How do you finance a packaging line?
A packaging line is several machines, often from different vendors, plus the labor to make them run together. The deposits can go out months before the first case comes off the end. Here’s how each piece gets financed and what a full line comes to per month.
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What does packaging line financing cover?
The machines from the filler to the pallet wrapper, plus the work it takes to make them run as one line. Whether you call it packaging line financing or packaging solutions financing, it usually covers:
- Filling and capping: fillers, cappers, and bagging and pouch machines.
- Labeling and coding: labelers and coders.
- Inspection: checkweighers and inspection systems.
- End of line: cartoners, case erectors, case packers, palletizers, and shrink and stretch wrapping.
- Conveyors and controls that tie the machines together.
- Soft costs: freight, rigging, installation, integration and commissioning, on qualifying deals.
Deals usually start around $15,000 and run to $5 million and up, for a full line or part of one, new, used or refurbished. Program details are on our packaging equipment financing page.
Adding one machine at a time? See our guide to shrink wrap, bagging and filling machine financing. Buying used? See used packaging equipment financing.
Food is the biggest buyer. It accounts for about 44% of U.S. packaging machinery shipments, roughly $5.1 billion in 2025, and PMMI projects close to $7.1 billion by 2031, as reported by Packaging World. Food packaging equipment financing works the same way as any other line, with the same terms and soft-cost rules. A food line might add baggers or pouch fillers up front and a checkweigher or other inspection before the case packer.
How much does packaging equipment cost in 2026?
From under $2,000 for a semi-automatic labeler to $500,000 or more for an industrial robotic palletizing system, based on what dealers and makers list in U.S. dollars:
| Machine | New, listed asking price |
|---|---|
| Compact tabletop filling line (filler, capper and labeler) | $38,995 (one dealer) |
| Automatic liquid filler | From about $25,000 to hundreds of thousands (a filler maker’s 2023 guide) |
| Labelers | $1,689 to $4,798 for semi-automatic label applicators, up to $7,298 for a continuous-duty tamp applicator; $11,500 for a tabletop automatic round-bottle labeler |
| Inline checkweigher with reject | $6,379 for an entry-level inline unit (one seller) |
| Conveyor sections (tabletop and transfer) | $4,657 to $5,830 per section, starting price |
| Automatic case erector | $19,690 to $56,520 (six models, one dealer) |
| Stretch wrapper | $7,200 to $37,000 semi-automatic turntable; automatic models from $48,000 (one distributor) |
| Robotic palletizer | $60,000 to $160,000 for entry cobot packages, about $175,000 to $500,000+ for industrial systems (a robot maker’s guide); $182,200 for a turnkey cobot cell with infeed |
Used prices from recent listings: $6,500 for a semi-automatic Lantech Q300 stretch wrapper and $200,000 to $225,900 for complete Fanuc palletizing cells. A past listing for an 8-head piston filler line with an automatic capper and labeler asked $44,000.
Listed asking prices and vendor price guides checked October 2026, not appraisals or offers. Used listings marked sold or no longer available are shown as recent or past listings. Base prices usually leave out freight, installation and integration. Sources are at the end of this post.
A line also needs several conveyor sections plus controls, and the robot maker’s guide notes that palletizer prices are often base packages, with integration, conveyors and safety extra. For plant-wide conveyors, racking or lift trucks, see our guides to racking and conveyor financing and forklift financing.
Can you finance installation, integration and freight on a packaging line?
Yes, if the deal qualifies. Freight, rigging, installation, integration and commissioning can run to a third of a packaging line project, and they can go on the same agreement as the machines, so the whole line is one payment.
Not every lender does this. Some fund only the machines with serial numbers and leave the labor to you. On a $400,000 line, a third is about $133,000, paid in cash right when you’re training operators and stocking film and corrugate. Financed over 60 months at an assumed 9%, it’s about $2,761 a month. Robotic cells have the same problem, as our post on financing automation explains.
A few things make the soft-cost piece easier to approve:
- Split the quote. Have the OEM or integrator list machinery, installation, integration, freight and training separately, so underwriting can size the soft-cost portion quickly.
