A spiral conveyor moves product vertically along a helical belt or slat path wrapped around a central column.

A single drive motor turns the belt, and overlapping slats or a continuous belt carry cartons, totes, bottles, or trays up or down without batching.

Most spirals run between 100 and 200 feet per minute. Built well and maintained on schedule, they last ten to fifteen years.

Three options, three tradeoffs. A reciprocating vertical lift handles heavy loads and large totes but batches product, which kills continuous flow.

An incline conveyor is cheap and simple but eats horizontal floor space, often more than the operation can spare.

A spiral handles continuous flow in a compact footprint, costs more upfront, and is sized for unit loads, not pallets. The right answer depends on product weight, throughput, ceiling height, and what you can give up.

A unit-load spiral for a single line typically falls between fifty thousand and two hundred fifty thousand dollars installed, depending on height, throughput, materials, and integration complexity.

Washdown stainless and dual-track configurations push higher. Retrofit drive and slat upgrades on an existing spiral run a fraction of replacement cost.

We give a real first-pass spec and budgetary number on the quote, not a brochure range.

Yes, when specified correctly. Stainless steel construction, washdown-rated frames, smooth radius transitions, and Clean-In-Place compatibility are standard options on most modern spirals.

Cooling, freezing, and proofing applications use spirals routinely because the long belt path inside a small footprint gives the product the dwell time it needs.

The spec details (belt material, drainage, sensor placement) determine whether a unit passes the audit.

An accumulation spiral acts as a buffer. It holds product in a continuous helical path between upstream and downstream equipment, so when the line downstream pauses, product accumulates on the spiral instead of jamming the line upstream.

It buys you time during changeovers, stoppages, or speed mismatches without adding floor space.

We spec accumulation spirals on bottling lines, parcel sortation, and any operation where downstream pace varies.

We're an authorized Hytrol Integration Partner, which gives us direct access to Hytrol's spiral and vertical conveying ecosystem.

For applications outside that ecosystem, we evaluate and integrate equipment from other proven manufacturers based on the application.

The decision starts with your product, your throughput, and your facility, not with a brand.

Yes. Spirals move product up or down between floors, and they can also accumulate and merge along the way.

Accumulation buffers product on the spiral when downstream pauses, and merging brings lines together on the helical path instead of at floor level.

HOJ has built accumulating spirals for several customers, and the result is the same each time: the buffer and the merge happen in vertical space you already have, dramatically saving floor space instead of consuming more of it.