In contrast, the automatic filling machines discussed here are used throughout all industries including food, beverage, chemical, cosmetic and pharmaceutical but at lower speeds; usually less than 200 containers per minute. In fact, most of the market for automatic bottle filling machines in terms of units sold is for semi automatic equipment that operates at speeds not exceeding 20 containers per minute.

No one type of filling machine can handle all liquids in all industries. For example, a machine that fills bottled water cannot fill cosmetic cold cream. Nor would chemical duty fillers be used to fill pharmaceutical grade or dairy products.  Although there are many different types of filling technologies, there are relatively few that are versatile, practical and cost effective to own and operate. The choice of filling machine depends on the range of viscosities, temperature, chemical compatibility, particulate size, foam characteristics, and hazardous environment considerations.