Filling machines for agrochemicals and liquid fertilizers
A formulation plant fills a herbicide in the morning, an insecticide after lunch and a foliar fertilizer before the shift ends, in jerrycans, drums and IBCs (totes). It fills all year round, and then the season arrives and demand goes through the roof. The machine has to keep up with that, leave nothing of one product in the next, and not stop at the worst possible moment.
A dozen projects on four continents, with BASF, BAYER, NUTRIEN, SYNGENTA, YARA, VALAGRO, SEIPASA and LAINCO among our customers. One of the largest was for BASF’s agrochemical plant in Tarragona, a few kilometres from our own workshop. We built it in 2015 and 2016, and it is still filling every day.
Trace contamination is not a quality problem here. It is a liability.
In most industries a trace of the previous product means a batch out of specification. In agrochemicals it can mean a customer’s crop destroyed, and a claim that has nothing to do with the value of the product in the container.
That is why the filling unit is designed so the product has nowhere to hide:
- No dead spots. The nozzle is built so that what goes in comes out, with no corners or branches where an active can sit and reappear in the next batch.
- Flushing between references. The circuit is drained and purged, recovering the product instead of losing it down the drain — which in this sector is also a waste-disposal cost.
- CIP cleaning. Where the process requires it, the nozzle is cleaned in place and goes back to work without being dismantled.
- Dedicated nozzles. For actives that must never share a path, the nozzle is swapped without tools in minutes. Some plants keep one permanently assigned to their most sensitive product.
Every product has its own recipe stored in the machine, so changing reference is a selection on the panel and not a readjustment of the line.
The season decides how the machine has to be built
A formulation plant fills all year. But there are weeks when demand is enormous, the line runs at a pace it does not see the rest of the year, and every hour counts.
A machine that stops in a quiet month is a nuisance. The same machine stopping in one of those weeks is orders that will not be recovered, in a window that does not reopen until next year.
That is why we build with commercial components from major brands, distributed worldwide, and with no proprietary electronics in the control chain. A sensor, a valve or a drive can be sourced almost anywhere, quickly, and fitted by your own maintenance team without waiting for a part to be shipped from Spain. It is the least glamorous decision in the whole machine and the one that matters most on the worst day of the year.
One line, every formulation you make
Agrochemical plants rarely fill one type of product, and the formulations behave very differently:
- EC, emulsifiable concentrates. Aromatic solvent base, flammable. Filling area inside a classified zone, explosion proof version and immersion filling.
- SC, suspension concentrates. They settle and they are abrasive. What we decide here is the material of every wetted part and the way the container is filled. Keeping the product in suspension belongs to your process upstream, and the machine drives your pump and your valve to fit it.
- SL, soluble concentrates, and foliar fertilizers. Aqueous, often heavy in surfactants, and they foam. Immersion filling, with the nozzle following the level as the container fills.
- Liquid fertilizers, UAN and nitrogen solutions. Corrosive to ordinary stainless, dense, and filled in large quantities. Material of the wetted parts chosen for the specific solution.
The filling unit is AISI 316L as standard, and for the aggressive ones there are more than eighty nozzle combinations in other materials.
Weight that stands up to an inspection
Agrochemicals and fertilizers are sold in registered pack sizes, and what the label declares has to be what is in the container.
Every AiCROV machine fills by weight, with the scale integrated in the control system and a check on every single container. AiCROVFill® fills in two speeds, verifies the settled weight and tops up if it has fallen short. The weighing conveyors carry legal-for-trade approvals under OIML R61 and the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID, Annex MI-006), and the machine can record date, time, tare and net weight of every container in CSV, which is what an audit asks for.
Flammable formulations and classified zones
Most EC formulations put the filling area inside a classified zone. Every AiCROV machine is available in an explosion proof version under ATEX, IECEx or the scheme applicable in the country of installation, covering the whole assembly: machine, conveyors, tool holder and tools.
For these products we usually recommend immersion filling, where the nozzle fills below the product surface and avoids splashing and static build-up, together with electrostatic grounding control and, where the product requires it, nitrogen inerting before, during and after filling.
