What is Toll Blending/Mixing?
Toll blending/mixing is when a company offers blending/mixing of materials as a service for another company who, in return, pays a fee or "toll".
The term "Blending" is often interchanged with "mixing" and refers to the process of combining multiple materials to create a consistent, homogenous end product. Blending can be done using both dry and wet processes.
Blending is often needed for both food-grade materials and industrial materials.
The term "Toll Blending" is often interchanged with "Contract Blending", "Toll Mixing", and "Contract Mixing".
"Contract Blending/Mixing" is essentially the same as toll blending/mixing. The term "contract" in "contract blending" or "contract mixing" refers to the the fact that the service arrangement between the two businesses includes contractual obligations and requirements.
Although the terms blending and mixing are often interchanged, they are understood by some people to have subtle differences in meaning. Mixing may refer to a harsher process of combining materials. Blending may refer to a gentler process of combining materials.
A high-level view of the process looks like this:
- A company reaches out to a toll blender/mixer to discuss the project and timelines
- The company ships material to the toller's facility (usually freight) at an agreed upon timeframe
- The toller processes the material according to the agreed upon specifications
- The finished/processed product is shipped back to the company's (or 3rd party's) warehouse for storage or further processing
Several factors should be taken into consideration to decide whether your company should use toll blending/mixing services. Some of the most common reasons are:
- Increased speed to market
- Experimenting with new product lines
- Avoiding the risk of capital investment
- Lack of in-house processing
- Space constraints
- Lack of proper equipment
- Low volume which prohibits justification of capital expense (equipment)
- Equipment is down for maintenance or repairs
- High demand/extra capacity
Looking for a food-grade toll blending/mixing service?
Our company offers toll blending/mixing for dry food-grade materials and powders. Learn more about what blending/mixing services we offer.
