Moving bags, cases, cartons, and crates efficiently is an important part of modern manufacturing, warehousing, and packaging operations. When product movement depends heavily on manual handling, companies may face higher labour requirements, inconsistent material flow, production delays, and unnecessary handling between processes.

A Material Handling Conveyor provides a controlled way to move products between different stages of production, packaging, storage, and dispatch.

Modern material handling systems can combine belt conveyors, roller conveyors, sensors, controls, transfer systems, and other automation technologies to create a continuous product flow.

For manufacturers handling bags, cases, cartons, and crates, selecting the right conveyor system can improve material movement and support a more connected automated production line.

What Is a Material Handling Conveyor?

A Material Handling Conveyor is an industrial conveyor system designed to transport products or materials from one location to another with controlled and repeatable movement.

Depending on the application, conveyor systems can handle:

• Bags
• Cases
• Cartons
• Crates
• Boxes
• Packaged products
• Containers
• Industrial components

A conveyor can connect different stages of a manufacturing or packaging process, reducing the need for manual product transportation.

A typical automated material flow can be:

Production → Packaging → Inspection → Conveying → Palletizing → Storage → Dispatch

This creates a more structured material flow throughout the facility.

Why Are Material Handling Conveyors Important?

As production volumes increase, manually moving products between workstations can become difficult to manage.

A properly designed material handling conveyor system can help manufacturers address several common challenges.

1. Reduce Manual Material Movement

Employees may otherwise need to repeatedly carry or move bags, cases, and crates between production areas.

Conveyor automation can reduce repetitive transportation activities by moving products mechanically between defined points.

2. Improve Material Flow

A conveyor system creates a dedicated path for product movement.

This can help reduce unnecessary movement between:

• Production lines
• Packaging machines
• Inspection stations
• Palletizing areas
• Warehouses
• Dispatch areas

3. Support Higher Production Volumes

Automated material handling systems can continuously transfer products while production is running.

This makes conveyor automation particularly useful for high-volume manufacturing and packaging environments.

4. Improve Workplace Organization

A planned conveyor route can provide a more structured flow of products through the facility and reduce unnecessary movement of materials across production areas.

5. Connect Multiple Automation Systems

Conveyors can act as the connection between different machines.

For example:

Automatic Bagging Machine → Conveyor → Inspection → Palletizer → Stretch Wrapper

This makes the conveyor an important part of an integrated end-of-line automation system.

Material Handling Conveyor for Bags

Bags are commonly used in industries such as chemicals, fertilizers, food, agriculture, minerals, and industrial manufacturing.

Filled bags may need to move from a bagging machine to weighing, inspection, palletizing, or packaging equipment.

A bag conveyor system can be designed according to:

• Bag dimensions
• Bag weight
• Product characteristics
• Required conveyor speed
• Production capacity
• Line layout
• Downstream equipment

Belt conveyors are commonly considered for bag handling because the continuous belt surface provides support while products move along the conveyor.

Automated Bag Handling

An automated bag handling system can connect bag filling with downstream operations.

A typical process could be:

Bag Filling → Bag Conveying → Bag Alignment → Inspection → Palletizing

This reduces the need for operators to manually transfer filled bags between machines.

For companies already using automatic bagging machines, integrating conveyors can help create a more continuous packaging process.

Material Handling Conveyor for Cases and Cartons

Cases and cartons are widely used in FMCG, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, and industrial packaging.

A case conveyor can transport packed cases between production and downstream operations such as:

• Case packing
• Labelling
• Inspection
• Sorting
• Palletizing
• Storage
• Dispatch

The conveyor design should consider the size, weight, shape, and bottom surface of the case.

For applications involving rigid cartons and boxes, different conveyor configurations can be selected according to the required product flow.

Material Handling Conveyor for Crates

Crates are used for transporting products, components, containers, and other materials within manufacturing and warehouse environments.

A crate conveyor system can automate movement between workstations and storage or dispatch areas.

Crate handling applications may require:

• Belt conveyors
• Roller conveyors
• Transfer conveyors
• Accumulation conveyors
• Automated sorting
• Sensors and controls

The correct configuration depends on crate dimensions, load weight, production speed, and facility layout.

Types of Conveyors Used in Material Handling

Different products require different conveyor technologies. Two common solutions are belt conveyors and roller conveyors.

Belt Conveyor

A belt conveyor uses a continuous belt to transport products along a defined path.

Belt conveyor systems are suitable for many applications involving:

• Bags
• Cartons
• Boxes
• Cases
• Crates
• Packaged products

A belt conveyor can also be configured with different belt materials and conveyor layouts depending on the application.

For manufacturing and packaging facilities, belt conveyors can provide continuous product movement between different stages of the process.

Roller Conveyor System

A roller conveyor system uses rotating rollers to transport products.

Roller conveyors are commonly used for applications involving:

• Boxes
• Cartons
• Cases
• Crates
• Pallets

Powered roller conveyors can provide controlled product movement, while gravity roller conveyors can be used in suitable applications where products can move through the conveyor using gravity.

The selection depends on the product, load, required speed, layout, and automation requirements.

Automated Material Handling in Manufacturing

Automated material handling connects physical product movement with manufacturing and packaging automation.

Instead of manually transporting products between machines, conveyors can move products according to predefined routes.

A modern automated material handling system may include:

• Conveyor systems
• Sensors
• PLC controls
• Motorized drives
• Transfer units
• Sorting systems
• Pallet handling
• Robotic systems

These technologies can work together to create a more coordinated production flow.

