{"id":1504,"date":"2026-09-01T14:21:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T06:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eggtray.org\/?post_type=info&p=1504"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T06:21:54","slug":"malawi-4-1-egg-tray-machine-natural-drying","status":"publish","type":"info","link":"https:\/\/www.eggtray.org\/ur\/Info\/malawi-4-1-egg-tray-machine-natural-drying\/","title":{"rendered":"Malawi Feedback: SL-4\u00d71 Egg Tray Machine with Natural Drying"},"content":{"rendered":"

This case study documents a complete 4\u00d71 egg tray machine<\/strong> with natural sun drying installed at a poultry farm near Lilongwe, Malawi. <\/p>

Our client runs a 35,000-layer farm with a 12,000-chick-per-month hatchery. He purchased a 1,500 pcs\/h egg tray making machine<\/a> in early 2026, paired it with a 600 m\u00b2 open-air drying yard, and has been running the operation for four months. <\/p>

Below is the real story: the customer’s background, the equipment decision, the drying yard setup, four months of production data, and the customer’s own words from his feedback video.<\/p>

\"small
small egg tray machine runs well in customer factory<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/div>

Customer Background<\/strong><\/h2>

Our client runs a 35,000-layer poultry farm with a 12,000-chick-per-month hatchery, 18 km southwest of Lilongwe in central Malawi. <\/p>

His own demand for paper trays runs at 1,800\u20132,200 pieces per day during peak season (August\u2013December). He was buying from two local suppliers at $0.025 per tray and running into stockouts three or four times a year. <\/p>

In November 2025, the math was simple: producing in-house at $0.007\u2013$0.008 per tray would save his farm $700\u2013$900 per month on packaging, with surplus to sell to four neighboring farms at $0.020\u2013$0.025 wholesale. <\/p>

His three priorities for the new line were 1,500+ pcs\/h capacity<\/strong>, the lowest possible operating cost<\/strong>, and a low upfront investment<\/strong> he could self-fund from cash flow, not a bank loan.<\/p>

Why Choose a 4\u00d71 Egg Tray Machine with Natural Drying?<\/strong><\/h2>

This client considered three options before ordering:<\/p>

  1. A 3\u00d71 manual line<\/strong> at 1,000 pcs\/h. Cheapest option, but during peak demand he would need to run 16-hour days or buy additional trays.<\/li>
  2. A 4\u00d74 semi-automatic line with brick kiln<\/strong> at 2,500-3,000 pcs\/h. Too much capacity for his market, and a brick kiln costs $8,000\u2013$18,000 on top of the machine.<\/li>
  3. A 4\u00d71 line at 1,500\u20132,000 pcs\/h with natural drying<\/strong>. Right capacity, lowest operating cost, no fuel or electricity for drying.<\/li> <\/ol>

    He chose option 3. Lilongwe’s climate was the deciding factor. From May to October, the dry season brings reliable sunshine at 25\u201332\u00b0C with very little rain, which is ideal for sun drying. The rainy season (November\u2013April) brings 6\u20138 weeks of weather risk, but he was comfortable accepting that risk to keep his operating cost near zero. <\/p>

    \"1500
    1500 pcs per hour paper tray molding machine<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/div>

    He also liked that the 4\u00d71 was a small step up in price from the 3\u00d71 (about $2,000 more) for a 50% increase in hourly output.<\/p>

    The 4\u00d71 egg tray machine<\/a> and a 0.6 m\u00b3 hydraulic pulper<\/a> shipped together in a 20 GP container. Total site footprint: 100 m\u00b2 of covered shed for the machine, plus 600 m\u00b2 of open drying yard. Total FOB price: $10,000\u2013$14,000 USD, including the machine, two mold sets, and spare vacuum pump seals.<\/p>

    Item<\/strong><\/th>Specification<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    Forming machine<\/td>4\u00d71 manual, 1,500\u20132,000 pcs\/h<\/td><\/tr>
    Molds<\/td>30-cavity egg tray + 12-cavity apple tray (interchangeable)<\/td><\/tr>
    Pulper<\/td>0.6 m\u00b3 hydraulic, 7.5 kW<\/td><\/tr>
    Vacuum pump<\/td>7.5 kW water-ring type<\/td><\/tr>
    Drying system<\/td>Natural sun drying on 200 bamboo + galvanized racks<\/td><\/tr>
    Total power<\/td>~30 kW (three-phase 380 V, 50 Hz)<\/td><\/tr>
    Operator team<\/td>6 workers (2 pulping, 1 forming, 2 drying, 1 packing)<\/td><\/tr>
    Indicative line price (FOB)<\/td>$10,000\u2013$14,000 USD<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
    Malawi 4\u00d71 + natural drying line configuration. Final price depends on mold count and destination port<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>
    \"small
    Small Egg Tray Making Machine From Shuliy<\/figcaption><\/figure>
    \"paper
    Paper Pulping Machine<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/figure>

    Setting Up the 600 m\u00b2 Drying Yard<\/strong><\/h2>

    The drying yard took three weeks to build and cost roughly $1,500 in materials, mostly bamboo poles, galvanized wire mesh sheets, and a simple roof over the forming machine. <\/p>

    Our customer laid out the yard in 12 parallel rows, with 16\u201318 racks per row, for a total of 200 racks. Each rack holds 24 mesh sheets, and each sheet holds 4 freshly formed trays, so a full yard holds 19,200 trays per drying cycle.<\/p>

    The 4\u00d71 egg tray machine produces about 1,700\u20131,850 trays per hour, so a full drying cycle (the yard filled in roughly 11\u201312 hours of forming) matches the production rate of one working day. The trickiest part was choosing the site. <\/p>

    He picked a flat, open area with morning sun on the east side and no trees blocking the wind, which keeps the trays drying evenly through the day.<\/p>

    \"natural
    natural drying for egg trays<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/div>

    Drying time depends on temperature and humidity. His actual log from the first four months shows:<\/p>

    Temperature \/ Season<\/strong><\/th>Drying Time<\/strong><\/th>Comment<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
    30\u201335\u00b0C (Sep\u2013Oct)<\/td>2\u20133 hours<\/td>Fastest, no flipping needed<\/td><\/tr>
    25\u201330\u00b0C (May\u2013Aug)<\/td>4\u20135 hours<\/td>Standard cool-dry season<\/td><\/tr>
    15\u201320\u00b0C (Jun\u2013Jul)<\/td>12\u201318 hours<\/td>Cold mornings, one manual flip at 50% drying<\/td><\/tr>
    Rainy (Nov\u2013Apr)<\/td>Stalls or 24+ hours<\/td>Plan for 6\u20138 weeks of weather risk per year<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>
    Drying time by season in Lilongwe. From Mr. Banda’s production log, January\u2013April 2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>

    Workers flip each tray once at the 50% drying point during the cool months, which prevents warping. Mr. Banda learned this the hard way in his first batch, when 8% of trays came out with curled edges.<\/p>