What Pacepacker does

Pacepacker (legal entity PP Automation Ltd) is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of industrial automation equipment with more than 40 years of operating history. Founded in 1976 by Robert Christie and acquired by PP Automation Ltd in 2018, the company is headquartered in Dunmow, Essex, and employs between 11 and 50 people. Its core business is engineering bespoke automated systems for three end-applications: bagging (led by the flagship Total Bag Control system that retains grip on bags through filling and sealing, processing 2kg-50kg bags across paper, plastic, woven polypropylene, hessian and net substrates), case loading (20+ system configurations and 80+ end-effectors for pick-and-place into trays, boxes, cases and crates), and palletising (robot, layer plate, and Cartesian configurations). The technology stack combines in-house mechanical engineering with integrated components from leading robotic (FANUC, partnership since 1997), mechatronic, conveyor and weighing suppliers.

The company's commercial model is consultative and project-based: engineers conduct on-site assessments, design bespoke solutions tailored to budget, application and timeline, install and commission systems, and provide preventative maintenance and spare parts for both new and legacy equipment. Revenue is generated through hardware sales (systems, upgrades, spare parts) and professional services (design, integration, installation, maintenance). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with solutions scaled from standalone units to fully integrated turnkey systems serving SMEs through to multi-national corporates. Customer segments are organised primarily by vertical: food and beverage manufacturers, agriculture and farming cooperatives, aggregate and quarrying, pet food, and pharmaceutical laboratories.

Pacepacker's installed base spans 1,000s of customer installations across the UK and overseas markets, with named customers including Morrisons, Premier Foods, British Sugar, AB Mauri, Baileys, Kettle, Macphie, Agrii, Mole Valley Farmers and Caythorpe Farmers. The company holds Made In Britain membership (2020) and has accumulated multiple industry awards including the 2012 Food Processing Top Technology Award (for FlexaPac) and the 2015 Most Innovative Machine award (for the world's first product swap machine). Marketing is delivered through a multi-channel mix of website content, case studies, videos, technical whitepapers, industry events, and direct field sales.

Name

Pacepacker

Legal name

PP Automation Ltd

Website

https://pacepacker-services.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pacepacker (PP Automation Ltd) is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of bespoke industrial automation systems for bagging, case loading and palletising, serving food and beverage manufacturers, agricultural cooperatives, and other producers in the UK and overseas since 1976.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Equipment

NAICS

Packaging Machinery Manufacturing (333993), Industrial Truck, Tractor, Trailer, and Stacker Machinery Manufacturing (333924), Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333)

SIC

General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Bagging, Pouching & Sachet Packaging Equipment (IMAHAOAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cartoning, Case Packing & Tray Loading Machines (IMALAOAE), Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF)

Keywords

• Industrial automation systems
• Bagging systems
• Robotic palletising
• Case loading systems
• Packaging automation equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Great Bardfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Automation Equipment Sales: Sale of bespoke automated bagging, case loading, and palletising systems ranging from standalone units to fully integrated turnkey solutions.
2. Professional Services: Engineering design, site installation, preventative maintenance, spare parts supply, and technical advice services. Engineers available for essential site visits.
3. System Integration: Custom integration of technology from leading robotic, mechatronic, conveyor and weighing suppliers into complete automation solutions.
4. Spare Parts and Upgrades: Supply of spare parts and upgrades for both new and legacy Pacepacker systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pacepacker designs and manufactures bespoke industrial automation systems for bagging, case loading, and palletising, integrating robotic and mechatronic technologies from leading suppliers. The company delivers standalone units to fully integrated turnkey solutions tailored to customer budgets, application needs, and project timescales, addressing repetitive packing tasks for manufacturers, farmers, and factories across the food, beverage, agricultural, aggregate, and pet food sectors. Supporting services include site assessments, custom engineering, installation, preventative maintenance, spare parts supply, and legacy system upgrades.

