The quick answer: 2026 bands
The three families share a page because they share a purchasing trap: the machine is a one-off and the polymer is forever. In bags, pipe and preforms alike, resin dominates the cost of every unit that leaves the building, so what separates a good purchase from a bad one is yield rather than the price band — scrap on start-up and changeover, how tightly the line holds wall thickness or gauge at speed, and how much regrind it will accept before the product starts failing. On any serious volume, a line that runs consistently heavier on the wall gives back whatever it saved you on the purchase price — in resin, quietly, for as long as it runs. Ask what tolerance a machine holds at its rated speed, not what its rated speed is.
The width of each band is the second thing worth reading. In every row the top is several times the bottom, and the extra money buys the ability to hold that tolerance unattended — servo control instead of mechanical timing on a bag machine, twin-screw with a proper calibration and cooling train on pipe, cavity count and mould quality on preforms. That distinction is commercial in South Africa, because the buyers who pay reliably are the spec-driven ones: a retailer taking private-label carrier bags at a required gauge and recycled content, a merchant who stocks only SANS-marked pipe, a blower who rejects preforms that vary between cavities. Entry machines make product; the upper half of each band makes product somebody else will certify. Decide which of those you intend to sell before you choose the row — then add 25–45% landed and installed to whichever it is.
| Machine class | 2026 band (ex-China) | What decides the price |
|---|---|---|
| Plastic bag making machine | USD 8,000–40,000+ | Automation (servo vs mechanical), width, sealing type (bottom/side), printing integration |
| Paper bag machine | Comparable class | Bag format (SOS, flat), handles, print units |
| PVC pipe / profile extrusion line | USD 20,000–200,000+ | Single vs twin screw, die and calibration, cooling train, haul-off — and continuous-duty build quality |
| PET preform production | Injection machine USD 30,000–75,000 + mould set | Cavity count rules everything: a high-cavitation preform mould can cost as much as the machine under it |
| PET bottle blowing | See the bottling guide | Semi-auto blowers to in-line blowing — priced with the line in our bottling plant guide |
The film question behind every bag machine
A bag machine converts film — it doesn't make it. If you're buying film, your margin lives on your film supplier's price list; if you're extruding your own, add a film blowing line to the project and the working capital for resin. The honest project question is "bags from bought film" versus "extrusion plus conversion" — different capital classes, different businesses, and we'll price both before you choose.
Pipe: the extrusion line is a system, not a machine
The extruder is a third of a pipe line: die and calibration tooling per diameter range, the vacuum and cooling train, haul-off, cutter and belling. Quotes that look cheap are usually quoting the extruder alone — the same partial-system trap we flag on gypsum "plants". And pressure-pipe markets buy certification: budget the testing regime with the line.
Preforms: cavity count rules everything
Preform economics are mould economics. The machine is the workhorse-band injection machine; the money decision is cavities (16? 32? 48?), hot-runner quality and cycle time — which set your preforms-per-hour and your cost per unit. Most bottlers should also price the alternative honestly: buying preforms from established converters, which keeps capital in the filling hall where the brand lives.
What you're buying from CISH
Working capacity, not crates: configuration for your product, OEM audit, FAT on your material, freight and clearing, installation and commissioning, training, documented handover. Start with how turnkey delivery works.