Vertical Spiral Conveyor: Big Throughput with a Small Footprint

What is a Ryson Spiral Conveyor?

A Ryson Spiral Conveyor is a vertical conveyor system that transports cartons, cases, trays, totes, bottles, cans, jars, bundles, and other unitized products in a helical path around a central tower. It is designed for continuous vertical movement, high throughput, gentle handling, and space-efficient integration into automated material handling systems.

Unlike a lift or vertical reciprocating conveyor, a spiral conveyor does not need to move product in batches. Products continue moving through the spiral, helping operations maintain line speed while moving between elevations. Unlike a long incline conveyor, a spiral conveyor can achieve vertical movement within a compact footprint.

Where Are Ryson Spiral Conveyors Used?

Ryson Spiral Conveyors are used wherever a facility needs reliable vertical conveyance without sacrificing production or warehouse floor space. They are especially valuable in tight layouts, brownfield facilities, multi-level systems, packaging lines, and high-throughput operations where vertical movement must stay continuous.

Common applications include:

Moving cases, cartons, trays, and totes between production levels
Connecting packaging lines to mezzanines, sortation, accumulation, palletizing, or shipping areas
Raising or lowering bottles, cans, jars, and bundled products in food and beverage lines
Moving CPG products through secondary packaging, case handling, and distribution workflows
Supporting warehouse automation and distribution center equipment where floor space is limited
Handling packaged agricultural products, seed bags, grain-related packaged goods, cartons, and cases in processing or packing areas

Ryson is the number one manufacturer of Spiral Vertical Conveyors in the USA.

A Vertical Conveyor from Ryson needs less floor space than conventional incline conveyors and are also faster and more reliable than any elevator or lift.

Central to our design is the proprietary slat-type belts with rolling friction and without any sliding movements or wear-strips.

Ryson Spiral Vertical Conveyors are based on an innovative modular technology, offering many features and benefits. Why are we calling our machines a SMART Spiral? Read this article.

All Ryson Spiral Conveyors are made to order and comes in a wide range of sizes and configurations. Our proprietary modular design allows Ryson to customize with ease and to modify in the field to accommodate emerging needs.

Ryson Spiral Conveyors have many unique features that make them ideal Vertical Conveyor Solutions. Many of our features are designed to save money in the long term, essentially lowering your total cost of ownership.

Design Flexibility: Our unique vertical conveyor design offers flexibility of configuration. It also adds the ability to field modify our vertical conveyors to accommodate changing future needs at a fraction of the cost of a new conveyor.

Overlapping slats provide a smooth and efficient conveying surface, ensuring gentle product handling and suitable for all types of conveyable items. Our efficient rolling friction chain-slat design only needs a single drive, resulting in substantial savings in energy, controls and systems integration.

Our innovative chain-slat design enables a low friction operation without any sliding movements or wear-strips. This allows the Spiral to stop and start fully loaded.

Our efficient rolling friction chain-slat design only needs a single drive, resulting in substantial savings in energy, controls and systems integration.

Most Spirals ship in one piece and leave our factory pre-assembled and pre-tested. Installation is generally an efficient process and reduces time for implantation and integration.

Vertical Conveying saves space. Our spiral convey vertically within a very small footprint which is beneficial to reduce production space needed in a new facility and also to replace existing equipment in a very tight layout.

Our Vertical Conveyors and components are designed for reliability, low maintenance and long life. They have an impressive up-time record reducing the total cost of ownership.

Click below to read details about more of our features:

A quick comparison

Ryson Spiral Conveyors lead the way with unmatched flexibility, compact design, and energy efficiency. This makes them the top choice for operations focusing on a high throughput and continuous flow. Unlike lifts or incline conveyors, which can be limited by space, maintenance needs, or stop-and-go movement, Ryson Spirals handle products gently while maintaining low operating costs over time.
For facilities needing adaptable, efficient, and space-saving solutions, Ryson Spirals are a smart, long-term investment.

What Products Can Ryson Spiral Conveyors Handle?

Ryson Spiral Conveyors can handle a wide range of conveyable unitized loads, including cartons, cases, trays, totes, bottles, cans, jars, shrink-wrapped bundles, small packages, and similar products. The best model depends on product dimensions, weight, stability, speed, infeed/discharge elevations, and operating environment.

A Spiral Conveyor is often a strong fit when:

Floor space is limited
The line requires continuous flow rather than batch movement
Products must move between floors, mezzanines, packaging areas, accumulation zones, or distribution systems
The facility needs a vertical conveyor that can integrate with upstream and downstream conveyors
Future layout changes are likely and modularity matters
Maintenance access, uptime, and total cost of ownership are important buying criteria

Application Engineers Should Evaluate the Following:

Product length, width, height, and weight
Product stability on the conveying surface
Required throughput and line speed
Elevation change and available footprint
Infeed and discharge requirements
Dry, wet, washdown, or temperature-related environmental factors
Controls, safety, and integration requirements

Spiral Conveyor Sizes and Configurations

Ryson Spiral Conveyors are made to order and available in a wide range of sizes and configurations. Common slat widths include 6, 9, 12, 16, 20, 24, 26, 30, and 36 inches. Total weight capacity at any one time ranges from 1,800 to 3,600 lbs depending on the selected model and configuration. Download our Size Chart.

Food, Beverage, Wet, and Washdown Applications

Ryson Spiral Conveyors are used in food and beverage operations where vertical movement, uptime, and floor space are critical. Depending on the application, Ryson can provide powder-coated carbon steel, hybrid versions for wet environments, or stainless steel versions for washdown applications.

