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When doing your research on freeze drying equipment, the most common question is always: What is the cost of a freeze dryer? There is no easy answer to this because costs can vary between a few thousand dollars to buy a small lab unit, and millions of dollars to purchase a large production line. Knowing the motivation behind these costs will enable you to have a proper budget and not to pay more than you should on features that you do not require. We have produced freeze drying systems more than 20 years at Jiangsu Bolaike Refrigeration Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. The freeze dryer pricing is broken down based on type, scale and application below.
1. Small Laboratory and Pilot Freeze Dryers ($5,000 – $50,000)
Laboratory freeze dryers are meant to serve the research and development, small batch production, as well as product testing. They are small units of about 0.5 to 5 meters of shelf space, with a production capability of 2 to 20 kilograms per batch. Prices will be between $5,000 and $50,000 depending on the simple bench tops to large pilot systems with more advanced controls and multi step programming. These types of machines are best suited in universities, pharmaceutical research and development facilities, and food companies that are testing new freeze dried foods. Although the initial cost is less, the operating costs per kilogram in a lab unit are higher than those of a system in an industrial. The pilot freeze dryers also provide very accurate control of temperatures and vacuum and so you can test out your recipes on a smaller scale and then switch to full production with Jiangsu Bolaike.
2. Medium Industrial Freeze Dryers ($50,000 – $300,000)
Small to mid sized food, nutraceutical and herbal extract manufacturers use the workhorse of medium sized industrial freeze dryers. The shelf area of these machines is usually between 5 to 30 square meters and the machines process between 50 to 500 kilograms at a time. They cost between $50,000 and $300,000 based on the level of automation, the type of construction material (stainless steel and carbon steel) and other extras such as CIP (clean in place) system or data logging. At this size, efficiency is essential- a poorly-designed machine will cost you tens of thousands of additional electricity each year. The medium industrial freeze dryers of Jiangsu Bolaike are designed to have low energy consumption and even drying to maximize output per batch and minimize utility costs.
3. Large Industrial Production Freeze Dryers ($300,000 – $1,500,000+)
Big industrial freeze dryers serve big volume manufacturers of freeze dried coffee, instant meals, and vegetables, seafood, and pharmaceuticals. These systems will have shelf spaces of 30-200 plus and may handle 1-10 plus tons per lot. Fully automated lines cost between $300,000 and more than 1.5 million. Some of the key cost drivers are: total shelf area (a bigger area is more expensive), automation level (manual or fully computer controlled), material quality (food grade stainless steel), and additional equipment (pre freezing tunnels, automatic loading/unloading stations, packaging integration). Jiangsu Bolaike has turnkey service to large producers such as custom design, installation, and operator training- get the correct size system to suit your production goals.
4. Hidden Costs Beyond the Machine Price
Your investment includes more than the purchase price. The hidden costs are: installation and facility modifications (electrical, water, compressed air, ventilation), operator training and labor (more automated machine requires fewer operators), power consumption (poor insulation costs thousands more each year), maintenance and spare parts (instances with lower cost tend to fail more often), and validation and certification (critical in pharmaceutical markets). In their systems, Jiangsu Bolaike is geared towards energy efficiency and easy servicing, which minimizes such hidden costs throughout the lifetime of 15-20 years of the machine. We also give you detailed operating cost estimates prior to purchase and thus there are no surprises.
Conclusion
Prices of freeze dryers can be as low as $ 5,000 on a lab scale and up to $ 1.5 million and above on large industrial scale. The correct machine is based on your batch size, product type and budget. In addition to the purchase cost, there are the cost of installing, energy, maintenance and labor. Jiangsu Bolaike is an efficient, energy saving freeze dryer with 20 years of experience, ISO9001 and CE certifications, and 56+ national patents and offers freeze dryers to food, vegetables, fruits, coffee, seafood, nutraceuticals, and biological products. Get in touch with us today and we will provide you with a tailor made quote according to your production requirements.