- List the change parts. Tooling and change parts for every bottle, cap and case size belong on the quote. Anything left off can end up paid in cash later.
- Put commissioning on the schedule. The date the line should start running drives the first payment and the tax year.
Should you finance a whole packaging line at once or in phases?
Finance it all at once when one OEM or integrator is building the line for a specific product or contract. Phase it when you’re fixing one bottleneck at a time.
All at once. Line builds take months, and OEMs often want deposits along the way. We can fund those deposits as they come due and hold the first payment until the line is running. I’d ask for that deferral on any long build, so you aren’t paying for a line that isn’t making product yet.
In phases. One option is to start at the end of the line, where hand labor tends to pile up: case erecting, palletizing and stretch wrapping. The filler, capper and labeler come later. Each phase is its own deal, with its own quote and payment, and each one should clear our usual $15,000 minimum. Say phase one is $150,000 of end-of-line equipment and phase two is a $250,000 front end a year later. Over 60 months at an assumed 9%, that’s about $3,114 a month to start, plus another $5,190 once phase two is in.
Tax timing. For 2026, Section 179 covers up to $2,560,000 of qualifying equipment, reduced dollar for dollar once the equipment you place in service that year passes $4,090,000. But equipment counts in the year it’s placed in service, meaning ready and available for its specific use. The IRS example in Publication 946 is a machine delivered one year and not installed and running until the next: it counts in the later year. So a line delivered in December and commissioned in January goes on next year’s return. Financing doesn’t change the deduction, since an EFA or $1 buyout lease is deducted the same as a cash purchase. Our Section 179 year-end playbook has the deadline plan, and your tax advisor should confirm the treatment.
What are the monthly payments on packaging equipment?
At an assumed 9%, every $100,000 financed over 60 months comes to about $2,076 a month. Here’s how that plays out across machines and line sizes:
| Example | Price | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| Compact tabletop filling line | $38,995 | About $970 over 48 months |
| Automatic case erector (one listed model) | $45,960 | About $1,144 over 48 months, or $954 over 60 |
| Turnkey cobot palletizer cell | $182,200 | About $3,782 over 60 months, or $2,931 over 84 |
| Partial line, such as the end of line or the front end | $250,000 | About $5,190 over 60 months, or $4,022 over 84 |
| Full line with installation and integration | $400,000 | About $8,303 over 60 months, or $6,436 over 84 |
| Larger multi-machine line | $750,000 | About $12,067 over 84 months |
Example payments at an assumed 9%, with no money down and payments in arrears. The first three prices are listed asking prices; the line totals are round examples. Illustrative, not an offer.
Then check the payment against output. Say the $400,000 line ships 40,000 cases a month, a made-up figure for this example. Over 84 months, the financing works out to about 16 cents a case, or about 21 cents over 60. At half that volume during ramp-up, the 84-month figure doubles to about 32 cents. Use your own volume and a realistic ramp.
Match the term to the contract or product volume the line is being bought for. A longer term lowers the cost per case, but you’ll still be making payments in year seven.
Should you lease or finance packaging equipment?
Packaging lines are usually financed and owned, because they last a long time. Packaging equipment leasing fits when the line is dedicated to a program that may not renew, like one customer’s contract at a co-packer. A fair market value (FMV) lease lets you hand the line back at the end.
| Equipment finance agreement | $1 buyout lease | FMV lease | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the line | You, from day one. The lender holds a lien. | The lessor, until you pay $1 at the end | The lessor |
| Terms at Five West | 24 to 84 months | 24 to 60 months | 24 to 60 months |
| End of the term | Lien released | Pay $1 and title transfers | Buy at fair market value, return it, or renew |
| Section 179 | Generally yours | Generally yours | Generally the lessor’s. You deduct the payments as rent. |
| Fits a line that | You’ll run for years, across products and customers | Same as an EFA, in lease paperwork | Is tied to one program or contract that may not renew |
There’s also a 10% buyout, with a lower payment than an EFA and a set price at the end. For a co-packer buying a line for one customer’s contract, I’d price an FMV lease against an EFA before signing. Our equipment lease vs. loan guide runs one machine through every structure.
