Ready-Tray or Thermoforming?
When a company decides to invest in a new production line, the very first conflict point between management and engineering teams usually is this: “Should we build a ready-tray filling line or should we go with thermoforming and bring the entire packaging production in-house?” At first glance this looks like a packaging preference. In reality it is directly related to production strategy, logistics, cost structure and long-term growth.
Ready-tray systems (ex: Tray Liner or Tray Rotary) can be commissioned faster, format change time is short, operator transition is easier. You buy the trays, feed the machine, fill & seal — done. That is why companies with high SKU variation love this technology. Sauces, dips, yogurt derivatives — categories where product groups change very frequently — mostly use ready-tray.
Thermoforming (Form-Seal / AT-FS) opens a completely different world. You form your own tray. You run film reels, create the cavity, dose, vacuum, MAP, seal and cut — in one single line. Shelf life increases. Unit cost goes down in mass production. But to unlock this power, you need engineering discipline and stable production planning. Meat, cheese, RTE meals, medical sterile packs — this cluster naturally belongs to thermoform.
Therefore the smarter question is: “What percentage of my portfolio is high volume and what percentage changes often?” Most efficient companies don’t choose only one side. They mix both. Some SKUs run on ready-tray, long-term high volume SKUs run on thermoforming. Hybrid architecture is how modern factories win.
