When it comes to flexible horizontal cartoning machines, our Spartan family has earned its reputation the old-fashioned way: by showing up, day after day, and getting the job done. These aren’t the fanciest machines, but – just like their namesake - they are tough, unwavering, and built to work. They embody versatility and reliability to solve real production challenges shift after shift, and year after year.

The Spartan isn’t just one machine; it’s an entire family of cartoning solutions, each engineered for specific applications, volumes, and industry needs. From manual loading to high-speed automation, there's a Spartan configuration designed to handle your exact challenge—whether you’re packing craft beverages, nutraceuticals, frozen foods, or automotive parts.

The question isn't whether a Spartan can handle your application—it’s which Spartan is the right fit. Let’s break down the entire family, machine by machine, so you can find your perfect flexible horizontal cartoning machine.

Hand Load Spartan: A Versatile Horizontal Cartoner Where Simplicity Meets Flexibility 

The Hand Load Spartan is where the legend of this versatile horizontal cartoner began — a straightforward, operator-friendly cartoner designed for maximum flexibility without the complexity of full automation.

Who it’s For  

• Operations running small production volumes where automation costs are not yet justified
• Manufacturers dealing with multiple SKUs requiring frequent changeovers
• Companies with products requiring careful manual handling (like medical devices)
• The Hand Load Spartan delivers control, minimal training time, and the flexibility to package virtually anything that fits in a carton.

Key Benefits  

• Its beauty lies in simplicity. Changeovers are fast and intuitive. Operators can load multiple articles at once, making it surprisingly efficient for a manual system.
• And because there’s minimal automation, training new operators is straightforward.  
• It’s highly adaptable, thriving across food, home products, industrial applications, and especially the medical device sector.

Industries

• Medical device sector (due to product handling requirements)
• Small-batch food production
• Specialty industrial products
• Automotive components.  
• Anywhere production volumes don't justify full automation, this machine thrives.

The Hand Load Spartan may not be the fastest versatile horizontal cartoner, but when you need rugged reliability and the flexibility to run anything that fits in a carton, it delivers. Every. Single. Time.

Belt/Bucket Spartan: The Flexible Horizontal Cartoning Machine Workhorses

If the Hand Load Spartan is about simplicity, the Belt and Bucket versions of this flexible horizontal cartoning machine are about unlocking serious production efficiency while maintaining adaptability. These configurations have become the backbone of our business.

Who They’re For

• Manufacturers ready to reduce labor costs and boost throughput by up to 75%. If you’re struggling to find and retain packaging line workers, need to increase capacity without expanding your facility, or run multiple products requiring quick changeovers, these configurations deliver immediate ROI through labor savings and higher speeds.
• The Belt Spartan excels with consistent, easy-to-handle formats (e.g., shrink-wrapped items, products in trays) that can be automatically loaded via belt conveyor.
• The Bucket Spartan is currently our most popular configuration. The Bucket Spartan handles a greater variety of products because it can run eight different SKUs in a single shift (tubes, pouches, cups). This versatility opens the door to a wider product range than virtually any other cartoner in its class.

Key Benefits

• Both versions deliver substantial speed improvements (up to 75% faster over manual loading).  
• Operators simply keep products flowing onto the belt or into the bucket; the machine handles the rest.
• This means fewer people, higher speeds, greater consistency, and reduced overhead.
• Both the Belt and Bucket Spartan handle standard shelf cartons and display-ready packaging, and changeovers remain fast and operator-friendly.

Industries

• Food manufacturing (packaged goods in trays, frozen items, snacks)
• Nutraceuticals (handling bottles, pouches)
• E-commerce fulfillment benefit from the ability to eliminate manual loading bottlenecks.

Because of the automation features on the Belt and Bucket Spartans, the initial investment is higher than the hand load version, but the return on that investment shows up rapidly in labor savings and throughput gains with this flexible horizontal cartoning machine.

Beverage Spartan: The Craft Beverage Industry’s Versatile Horizontal Cartoner of Choice

What started as the "Craft Beer Machine" has evolved into a versatile horizontal cartoning powerhouse serving the entire beverage category, and is one of our strongest growth stories.

Who It’s For

• Beverage producers and co-packers who need to handle explosive category growth and packaging diversity without sacrificing speed or flexibility.  
• If you are launching new beverage formats, running variety packs, filling medium-speed lines (up to 200 cans per minute), or dealing with constant packaging innovation, the Beverage Spartan helps you capitalize on market opportunities fast.

Key Benefits

• It brings serious speed, thanks to LinMot actuator upgrades, enabling throughput up to 200 cans per minute.  
• But its defining feature is its ability to handle the wild variety of today’s beverage formats: standard shelf cartons, open-top cartons, RSC corrugated cases, and PET bottle packs.  
• This adaptability makes it the go-to solution for co-packers handling multiple brands and formats.  
• It’s also perfectly designed for the variety pack opportunity, a niche large producers often outsource.

