powder handling equipment for manufacturing nutraceuticals

INDUSTRIES

Manufacturing Equipment for Nutraceutical Products

Matcon provides manufacturers of nutraceuticals, functional foods and nutritional supplements with the equipment they need to improve manufacturing flexibility and production capacity and operational effectiveness.

Matcon is well known for designing high quality solutions that deliver a solid ROI.

As consumers demand a wider range of nutraceutical products to suit diets & lifestyle needs, we see nutraceutical manufacturers under increasing pressure to meet this demand in order to remain competitive. The increase in diverse recipes and product portfolios means more changeovers during a shift and more cleaning, which significantly impacts active production time with traditional coupled mixing systems.

Increasingly, recipes need to be allergen-free or diet-specific, which will result in extra time being spent carrying out thorough clean-downs between recipe batches to reduce the chance of cross-contamination.

In addition, many powders used in nutraceutical products are notoriously difficult to handle and can be sticky and poor flowing. Some have a tendency to segregate during discharge, impacting dosage accuracy and product quality.

Matcon IBC Systems are designed to optimize production lines, and create flexibility. By deploying parallel processing, the manufacturing steps of formulation, mixing, packing and cleaning are decoupled, as each process step is independent. With in-bin blending designed into the solution, recipe batch changeovers can be instantaneous enabling multiple recipe batch handling.

It is vital to use manufacturing equipment that removes the risk of any cross-contamination, without losing production time. IBC blending means less time is spent cleaning and the risk of cross-contamination across your product lines is reduced as all powders are kept within the IBC.

Why Matcon IBC systems are ideal for manufacturing Nutraceuticals

The Matcon Cone Valve technology inside each IBC enables precise, automatic discharge and flow control of all powder types, reliably preventing common issues such as bridging, rat-holing, segregation and degradation.

The scalable modular design of a Matcon powder handling systems is perfect to expand upon as you innovate and grow your product portfolios and increase throughput to develop your business.

MATCON EXPERTISE

Helping Nutraceutical Manufacturers Reach Production Goals

Matcon design engineers have delivered a wide range of IBC powder handling systems and blending equipment, from the simple start-up to the more complex automated, multi-mixer, multiple packing line configurations.

We’re experts on designing systems that allow manufacturers to grow by increasing production output and enabling a widening of product portfolios without the risk of cross-contamination.

The Matcon expertise spans over 40 years of working across the globe with leading manufacturers of nutraceuticals, functional foods and nutritional health supplements. We have also helped customers in the sports nutrition industry overcome their production challenges.

Supplement powder manufacturers require well designed systems that fully contain and control dust.

For supplement powder manufacturing, Matcon recommends using closed, fully contained powder handling systems based on Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) that eliminate dust at source rather than relying solely on secondary extraction.

Open transfers and manual handling are the primary causes of airborne dust, risking cross‑contamination, and product loss. Using dust‑tight IBCs with sealed connections, powders remain contained from filling and blending through to discharge and packing.

At specific processing steps, such as formulation at sack dump stations, local dust extraction should be used to capture dust immediately and protect operators. During discharge, lip‑sealed hoppers and contained couplings prevent dust release while maintaining product integrity. This approach not only improves hygiene and allergen control but also reduces cleaning time, waste, and the risks associated with combustible dust.

In supplement manufacturing, effective containment is the most robust and scalable alternative to traditional dust extraction alone.

Nutraceutical powder handling equipment is designed with hygienic, fully contained system architecture when using an Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) based solution.

Hygienic design in nutraceutical powder handling is achieved by eliminating open processing and designing for complete containment at every stage of manufacture. Matcon systems use sealed, food‑grade stainless‑steel IBCs that remain closed from filling and blending through to discharge and packing, significantly reducing contamination and cleaning risk. Smooth internal surfaces, minimal crevices, and controlled mass‑flow discharge prevent powder build‑up and product hang‑up, supporting consistent hygiene standards.

The decoupled system design allows filling, blending, discharging, and cleaning to be carried out independently, so equipment can be cleaned offline without stopping production or exposing product pathways.

Where frequent recipe changeovers or allergens are present, this approach minimises cross‑contamination while reducing validation time and housekeeping effort. Hygienic design is therefore built into the system architecture—not added as an afterthought—supporting nutraceutical manufacturers in meeting high regulatory and quality expectations.

SYSTEM MODULES

Powder Handling Systems for Nutraceuticals

This simple system is all you need to get started the right way. By decoupling the processing steps we enable companies to achieve a flexible manufacturing system.

The Matcon system is based on using Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) to transport powders between manufacturing steps and as a blending vessel. Because everything is contained within the IBC, there is no clean-down of the blender between recipe changes, which gives you the ultimate flexibility of operation.