Containers
From one litre to 1,500. Plants in this sector fill:
- Jerrycans and canisters, from 1 to 30 litres, usually UN approved
- Drums and barrels, steel and plastic
- IBCs and totes, for liquid fertilizers and bulk deliveries
A single line can handle all three: what changes is the recipe and, where needed, the nozzle.
Which machine fits your line
Any AiCROV machine can fill these products. What decides which one you need is not what you fill — it is how many containers per hour you have to produce, in what format, and how much of the operation you want automated. Every container format, from a one-litre canister to a 1,500-litre IBC, has machines across the whole range, from semi-automatic to fully automatic.
What the product decides is everything inside the filling unit: whether it is filled by immersion or under the bunghole, the materials in contact with it, and how the nozzle itself is driven — push or pull, two-stage coarse and fine opening or proportional, and whether the process needs flow control and continuous pressure.
That is why our first step is a conversation and not a quotation. Tell us your output, your containers and your product, and the configuration follows.
LSG — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for jerrycans and small containers
Semi-automatic weigh filling machine for jerrycans and small containers. No installation: connect power, air and product, and it is ready to fill.
LSB — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for drums
Semi-automatic drum filling machine for 30 to 250 litres: it weighs every drum as it fills, comes preconfigured and is simple to run.
LSC — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for IBCs
For plants that only fill IBCs (totes): quick to set up and configure, and available in an explosion proof version.
SP1 — semi-automatic weigh filling machine for containers on a pallet
Semi-automatic weigh filling of jerrycans, drums and IBCs on a pallet: the operator positions the nozzle and the machine fills to the net weight.
SP2 — semi-automatic filling line for containers on a pallet, with conveyors
Semi-automatic filling of drums and IBCs on a pallet, from 20 to 1,500 litres, by weight, on a preconfigured machine.
SP25 — weigh filling machine with motorised nozzle positioning
This is the machine in the range where the operator stops moving the head by hand. Travel in X, in…
SP3 — automatic filling machine for drums and IBCs on a pallet
With the Robot Filler, this is the most automated machine we build. The operator does not intervene during the cycle…
Robot Filler — fully automatic robotic filling machine for drums and IBCs
Robotic filling of jerrycans, drums and IBCs on a pallet: 3D vision finds each container, then the robot uncaps, fills, caps and seals.
EL2-B — in-line automatic drum filling machine
Automatic in-line filling of steel and plastic drums from 60 to 250 litres, by weight, with uncapping, capping and sealing stations.
EL2-E — in-line automatic filling machine for jerrycans and small containers
Automatic in-line weigh filling machine for liquid and viscous products in metal or plastic canisters, pails and jerrycans with a rectangular base.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one machine fill herbicides and fertilizers without cross-contamination?
Yes, and it is the first thing we design for: a filling unit with no dead spots, flushing and CIP between references, and an interchangeable nozzle that can be swapped in minutes or dedicated to a sensitive active.
Can it fill EC formulations with a solvent base?
Yes, in the explosion proof version under ATEX, IECEx or the local scheme, with immersion filling, electrostatic grounding control and nitrogen inerting as options.
What about suspension concentrates that settle?
Keeping a suspension concentrate in suspension is done upstream, in your tank; the machine drives your pump and valve to suit it, and every wetted part is specified for an abrasive product. Tell us the formulation and we will tell you what we would fit.
Does the weighing hold up to a legal metrology inspection?
The weighing conveyors carry approvals under OIML R61 and the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID, Annex MI-006), with CE-M marking. Every container is weighed and recorded.
Can one line fill 5-litre jerrycans and IBCs?
Yes. The SP1, SP2 and SP25 fill small containers and IBCs on the pallet (the SP1 and SP2 from 0.2 L with an additional scale), and the recipe holds the parameters of each format. The SP3 and the Robot Filler start at 20 litres.
How long does it take to change from one product to the next?
It depends on the level of cleaning the pair of products requires: a flush between compatible references takes minutes; a full CIP or a nozzle change takes longer. We size it with you, because it is usually the figure that decides how many products a line can run in a day.
Tell us about your formulations and your containers.
Get a quotation
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