For food and beverage buyers, the page should encourage early discussion of sanitation requirements, product contact, cleaning frequency, moisture exposure, packaging format, and line integration. These factors determine the right configuration and help prevent costly changes later in the project.

Installation, Integration, and Future Line Changes

Most Ryson Spirals ship in one piece and leave the factory pre-assembled and pre-tested. This supports a more efficient installation process and can reduce implementation time, especially in production environments where downtime is expensive.

The modular design also makes Ryson Spirals easier to field modify if installation conditions change or if the equipment needs to be reconfigured later. This is valuable in brownfield projects, warehouse automation upgrades, and facilities where line layouts evolve over time.

Built in Protection:

All Ryson Spiral Conveyors are equipped with an automatic chain tensioning device and built-in overload protection as a standard. This helps save both the Vertical Conveyor and the product it is conveying.

Color and Coating Versions:

Ryson Spirals are powder coated carbon steel with choice of any standard RAL color. They are also available in hybrid versions suitable for wet environments or stainless steel versions for washdown applications.

Most Common Vertical Conveyor Models

Model

Outside
Diameter

Centerline
Diameter

Slat
Width

Frame
Width

Narrow Trak Spirals

1100-150-NT

4’-2” (1270)

3’-8” (1100)

6” (150)

6” (160)

1200-230-NT

4’-9” (1450)

3’-11” (1200)

9” (230)

9” (240)

1700-150-NT

6’-2” (1870)

5’-7” (1700)

6” (150)

6” (160)

1700-230-NT

6’-5” (1950)

5’-7” (1700)

9” (230)

9” (240)

Standard Vertical Conveyor - Case / Unit Load Spirals

1200-300

5’-3” (1600)

3’-11” (1200)

12” (300)

15” (380)

1300-400

5’-11” (1800)

4’-3” (1300)

16” (400)

19” (480)

1500-400

6’-7” (2000)

4’-11” (1500)

16” (400)

19” (480)

1800-400

7’-7” (2300)

5’-11” (1800)

16” (400)

19” (580)

1600-500

7’-3” (2200)

5’-3” (1600)

20” (500)

23” (590)

1700-600

7’-11” (2400)

5’-7” (1700)

24” (600)

27” (680)

1800-650

8’-5” (2590)

5’-11” (1800)

26” (650)

29” (740)

High Capacity / Wide Track Spirals

1700-400-HC

7’-3” (2200)

5’-7” (1700)

16” (400)

19” (480)

1700-600-HC

7’-11” (2400)

5’-7” (1700)

24” (600)

27” (680)

1900-600-HC

8’-6” (2600)

6’-3” (1900)

24” (600)

27” (680)

2200-760-WT

9’-11” (3010)

7’-3” (2200)

30” (760)

33” (840)

3000-900-WT

13’-0” (3950)

9’-10” (3000)

36” (900)

38” (980)

Mass Flow Spirals

1900-260-MF

7’-5” (2260)

6’-3” (1900)

10” (254)

10” (264)

1900-400-MF

7’-11” (2400)

6’-3” (1900)

16” (400)

16” (410)

2100-400-MF

8’-5” (2560)

6’-11” (2100)

16” (400)

16” (410)

2300-500-MF

9’-4” (2840)

7’-7” (2300)

20” (500)

20” (510)

Dual Track Spirals

1200-300/2000-300

7’11” (2400)

6’-6” (2000)

12” (300)

1300-400/2300-400

9’-3” (2800)

7’-7” (2300)

16” (400)

Ryson Vertical Conveyor Product Line

Spirals in Food and Beverage

Spiral Application Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Spiral Conveyor?

A spiral conveyor is a vertical material handling system that moves products upward or downward in a helical path around a central tower. This space-saving design allows for continuous vertical transport while maintaining a high throughput and compact footprint.

What products can Ryson Spiral Conveyors handle?

Ryson Spiral Conveyors can handle cartons, cases, trays, totes, bottles, cans, jars, shrink-wrapped bundles, small packages, and other conveyable unitized loads depending on the selected model and slat width.

How fast can a Ryson Spiral Conveyor operate?

Ryson Spirals use a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) and can operate at any speed up to 200 feet per minute, depending on product characteristics, layout, transitions, and application requirements.

Do Ryson Spiral Conveyors require more than one drive?

No. Ryson’s super-efficient rolling-friction chain-slat design only requires a single drive motor, which can reduce energy use, controls complexity, and integration cost.

Can a spiral conveyor stop and start fully loaded?

Yes. Ryson low-friction chain-slat design allows the spiral to stop and start fully loaded, supporting reliable operation in production, packaging, warehouse, and distribution applications.

Are Ryson Spiral Conveyors available for wet or washdown environments?

Yes. Ryson Spirals are available in powder-coated carbon steel, hybrid versions for wet environments, stainless steel versions for washdown applications, and freezer-oriented configurations.

How much maintenance does a Ryson Spiral Conveyor require?

Ryson Spirals are designed for low maintenance. Bearings are sealed for life, chains require only infrequent lubrication, and individual nylon-composite slats can be individually replaced without special tools. With proper preventative maintenance, Ryson Spirals can operate with very low down-time.

Can Ryson Spiral Conveyors be modified after installation?

Yes. Ryson modular design allows spirals to be field modified or repurposed when layouts, product flows, or operational requirements change, lowering total cost of ownership. Reconfiguring a Spiral is a low-cost option that can happen on-site with minimal down-time.

What is the difference between a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) and a spiral conveyor?

A VRC uses a platform to convey cases vertically, it functions like an elevator. Both offer vertical transportation. The main difference is how they handle different product sizes, their throughput capacity and mechanical operation.