Sachet Water Machine — Mass MS-Series 4 Models for West Africa And Emerging Markets

For a one-shift startup targeting the 500ml conventional Sachet range, MS-1000 makes most sense—it achieves the lowest cost per bag with 2,000-2,200 BPH throughput, it consumes just 1.6 k W, the lowest in the MS family, and it keeps consumable costs simple with its single-layer film design. Most first-time Nigerian or Ghanaian buyers we partner with commence here. Upgrade to MS-Z1000 in its second or third year when branded printed Sachets become a margin lever.

The FOB price band for the MS-Series is roughly Sayahim-$2,800 per machine depending on its model, voltage and options. An entire Sachet Water plant—including machine, RO water purifier, film printer and conveyor—generally falls within the $5,500-$12,000 range FOB. C.I.For the local Nigerian resale market the resale price can be 2.5-3 million per machine, after markup, import duty and last-mile transport costs. Direct purchase from Mass generally provides a discount of between 30-50% versus Lagos resale, however you bear responsibility for ocean freight and clearance. Ask for a written FOB-to-Lagos landed-cost quotation in order to compare apples to apples.

MS-2000 and MS-Z2000 machines handle the full 200-1,000ml range—changeover is a matter of software configuration and film width parameter, it is not a matter of tooling configuration. MS-1000 and MS-Z1000 are optimized for 500ml bag production—they cannot produce 1 Liter. Most customers who intend to sell both 500ml and 1L size recognize MS-2000 as the best configuration from day one rather than buying a second MS-1000 later.

The gross margin per .500 ml Sachet is estimated to be between $0.011 in conservative Ghana wholesale conditions ($0.02 sale price) to $0.09 for branded urban Sachets traded at $0.10 retail. Yearly gross margin examples for one MS-1000 machine working 8-16 hours per day: ~$42,000 (conservative) to ~$512,000 (aggressive). Net profit after rent, distribution, registration fees and generator fuel tends to hold between 40-65% of gross margin. Market share buyer net profit figures of “$84-90k/year profit” frequently refer to a generic-scenario MS-1000 facility and are credible albeit unquantifiable.

Realistic first-time registration timeline: 3-6 months total, from CAC business registration to NAFDAC number issued. Product variants (different volume / new label, etc.) are normally approved in 6-8 weeks. Official sachet water registration fee is 30,000 + 5% VAT (31,500), not including CAC and trademark fees that will typically amount to an additional 35,000-90,000 up-front for registration. Mass submits the technical compliance dossier: machine specs, contact-surface materials, UV-C dosage, film food-contact compliance documentation to NAFDAC inspector who will visit the production facility.

Standard specification is 380V three-phase 50Hz. Mass can also supply 220V single-phase and 110V single-phase variants on demand, adding 7-10 days to machine lead time. Utility line voltage in West Africa often fluctuates by more than 5% from specified; we strongly recommend a voltage stabilizer rated at 1.5-3x the continuous power draw of the machine (1.6-2.5 kW depending on model). If power runs on generator, please confirm sustained kVA rating before placing order.

The MS-Series fills sterile, pre-treated product – it does not treat raw water. Disinfected raw borehole water must be run through an upstream Reverse Osmosis (RO) process before coming in contact with the fill-head; this removes biological contamination, dissolved solids, and hardness. The MS-Series machines have all been provided with 0.5-2 TPH RO purifiers as part of the production line equipment package; sized to the throughput of the specific model. Untreated borehole water fed directly into the filler will result in a microbiological test failure (NAFDAC and Ghana FDA).

The 2-year warranty includes all machine parts – but not wearing consumables (the heating element foil after the first year, sealing jaws after those wear out). Replacement of wearing parts during the first year is fully covered – including international courier to the buyer’s factory – Mass ships “off the shelf” spare parts within 5 working days by DHL or FedEx. Engineer call-in to the job site for repairs is always buyer is responsible, remote diagnostic support is included in the warranty.

Standard wearing parts (seal jaws, heating elements, photocells, etc.) ship by DHL or FedEx Express in 3-5 working days once warranty items are approved to ship. Stock inventory of MS-Series machine parts in Zhangjiagang, China minimizes third-party warehouse delays. Mass also offers the ability for international buyer to ship the part frames from China directly to the technician’s shop for next-day local replacement – for a little extra.

Yes – Mass supplies regulatory fit-for-sale documentation in English (machine spec sheet, food-contact surface materials, FDA 21 CFR 177.1520 PE film regulatory approval, UV-C dosage warranty, Litutak intake plant approval document). However local CAC, trademark, registration and NAFDAC/FDA approval work must be f iled by the buyer or nominated local licensing agent here in Nigeria or Ghana – Mass does not employ a local agency in either country for this work. We are happy to provide contact information of qualified local agents in Lagos, Accra, Kumasi and Abuja.

Manufacturing lead time is 14 days (MS-1000/MS-2000) and 21 days (MS-Z). Transit time by sea from Shanghai to Lagos / on-ward to eastern Nigerian ports is (typically) 30-45 days to Lagos or even Tema, 35-50 days to Douala. Realistic MDOTD: 8-12 weeks from purchase order confirmation including customs clearance. Air freight is available on special request however given the combined machine shipping weight of 270-380 Kg most buyers elect for the sea freight queue.

Hardware architecture, most Chinese OEMs use the 304 SS, VFFS, UV-C inline sterilization train. Differentiators are: (1) filling accuracy spec – Mass commitment to 1%; some bottom-tier OEMs barely met 2-3% without clarifying accuracy range; (2) Spare-part logistics – the time to dispatch through DHL/FedEx (Mass) is 5 working days,vs 2-6 week via sea freight for many competitors; (3) warranty scope – Mass 2 years on all parts vs 1 year industry norm; (4) Regulatory documentation – Mass provided the NAFDAC/FDA-ready equipment package as standard order inclusion rather than buyer requested. The FOB price difference is minimal (~$50-$300 within same volume class) but the lifetime TCO differ substantially when spare-part delays incur production losses.