Plastics, chemicals, food, cement, animal feed and coal – anything that comes in powder or granulated form can be filled into bags to allow for easier handling. “In the last few years, transport companies have started adding value by filling bags on behalf of their customers,” says Sales Manager Paul Persoon, who can draw on considerable experience in the packaging industry. “This trend is on the increase and offers new market opportunities for Bates Vultechniek.”
Completely detached from Bates Cepro today, yet still associated with the name of Bates, Bates Vultechniek continues to attract former Bates clients especially from France. Generally, the company delivers machines to customers in Benelux, France and Germany, mostly for valve bags for filling weights between 5 and 50 kg per bag or a maximum of 25 kg in Europe. Machines for so-called “open-mouth bags” and Big Bags complement the offer. The ability to accommodate customers’ specific requirements makes Bates Vultechniek a favourite partner to the packaging industry. “We prefer to work on a project basis rather than supplying standard machines,” emphasizes Mr. Persoon. “While most competitors supply a machine in just a few different colours and variations, we offer this machine in hundreds of different versions to meet the client’s specific needs. Moreover, we are able to change existing lines on site to avoid expensive downtime.”
Bates Vultechniek has been owned by the SOTEC Group since 2007 and benefits from the sound backing of a major enterprise involved in steel engineering and construction. Needless to say, the exchange of know-how within the group yields synergistic effects and competitive advantages that are hard to beat. Bates Vultechniek employs ten specialists in the fields of engineering, assembly, distribution, service and testing. “We carry out our own design, engineering and production, based on well-organized components supplies,” adds Mr. Persoon. “The fact that we can hire extra service personnel from co-subsidiaries of the SOTEC Group even enhances our flexibility.”
Always open to new developments, Bates Vultechniek is involved in a number of promising projects such as the construction of machines with loading and unloading capacity or the assembly of a filling line on-board ship so that the transported goods can be packed in the destination port. As a partner for complete turnkey projects ranging from the design stage via planning and realization right through to software control, sales and service, Bates Vultechniek has all it takes to meet the growing demand from the packaging industry.