Product overview

Pacepacker (PP Automation Ltd) is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of proven industrial automation equipment with 40+ years of history. The product portfolio is organised around three core automation categories: (1) Bagging Systems led by the flagship Total Bag Control (TBC) system, including open mouth bagging, valve sacks, form fill seal, and ancillaries; (2) Palletising solutions comprising robot, layer plate, cartesian, and ancillaries options; and (3) Case Loading systems including robot, cartesian, and bespoke configurations, plus case loading ancillaries. The company integrates technology from leading robotic, mechatronic, conveyor and weighing suppliers and offers bespoke standalone units up to fully integrated turnkey systems. The portfolio includes specialised products like DeltaPac robot system, FlexaPac for citrus packing, and GT Sack Placer & FastPac range, serving industries including pet food, aggregate, food, beverage, and agriculture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Total Bag Control (TBC) Bagging System Flagship bagging system that never releases bags during filling and sealing, processing bags from 2kg to 50kg, resulting in premium presentation, contamination reduction, and less spillage. Handles paper, plastic, woven polypropylene, hessian, and nets. Designed for manufacturers, farmers, and factories across food, beverage, agricultural, and aggregate sectors.
• Open Mouth Bagging Systems Open mouth bagging systems forming part of the Total Bag Control bagging portfolio, designed for automated filling of open mouth bags across industrial packing applications.
• Valve Sack Bagging Systems Valve sack bagging systems for automated filling of valve bags, used in industrial packing environments where valve bag formats are required.
• Form, Fill & Seal Bagging Systems Form, fill and seal bagging systems for creating and filling bags from roll stock, providing an integrated packaging solution for continuous production lines.
• GT Sack Placer & FastPac Range Fast and reliable bagging operations range launched in 2017 for improved bagging speed and reliability in industrial packing environments.
• Stitcher Feeder Original vacuum-based sack feeding system to separate and open sacks, invented by founder Robert Christie in 1976 and still sold by the company today.
• Robot Palletising Systems Robotic palletising solutions for automated stacking and pallet building, integrating FANUC robotic technology for automated stacking and pallet building across single or multiple production lines.
• Cartesian Palletising Systems Cartesian coordinate palletising systems for precise, linear movement pallet building, available in conventional or robotic configurations, single or multi-stacking position, compact or large scale solutions for cold store or outdoor environments.
• Layer Plate Palletising Layer-wise palletising technology for building stable pallet layers before stacking, enabling consistent layer patterns prior to pallet completion.
• Robot Case Loading Systems Robotic pick and place systems for loading products into cases, boxes, and trays, with 20+ systems and 80+ end-effectors to handle any packing scenario for loading wrapped and unwrapped products into retail trays, boxes, cases, and crates.
• Cartesian Case Loading Systems Cartesian coordinate case loading systems for linear pick and place operations, providing an alternative to robotic case loading for specific packing scenarios.
• Bespoke Case Loading Systems Custom-engineered case loading solutions designed for specific customer requirements and unique product handling needs, offering tailored automation for non-standard packing scenarios.
• DeltaPac Robot System High-speed pick and place Delta robot system launched in 2008 to address labour costs and ergonomic hazards, providing automated high-speed product handling for packing operations.
• FlexaPac Citrus Packing System Revolutionary citrus fruit packing system launched in 2012 that virtually eliminated waste, winning the Food Processing Top Technology award in 2012.

Quantifiable outcome

• Steve Dowse, Founder of Caythorpe Farmers: Gradual capacity building enabling growth journey
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• FANUCcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 1997Strategic partnership formed in 1997 enabling Pacepacker to successfully move into robotic palletising. FANUC provides robotic technology that Pacepacker integrates into their automation solutions. The partnership has been sustained for over 20 years and contributed to multiple award wins including Partnership of the Year in 2015.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Schubert Group: German-headquartered manufacturer of robotic packaging machinery, including pick-and-place, case packing and palletising systems. Direct competitor to Pacepacker in automated bagging, case loading and palletising for F&B and industrial customers, with a deeper global footprint.
• Concetti Group: Italian manufacturer of bagging, palletising and end-of-line packaging equipment for food, animal feed, chemicals and minerals. Overlaps directly with Pacepacker's TBC bagging, robotic palletising and case loading portfolio, especially in agricultural and bagged-goods sectors.
• Cama Group: Italian manufacturer of secondary packaging machinery including robotic case loading, cartoners and wrap-around systems for F&B and personal care. Directly overlaps Pacepacker's case loading and ancillary packaging lines.
• BluePrint Automation: US-based robotic packaging machinery maker specialising in case loading, pick-and-place and end-of-line systems for food and consumer goods. Comparable to Pacepacker's robot case loading portfolio and customer verticals.
• Bradman Lake: UK-based supplier of integrated packaging machinery including robotic case loading, end-of-line and cartoning systems. Closely comparable to Pacepacker's case loading and bagging offering, particularly in food and bakery applications.
• Haver & Boecker: German specialist in industrial weighing, bagging and packaging machinery for minerals, food and agricultural products. Directly comparable to Pacepacker's bagging systems (open mouth, valve sacks, FFS) and palletising integration for bulk goods.

Broad incumbents

• ABB Robotics: Global industrial robotics and automation supplier offering palletising, pick-and-place and case loading solutions. Competes with Pacepacker's FANUC-integrated robotic palletising and could be an alternative integrator partner for similar end customers.
• KUKA Robotics: German-headquartered industrial robotics and automation supplier with significant presence in palletising, case handling and packaging. Competes with Pacepacker in robotic palletising and represents an alternative robot platform for end-of-line automation.
• Sidel: Global provider of packaging equipment for beverage, food, home and personal care including palletising and case packing lines. Broad incumbent in similar F&B and liquid/bulk packaging customers where Pacepacker also sells bagging and palletising systems.
• Bosch Packaging Technology (syntegon): Global incumbent in packaging machinery across F&B, pharma and consumer goods, including bagging, cartoning, case packing and palletising. Competes with Pacepacker in mid-market F&B automation but operates across a much wider portfolio and geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Pacepacker

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Pacepacker