Example of an Automated Material Handling Line

Consider a manufacturing facility producing products that are packed into bags.

The automated process could be:

Product Filling → Automatic Bagging → Bag Conveyor → Inspection → Robotic Palletizing → Pallet Conveyor → Stretch Wrapping → Warehouse / Dispatch

This type of connected system can reduce unnecessary manual handling between individual processes.

How Conveyor Automation Supports End-of-Line Packaging

End-of-line packaging involves the final stages of preparing products for storage and transportation.

These stages may include:

• Product conveying
• Case handling
• Bag handling
• Palletizing
• Stretch wrapping
• Strapping
• Pallet movement
• Truck loading

A material handling conveyor system can connect these operations into one continuous workflow.

For example, filled bags can move from an automatic bagging machine to a palletizer without requiring operators to manually carry each bag.

After palletizing, a pallet conveyor can transfer the finished pallet toward wrapping, storage, or dispatch.

Material Handling Conveyor for Warehouses

Conveyor systems can also support internal warehouse material movement.

Applications may include:

• Receiving
• Product transfer
• Order processing
• Packaging
• Pallet handling
• Dispatch

For facilities with high product movement requirements, conveyor automation can help establish defined material routes between operational areas.

However, conveyor selection should be based on the actual warehouse workflow rather than simply adding conveyors to every process.

How to Choose the Right Material Handling Conveyor

Selecting a material handling conveyor system requires evaluating the product and the complete material flow.

1. Product Type

Determine whether the conveyor will handle:

• Bags
• Cases
• Cartons
• Crates
• Pallets
• Other packaged products

2. Product Weight

Conveyor capacity must be suitable for the maximum product weight and expected operating conditions.

3. Product Dimensions

Length, width, height, and shape influence conveyor design.

4. Required Conveyor Speed

Production rate and downstream equipment determine the required product movement speed.

5. Conveyor Length and Layout

The available floor space determines whether the system requires straight conveyors, curves, transfers, elevation changes, or multiple conveyor sections.

6. Required Automation Level

The system may range from a simple conveyor to a fully integrated automated material handling system using sensors, PLC controls, transfers, and robotic equipment.

7. Downstream Equipment

Consider what happens after the product leaves the conveyor.

For example:

Conveyor → Palletizer → Stretch Wrapper

or

Conveyor → Case Packing → Palletizing → Dispatch

The conveyor should be designed as part of the complete process rather than as an isolated machine.

Benefits of Automated Material Handling Systems

When correctly designed and integrated, automated material handling can provide several operational benefits.

Reduced Repetitive Handling

Conveyors can reduce repetitive manual transportation of products between process stages.

Consistent Product Flow

Automated conveyors provide controlled movement along defined routes.

Improved Productivity

Continuous product movement can support high-volume production and packaging operations.

Better Integration

Conveyors can connect bagging, case packing, inspection, palletizing, wrapping, storage, and dispatch.

Improved Material Flow

A well-designed conveyor layout can reduce unnecessary product movement and process interruptions.

Scalable Automation

Conveyor systems can be expanded or integrated with additional automation as production requirements change.

Material Handling Conveyor and Palletizing Integration

For many manufacturing facilities, material handling does not end when the product leaves the conveyor.

The next stage may be palletizing.

A conveyor can transfer cases, bags, or other products directly to:

• Robotic palletizers
• Gantry palletizers
• High-level palletizers
• Low-level palletizers
• Hybrid palletizing systems

This creates a continuous workflow from product handling to pallet formation.

Material Handling Conveyor and Pallet Conveyor Integration

Once products are palletized, pallet conveyor systems can move finished pallets between palletizing, wrapping, warehouse, and dispatch areas.

This can reduce forklift dependency for certain internal transport operations and create a more automated material flow.

Material Handling Conveyor for Complete Intralogistics

A modern manufacturing plant may require several different conveyor technologies rather than one universal conveyor.

For example:

Belt Conveyor → Bags and packaged products

Roller Conveyor → Cases, cartons and rigid loads

Pallet Conveyor → Finished pallets

Tyre Handling Conveyor → Tyre manufacturing applications

By selecting the appropriate conveyor technology for each material flow, manufacturers can build a more efficient intralogistic conveyor system.

Why Choose an Integrated Conveyor Automation Solution?

A conveyor should be considered as part of the complete material handling process.

Alligator Automations provides intralogistic conveyor solutions for:

• Product handling
• Bag handling
• Case handling
• Crate handling
• Pallet conveying
• Tyre handling
• Belt conveying
• Roller conveying
• Packaging automation
• Palletizing integration
• End-of-line automation

This integrated approach allows manufacturers to design material movement around their production and packaging requirements.

A Material Handling Conveyor is more than a system for moving products from one point to another. When properly designed, it becomes an important part of an integrated automated material handling system.

For manufacturers handling cases, bags, crates, cartons, and pallets, the right combination of belt conveyors, roller conveyors, pallet conveyors, and automation controls can create a more connected flow from production and packaging to palletizing, storage, and dispatch.

Alligator Automations provides intralogistic conveyor solutions for product handling, pallet movement, tyre handling, belt conveying, and roller conveying, helping manufacturers connect material movement with their wider industrial automation requirements.

Explore Alligator Automations

Alligator Automations specializes in industrial automation and material handling solutions for manufacturing and packaging operations.