How to Choose the Right Conveyor Manufacturer (5 Expert Tips)

Maintenance managers, operators, and engineers depend on highly efficient conveyors across a wide range of industries. As regulatory pressures within the industry continue to rise, maintenance personnel and engineers are looking to partner with manufacturers who can provide custom conveyor systems that boost product efficiency, eliminate downtime, and improve consistency while maximizing ROI.

Choosing custom solutions compared to standard alternatives means that each aspect of custom machinery is designed and built to integrate seamlessly into the existing product line and support production goals. These customized conveyors have a wealth of benefits that outweigh those of generic systems.

In this article, we share five practical tips to help you choose a conveyor manufacturer that can support your operation long-term, whether it’s food and beverage production or other industries that our systems support.

The Importance of Choosing the Right Industrial Conveyor Manufacturers

Selecting the right industrial conveyor manufacturer for your line is critical to optimising production performance, boosting efficiency, and lowering labor costs. Operational demands also vary widely by sector, from food and pet food processors, who place the greatest emphasis on hygienic design and ease of cleaning, while packaging and general material handling operations focus more on throughput, robustness, and system flexibility.

Whatever the conveyor system, from cooling and oscillating to flat and modular, operators should look for a system that meets their unique standards, addressing the problems of their production line.

Partnering with a conveyor manufacturer that has proven cross‑industry experience helps ensure your system is compliant, efficient, and built for long-term reliability.

Five Expert Tips for Choosing the Right Conveyor Manufacturer

1. Prioritize Customization & Adaptability

Opting for a conveyor that prioritizes the lifecycle is a crucial consideration. Off-the-shelf conveyors may seem cost-effective, but they often fall short in real-world production environments. For example:

• A limited fit to unique processes or hygiene and safety constraints, which can force you to adapt your workflow.
• Off-the-shelf counterparts are less flexible for future changes in product mix, packaging, and regulatory compliance.
• Considerable efficiency loss compared with a well-designed custom solution.
• Operators may face integration challenges when trying to use older or newer generation equipment.

Customizable conveyor solutions are essential for building an efficient, high-volume production line. That’s because custom machinery supports manufacturers and operators in boosting productivity, accuracy, and efficiency by automating processes and seamlessly integrating with your pre-existing production lines.

This integration ensures that machinery fits into existing lines, controls, and automation rather than forcing a standalone, “island” approach. Customization and integration allow for an upstream and downstream process that does not require a major re-layout.

Working with a manufacturer that can provide customized conveyors helps to reduce disruption, allowing processors to upgrade a single step while keeping the rest of the line intact. Meaning that downtime is limited and production can continue.

Before deciding on your custom belt conveyor manufacturer, consider the following questions:

• Can this system adapt to future product sizes or formats?
• How easily can the conveyor integrate with existing controls?
• What modifications are possible post-installation?

2. Look for Proven Cross-Sector Experience and Support

Often, operators will overlook service, spare parts availability, and select manufacturers without sector-specific experience. That’s why we recommend working with a manufacturer with variable sector knowledge across food, consumer goods, pet food, and more, who will support your overall experience and service.

Working with a manufacturer who has cross-sector knowledge means that you are collaborating with a company that has experience; this manufacturer will know the specific requirements of the conveyor for your industry and can provide follow-up support with spare parts and ongoing training.

Service, Training & Long-Term Support

Ensuring that you have long-term reliability and support is an important aspect of choosing an industrial conveyor manufacturer.

At F.N. Smith, our engineers have access to spare parts through vendor-agnostic stocking and global distribution networks.

Each of our solutions is engineered one-to-one with clients; this support helps operators and engineers to work together to match the exact production needs. For example, integrating into an existing line configuration or incorporating features such as robotic integration and HMI controls for versatile operation across product types.

This one-to-one collaboration helps to avoid one-size-fits-all limitations, allowing processors to handle varied formats, such as different pet foods or grains, while maintaining high performance. Additionally, this support extends to training to ensure seamless adaptation and enhanced long-term agility in competitive sectors.

3. Ensure Solutions Adhere to Engineering Standards & Technical Capabilities

Engineering standards and technical capability are non-negotiable when upgrading a production line. Collaborating with a conveyor manufacturer that ensures that engineering standards are upheld and has the technical capability to support your designs.

At F.N. Smith, engineering standards are embedded into every conveyor we design. Within our design, we ensure that standards are upheld across conveyors, as they come in contact with raw materials.

Our custom conveyors and machinery are designed with components and system architectures that address regulatory compliance concerns, such as ATEX, IECEx, and related national implementations.

Complying with these standards meets legal requirements and reduces the risk of unplanned downtime, insurance complications, and safety incidents, especially in duty-heavy or combustible environments.

Sustainability Considerations

Sustainability is a rising factor that comes into consideration when choosing conveyor manufacturers.

At F.N. Smith, we address this through hygienic, efficient custom machinery designs that reduce waste, improve cleanability, and maximize production value from raw materials in food and pet food applications.

• Positive drive technology and cantilever design: These reduce belt slip, minimise product loss, and improve cleanability—helping manufacturers lower waste, reduce water usage, and extend belt life.
• Clean-in-place (CIP) systems: This system uses precise cleaning control, recycle rinses, and reduced CO2 emissions to boost sustainability.

4. Evaluate Lead Times and Long-Term Reliability

Ensuring that you are choosing a manufacturer that is going to provide you with long-term reliability and support is a main priority. That’s why transparency across lead times, one-to-one engineer support, and customer service remain vital.

With our ‘Total Commitment’ philosophy, at F.N. Smith, we emphasize one-on-one engineering, the use of skilled tradespeople, and adaptable manufacturing processes. Our expert engineers work closely with clients from initial discussions to the completion of a project to ensure the final product matches exact specifications.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software manage projects from customer requirements through to delivery. These systems coordinate the various stages of design, fabrication, and installation, which is vital for maintaining control over complex, non-standard projects.

5. Choose High-Quality Materials

Choosing a conveyor manufacturer that considers the impact of hygiene, durability, and lifecycle cost is vital to adopting a conveyor system that is long-lasting and reliable.

Stainless steel solutions are the preferred choice due to their washdown environments, while mild steel may be suitable for dry, enclosed applications.

When deciding on your conveyor manufacturer, consider choosing a manufacturer who can provide full material traceability and documentation of supplier quality control for critical components.

Now that you have all of the information to support your decision, what’s the next step?

The F.N. Smith Approach – We Get the F.N. Job Done

As leaders in the manufacturing space, with a keen focus on special machinery. We design and develop custom machinery solutions that improve customers’ productivity, flexibility, and maintain regulatory compliance, and help you reach your ESG goals across the board.

Are you ready to choose a conveyor manufacturer that gets the F.N. job done? You can speak to our expert customer service team here. For more information about our custom machinery solutions, visit the custom machinery and fabrications solution page.