Agricultural Company Packages Roasted Sunflower Seeds in Inert Atmosphere Using Specialized NOTIS Equipment

NOTIS technology displaces oxygen 5 times more effectively than standard injection. Over 7 years of operation, maintenance costs for the complete packaging system totaled just 5% of the 2018 equipment price.

Quad package with edge sealing and standard pillow bag automatically formed from film roll

NOTIS is a Russian packaging equipment manufacturer from Berdsk, adjacent to Novosibirsk. We’ve been in business since 1992. We started with electronic scales and then focused on industrial weighing and filling. A landmark project that defined our path back in the 90s was the delivery of several hundred packaging machines for one of Russia’s leading snack market players. Today our equipment successfully operates throughout Russia and far beyond: in CIS countries, Europe, the Middle East, and even Australia. We’re proud of our developments!

About the Customer

Kolos Agricultural Company, Altai, Russia

Kolos agricultural company, Pokrovka village

Altai is one of Russia’s leading agricultural regions. Kolos produces and packages roasted sunflower seeds at a volume of 80 tons per month, supplying products throughout the country. When delivery takes several days, followed by shelf placement and retail sales, three factors are critically important for the producer:

• Freshness preservation. Roasted sunflower seeds lose freshness in just three weeks. With long logistics and retail sales, it’s crucial to maximize shelf life while preventing oil oxidation and loss of taste qualities.
• Stable weight. Accurate filling eliminates product overuse and complaints from retail chains about underweight packages.
• Attractive package appearance. On the shelf, customers choose with their eyes. The package must look impeccable: even seams, neat seals, no creases or defects.

Challenge

Preserve seed freshness and meet strict contracts

Kolos faced the challenge of ensuring three key product quality factors: freshness, accurate weight, and attractive package appearance. All while doing this consistently, day after day, month after month.

Contracts with stores and retail chains dictate strict terms for delivery timing and volumes. Any equipment downtime means missed deliveries, penalties, and reputational losses. Therefore, the producer needs not just a packaging line, but a reliable solution with accessible service and reasonable cost that won’t fail at a critical moment.

Solution

NOTIS engineers designed and manufactured two comprehensive automatic lines for different package formats: 300 grams and 90 grams. Similar solutions are in demand on the market — more than three dozen sunflower seed producers from 7 countries operate NOTIS equipment. Among them are major Russian brands represented in all federal retail chains.

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Features

Unique NOTIS innovations

✓ Freshness preservation: unique oxygen displacement technology

The standard approach is nitrogen injection immediately before sealing the package. But oxygen remains in the shell and on the sunflower seed surface itself, which eventually enters the package.

NOTIS technology uses a thorough approach: the product begins to be flushed with inert gas at the filling stage. The weigh filler is placed in a sealed chamber filled with nitrogen. Seeds pass through this protective atmosphere, then through a sealed channel enter the package formation zone, where nitrogen is also supplied.

Laboratory measurements showed: after 3 days, oxygen content in packages is only 0.8%, which is 5 times less compared to standard injection before sealing.

✓ Accurate filling: linear weighers instead of multihead weighers

For such volumes, competitors often suggest multihead weighers. Their effectiveness is primarily revealed with chunky products of unstable weight (cookies, pastries) when a combination needs to be assembled. But for free-flowing materials like sunflower seeds, this solution is technologically excessive. Multihead weighers are more expensive, more complex to maintain, take up more space, and consume more energy.

NOTIS linear weighers with self-adjusting algorithms provide comparable accuracy and productivity at lower costs. Standard linear weighers feed the first part of the dose roughly and quickly, the remainder slowly for accuracy. NOTIS engineers developed unique algorithms with feedback that optimize discharge dynamics.

✓ Attractive packages: seam hidden in edge using special technology

On the shelf, customers choose with their eyes. Seam quality is not just a technical point, but a competitive advantage.

The line for 300-gram packages uses unique 4-edge sealing technology. The vertical seam is “hidden” in one of the edges, and the edges are trimmed for perfectly even sealing. The result is a premium appearance where it’s nearly impossible to determine which of the four edges contains the seam. The package looks neat and symmetrical from all sides.

The line for 90-gram packages forms classic pillow bags with quality even seams without creases or defects.

Affordable price and confidence in reliability

Economical solution. Using linear weighers instead of expensive multihead weighers allows maintaining high speed and accuracy indicators with NOTIS’s own electronics and algorithms. We work directly, without dealers, offering minimum prices from the factory. A full-cycle enterprise — we control all production stages, providing additional savings.

Proven reliability. NOTIS has been producing similar equipment since the late 90s. The solution is refined and time-tested: more than fifteen hundred NOTIS weigh filler + VFFS packaging machine combinations operate in Russia and worldwide. NOTIS has earned a reputation as a reliable manufacturer — monthly we publish facts about machines operating at clients’ facilities for 15–20 years.

One of the NOTIS weigh filler + VFFS packaging machine units for sunflower seeds

Operation Results Since 2018

Seven years of stable operation without major downtime

The system was installed in 2018 and over the years has become the “workhorse” of sunflower seed production at Kolos.

• Costs for consumables and spare parts over the entire period — 5% of equipment cost at 2018 prices. Main items: cutting knives (natural wear of cutting edge), level sensors, heating system thermal elements, drive belts — standard scheduled maintenance without critical failures.
• Stable package weight — no product overuse and no complaints about underweight. Average package weight strictly equals nominal.
• Neat appearance: hermetic seams without creases, even beautiful edges, packages don’t “fall apart” on the shelf.

The appearance of the equipment itself is also separately noted. The lines look dignified, visually support the brand image, and enhance production during demonstrations of the sunflower seed packaging process.

Even after the warranty period expires, NOTIS engineers continue to consult the client: helping with settings and answering questions about operation. Consultations — at no additional charge.

Want Similar Results?

Contact Us

NOTIS designs and supplies packaging lines for sunflower seeds and other free-flowing products. We offer customized solutions for your volumes: from semi-automatic machines to high-performance systems with inert atmosphere operation.

Tell us about your challenges — we’ll propose a line configuration, linear weighers or multihead weighers for your case, and help make an informed choice.

✉️ market@notis.ru | 📱 +7 913 916–60–06 (WhatsApp) | 🌐 www.notis.ru