Manual feed balers or continuous auto-tie horizontal balers

Manual feed balers or continuous auto-tie horizontal balers: Which is right for you?

As the world business is changing the way of doing things in a more environmental friendly way, baling machine, as effective recycling equipment, is becoming more central in giving waste materials a second valuable life. A proper baler/baling machine can help greatly increasing your company’s revenue on recyclable waste, and can produce a positive Return On Investment) within a relatively short timeframe.

There are two basic baler designs that are generally used by industry – vertical baler and horizontal baler. The key difference between these two types of balers is how the recyclable material is compacted.

Also known as down stroke balers, vertical balers compress waste from the top (vertically). They are usually stand-alone machines, and are typically accompanied with manual feeding and strapping. Whilst on the other hand, horizontal balers compress waste from the side (horizontally). Most horizontal balers are fed by conveyor belt, cyclone or forklift for achieving continous feeding. They can be further classified into closed end and open end types. For closed end horizontal balers, the strapping is usually done manually and for open end ones, strapping and ejection of the bale is achieved automatically.

In terms of footprint, vertical balers are the smaller of the two. Thus, they are more suited for facilities where area is limited. With less steel raw material required for building, vertical balers are more cost effective compared with horizontal balers of similar compressing force. However, with the restriction of manual feeding and strapping, the bale making speed of vertical balers is not comparable with that of continuous auto-tie horizontal balers.

To sum up, vertical balers are usually manually operated, and compress from the top down. They are best suited for smaller businesses where waste is not overwhelming – small manufacturers, retail stores, supermarkets, textile manufacturers, or anywhere else there are smaller quantities of recyclable materials.

Horizontal balers are the larger of the two machines. Loaded from the top by conveyor belt, cyclone or forklift, because the feed is larger, and the output continuous (and automatic), they are ideal for larger quantities of recyclables and constant usage.

There is no absolute conclusion of one better over the other. Considerations need to be paid to your facility’s space situation, the waste material volume, labor availability and cost as well as your financial condition and more before choosing the right baling machine.