Liquid Contract Manufacturing: What to Expect When You Partner with Chem-Pak

Insight
Chem-Pak's liquid filling operation handles a wide range of formulations, container sizes, and production volumes, including flammable and corrosive products. Production Manager Dave Nesselrodte walks through what the line can do, how we work with brands that have a formula ready to run and those that are still developing one, and why running both liquid and aerosol under one roof matters for brands with mixed product lines.
Liquid contract manufacturing covers a lot of ground. The brands we work with run everything from water-thin solvents to viscous industrial formulas, in containers ranging from 2-ounce specialty bottles to 1-gallon jugs. Some come to us with a formula that's ready to run. Others are still in development. Either way, the path to commercial production starts the same way: with an honest conversation about what the product needs and what the line can do.

Here's what that looks like at Chem-Pak.

What the line handles

Our primary liquid filling line is a 12-head gravity-fed filler built for speed and range. It runs at up to 120 bottles per minute and handles containers from 2 oz to 1 gallon. It supports both water-thin and viscous formulations and is rated for flammable and corrosive products, which matters for the automotive, industrial MRO, and specialty chemical brands we work with most.

Beyond the primary line, we run two supplemental lines that expand our coverage. A medium-format line handles pints, quarts, and gallons in paint rounds and F-style containers, which are common in industrial and commercial product programs. A small and specialty bottle line is configured for non-standard container sizes and shapes. That range lets us support brands with mixed SKU portfolios without requiring them to manage multiple manufacturing relationships.

We've been running liquid products alongside aerosol since the early days of this company. The technical knowledge that comes from decades of running a wide variety of formulas and fill types doesn't come from reading a spec sheet. It comes from knowing what a given product is going to do on the line before it gets there.

What cost efficiency actually means

Brands come to us asking what liquid contract manufacturing costs, and the honest answer is: it depends on the product, the volume, and the container format. What we can tell you is that our job is to help you find the most efficient path for your product without compromising what makes it work.

That might mean recommending a different container format that runs more efficiently on our lines without affecting consumer experience. It might mean working through batch size to get to a volume that makes financial sense for where the brand is today. It might mean flagging that a formulation change being considered downstream could affect fill behavior and create costs that aren't obvious until production starts.

We'd rather have that conversation early than fix a problem after the first run. Sixty years of contract manufacturing teaches you that the brands who do well long-term are the ones who come in ready to talk through the details, not just hand off a spec sheet and wait.

If your product line also includes aerosol

Some of the brands we work with in liquid also have aerosol products in their lineup. Lubricants, penetrants, degreasers, coatings: many of these products exist in both formats depending on the application or the customer using them. If that's your situation, we can be a one-stop shop.

Because we run both aerosol and liquid operations under one roof, you don't have to manage two manufacturing relationships for the same product line. One quality system, one set of documentation, one team to call when a schedule shifts or a packaging component comes in late. For brands with products in both formats, that kind of consolidation has real operational value.

Where to start

How you come to us determines where we start.

If your formula and packaging are already established, our I Have a Formula & Packaging path is the right entry point. We'll confirm compatibility and move you into production planning without repeating development work you've already done.

If you're still in development, or your formula isn't validated yet, our Formula Development path gives you access to our R&D team to work through formulation, packaging compatibility, and stability before the product ever gets to the line.

Either way, the goal is the same: get your product to commercial production in a way that runs reliably and serves your customers consistently. If you'd like to talk through your product and see where it fits, reach out to our team to start the conversation.

Dave Nesselrodte is Production Manager at Chem-Pak, Inc., overseeing aerosol and liquid manufacturing operations from batching through final shipment.

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June 10, 2026
Insight
Liquid Contract Manufacturing: What to Expect When You Partner with Chem-Pak
Chem-Pak's liquid filling operation handles a wide range of formulations, container sizes, and production volumes, including flammable and corrosive products. Production Manager Dave Nesselrodte walks through what the line can do, how we work with brands that have a formula ready to run and those that are still developing one, and why running both liquid and aerosol under one roof matters for brands with mixed product lines.
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60 Years of Aerosol, Liquid, and Private Label Expertise