food, and consumer goods. A direct peer in engineering-driven container handling equipment.
• ESS Engineering (End-of-Line Solutions): ESS Engineering designs and builds palletizing, depalletizing, and material handling equipment for bottling and packaging lines. A direct peer in flexible, mid-market container handling automation.
• Brenton: Brenton is a U.S. manufacturer of packaging line automation including palletizers, depalletizers, case packers, and robotic end-of-line systems. Directly competes with SKA in depalletizing/palletizing equipment for beverage and consumer goods customers.
• Douglas Machine: Douglas Machine designs and manufactures complete packaging lines including case packers, palletizers, and depalletizers for converting, food, and beverage industries. Comparable engineered equipment product set serving similar end-of-line automation buyers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skafabricating
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@skafabricating
• Facebookfacebook.com/SkaFabricating
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/skafabricating
• Instagraminstagram.com/skafabricating

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ska Fabricating