Industries

• Craft breweries launched the category, but it now serves RTD (ready-to-drink) producers, carbonated water companies, energy drinks, THC-infused beverage startups, protein brands, wine, and spirits.  
• The Beverage Spartan sits in the sweet spot of the post-pandemic beverage boom— fast enough for growing demands and flexible enough for whatever new category emerges next.
  

Spartan+: Premium Speed Meets Precision with this Flexible Horizontal Cartoning Machine

When standard Spartan speeds aren’t enough and production demands push past 40 cartons per minute, the Spartan+ flexible horizontal cartoning machine steps up. This is the premium member of the Spartan family, engineered for customers who need speed and surgical precision.

Who It’s For

• High-volume manufacturers who've outgrown standard speeds and need precision at 40-60 cartons per minute.  
• If you are experiencing bottlenecks, dealing with product damage at high speeds, or need seamless coordination when integrating cartoning directly with upstream filling lines, the Spartan+ solves these issues. It delivers the consistency that high-volume production requires.

Key Benefits

• Features include servo belt technology, LinMot overhead infeed, and a hot melt glue system for consistent performance at higher speeds.  
• Roughly 85% of installations go into the nutraceutical industry, handling bottles that need to be knocked down and loaded into cartons with zero damage and perfect placement.
• Despite the enhanced automation, it maintains core Spartan flexibility and reliability.

Industries

• Nutraceutical manufacturers (particularly bottle lines at 15-60 per minute)
• High-speed food manufacturers running consistent product formats
• It’s the choice for operations that have outgrown standard Spartan speeds but don't need specialty ultra-high-speed cartoners.

Spartan M-Pro Versatile Horizontal Cartoner: Compact Innovation for Small-Format Packaging

The Spartan M-Pro represents our newest innovation, launched in 2024, the M-Pro is a compact, high-performance versatile horizontal cartoner designed specifically for small carton applications.

Who It’s For

Manufacturers of premium small-format products who need packaging that matches their brand quality while integrating seamlessly with upstream production.  

If you need compact equipment to maximize limited floor space, require upstream integration, and are packaging high-value products, the M-Pro delivers.

Key Benefits

• 

  It’s great for small cartons (cosmetics, small nutraceuticals, home products), but it requires upstream integration.  
• It's positioned as a premium small-format solution that delivers Spartan reliability in a refined, compact package.

Industries

• Cosmetics (premium skincare, makeup)
• Small-format nutraceutical producers
• Specialty food producers with premium, small-format products

Wrap-Around Spartan: Flexible Horizontal Cartoning Machine for Challenging Formats

The Wrap-Around Spartan flexible horizontal cartoning machine handles carton formats and applications that would stump conventional cartoners. It's the machine you call when standard shelf cartons won't cut it.

Who It’s For

• Manufacturers dealing with unique packaging challenges.  
• If you need wraparound corrugated formats for product protection or presentation, require flexibility to run multiple carton styles on a single line, or have odd-shaped products, the Wrap-Around Spartan gives you capabilities most competitors can’t match.

Key Benefits

• It starts with a flat corrugated blank, places the product, folds the sides, and wraps the carton around it—a fundamentally different approach.  
• This flexibility makes it ideal where standard cartons don't provide adequate protection or presentation.  
• It’s a premium investment that solves challenging requirements.

Industries

• Dairy producers (for specialized packaging)
• Beverage companies (craft breweries & distilleries for unique presentation formats)
• Any manufacturer dealing with odd-shaped products or unique carton requirements.

Finding Your Spartan Versatile Horizontal Cartoner: What's Next?

The Spartan family of versatile horizontal cartoners has grown because folks like you needed machines that could adapt, and we listened. Whether it’s to your changing product lines, evolving packaging formats, growing production demands, or shrinking labor pools, we’ve heard every piece of feedback you’ve shared with us.

What ties the entire family together isn’t just the name. It’s a philosophy. And it’s one that’s stood the test of time (as in, thousands of years). Cartoning equipment, like the Spartans’ namesake, should be reliable, versatile, and built to work. Spartans represent roughly half of our total business, proving their importance to our customers.

Whether you're hand-loading medical devices, auto-feeding food products, packing craft beverages, running high-speed nutraceutical lines, cartoning cosmetics, or handling wraparound corrugated applications, there's a Spartan configuration engineered for your exact challenge.

The question is which one fits best—and that’s a conversation worth having. When you find the right Spartan, you're investing in a workhorse that'll show up tomorrow, next month, and five years from now, ready to work. That's the Spartan promise. 

 
Contact us to discuss which Spartan is right for your operation.