Established in 1984 Shawpak Systems prides itself on providing high level technical sales and support to our valued customer base. Offering solutions for Product Inspection, Packaging and Hygiene equipment sales and after sales support including certified customer training on site or at our Centre of Excellence training and demonstration facility.

What Our Clients Are Saying

Bulk X Ray Inspection

Bulk X-ray Inspection is the automated scanning of large product volumes to detect physical contaminants-metal, glass, bone, and dense foreign materials-before packaging reaches customers. Shawpak Systems Ltd, based in Oakville, Ontario, supplies and supports these systems for food processing plants, meat facilities, pharmaceutical operations, and manufacturers across North America who cannot afford the cost or liability of contamination reaching the market.

The challenge is real. A plant manager in a food processing facility receives a call: a customer found something they shouldn't have. The financial hit is immediate-recalls, shipping costs, potential regulatory action. The reputational damage spreads faster. What started as one contaminated batch becomes a crisis that takes months to recover from. The question is not whether to inspect, but how to do it efficiently enough to keep production moving without creating bottlenecks.

This is where the choice between inspection approaches matters. Not all systems work the same way, and the wrong one can slow your line or miss the very contaminants you are trying to catch.

What Sets X-ray Detection Apart from Other Inspection Methods

X-ray systems detect contaminants that metal detectors and visual inspection cannot. A piece of bone in ground meat, a fragment of glass in sauce, a small metal fastener-these pass through standard metal detectors or hide from the human eye. X-ray equipment penetrates the product itself and produces an image showing density differences. Because most foreign materials have a different density than the food or product around them, they appear on the image as a clear anomaly.

This capability comes with tradeoffs. X-ray systems cost more upfront than metal detectors. They require more technical knowledge to operate and maintain. They are not suitable for every product-some items simply do not produce clear enough contrast under X-ray to make detection reliable. But for bulk processing of dense products like meat, cheese, chocolate, nuts, and prepared foods, X-ray is often the only method that catches the full range of contaminants without rejecting good product by mistake.

Single-Energy Versus Dual-Energy X-ray Inspection Systems

The two main technology approaches differ in how they see the product. Single-energy systems use one X-ray wavelength and produce a single grayscale image. They are simpler, less expensive, and well-suited to detecting obvious foreign objects in high-contrast situations. Dual-energy systems use two X-ray wavelengths simultaneously and generate color-coded images that separate materials by their atomic composition. This allows the system to distinguish between similar densities-for example, to tell bone from calcium deposits-and to detect smaller or less dense contaminants that single-energy systems might miss.

For most facilities in Oakville and across North America, the choice comes down to product type and contamination risk. Shawpak Systems Ltd works with plant managers and operations directors to assess what your production actually needs. A facility processing bone-in meat or dealing with past contamination issues typically benefits from dual-energy capability. A bakery screening for metal and occasional glass often finds single-energy adequate and more cost-effective.

Throughput and Integration: Keeping Your Line Running

X-ray inspection speed matters because your production line does not stop. A system that inspects 60 to 120 packages per minute is industry standard for most food and manufacturing applications. Faster is not always better-inspection accuracy requires enough dwell time for the X-ray to penetrate the product and the camera to capture a clear image. An overly fast system that misses contaminants defeats its purpose.

Integration with your existing conveyor and rejection equipment is equally critical. The inspection unit must communicate with your reject mechanism-pneumatic eject arms, divert gates, or conveyor stops-so that any package flagged as containing a contaminant is removed before it reaches packaging. This happens in milliseconds. Shawpak Systems Ltd ensures that whatever equipment you choose integrates seamlessly with your facility's workflow, minimizing line disruption and operator training time.

Service, Training, and Long-Term Support in Oakville

Equipment choice extends beyond specifications. A system sitting idle because operators do not understand how to adjust sensitivity, run diagnostics, or clear false alarms becomes an expensive paperweight. Shawpak Systems Ltd provides on-site training for your team, not just installation. Our technical experts work with your plant managers and maintenance supervisors to ensure everyone understands how the system works, what the images mean, and how to troubleshoot common issues.

The Centre of Excellence demonstration facility allows decision-makers to see systems running on product similar to what your facility processes. You do not make this decision based on a sales presentation; you see the equipment perform. After installation, certified after-sales support across Canada and the USA means you have a partner who knows your operation and responds when issues arise. Parts distribution through Shawpak ensures you are never waiting for replacement components.

Our Recommendation: Match the System to Your Risk

There is no universal answer. A pharmaceutical manufacturer screening tablets for foreign solids faces different risk than a meat processor screening for bone, and both face different constraints than a chocolate facility screening for metal or glass. The decision requires understanding your product, your past contamination history, your regulatory environment, and your production speed.

Start by asking: What contaminants pose the greatest risk to my operation? How much false rejection can I tolerate? What is my throughput requirement? What does my facility layout allow? From there, the choice between single-energy and dual-energy, and between different manufacturers and models, becomes clearer.

Shawpak Systems Ltd has been advising industrial facilities since 1984. We listen to your situation, explain your options in technical but accessible terms, and recommend the equipment that solves your actual problem-not the most expensive or the flashiest, but the right fit for your operation. If you are ready to discuss how X-ray inspection can protect your facility and your customers, reach out. We serve manufacturing and food processing operations across North America, and we are ready to walk you through the process.