What about a packaging equipment line of credit? A business credit line usually has a variable rate and comes up for renewal every year. A packaging line will be running long after that. I’d put the equipment on term financing and keep the credit line for payroll and materials during ramp-up.
What do you need to send to finance packaging equipment?
On qualifying deals up to $500,000, packaging equipment finance starts with an itemized quote and a short application, with no tax returns or financial statements. Have these ready:
- An itemized OEM or integrator quote that separates machinery from installation and integration.
- The build and deposit schedule, if you want progress funding or a deferred first payment.
- Machine details on used equipment. Used fillers and cartoners are underwritten on the OEM, the control generation, and whether parts and support are still available. A machine the manufacturer still services can go on a longer term. Expect 10% to 15% down on used equipment from a dealer and 15% to 25% on a private-party sale.
- Seller details on a private-party purchase. Those deals add a lien search, an inspection or appraisal on larger items, and payment straight to the seller.
- A full financial package on deals above $500,000.
The application starts with a soft credit inquiry, which doesn’t affect your score. Many established-business programs start around a 600 FICO, and a business under a year old typically needs 700+ personal credit.
You’ll typically hear back within 1 to 2 business hours. Clean application-only files can be approved in as little as 30 minutes, and funding follows in as little as 24 to 48 hours once documents are signed.
Frequently asked questions
Can you finance a complete packaging line?
Yes. Single machines and full lines are both financed, from about $15,000 to $5 million and above. A line can include fillers, cappers, labelers, checkweighers, case erectors, palletizers, stretch wrappers and the conveyors between them, plus installation and integration on qualifying deals.
Can installation and integration be included in packaging equipment financing?
Yes, if the deal qualifies. Freight, rigging, installation, integration and commissioning can run to a third of a packaging line project, and they can go on the same agreement as the machines. An itemized quote that separates machinery from installation and integration helps underwriting size that portion quickly.
Can you get progress funding while the OEM builds the line?
Yes. If the OEM wants deposits while it builds the line, those deposits can be funded as they come due, and the first payment can wait until the line is installed and running. Send the build and deposit schedule with the quote.
Is food packaging equipment financed differently?
No. Food fillers, baggers, checkweighers and full food lines are financed with the same terms and the same soft-cost rules as any other packaging equipment. Food is the largest end market for packaging machinery, at about 44% of U.S. shipments according to PMMI.
How long can you finance packaging equipment?
Up to 84 months on an equipment finance agreement and up to 60 months on a lease, starting at 24 months. Lease buyouts can be $1, 10% or fair market value. A used machine often gets a shorter term, because the term can’t run past what’s left of its useful life.
What credit score do you need to finance packaging equipment?
A FICO around 600 works for many established-business programs, and two or more years in business gets you the most programs and the best pricing. If the business is under a year old, it’s underwritten as a startup, which usually means 700+ personal credit, experience in the industry, and working capital left over after the purchase.
Does Section 179 apply to a financed packaging line?
Usually, yes. The 2026 limit is $2,560,000, phasing out once more than $4,090,000 of equipment is placed in service in the year, and new and used equipment both qualify. The line has to be placed in service, meaning installed and ready for use, by the end of your tax year (December 31 for most businesses). A line delivered in December but not running until January counts in the next tax year. On an FMV lease you deduct the payments as rent instead. The deduction can’t exceed your business’s taxable income for the year. Confirm with your tax advisor.
Price your packaging line.
Set the line total, term, down payment and structure in the Quote Builder and get an estimated payment, with no credit pull. When the numbers work, one short application matches you with a dedicated funding professional who handles the deal through funding.
This article is general information about financing packaging lines and packaging equipment. It is not tax, legal, or accounting advice, or a commitment to finance. Prices shown are listed asking prices and vendor price guides, not appraisals or offers. Tax and accounting treatment depends on your contract and your business; confirm with your CPA. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting.