Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Lindt has expanded its bean-to-bar facility in Stratham, New Hampshire, US. It can produce 450 chocolate bars and 7,200 truffles per minute.

Chocolate has been produced here, at Swiss company Lindt & Sprungli’s sole manufacturing facility in the US, since 1989. But the plant didn’t have the capability to roast and grind beans to chocolate liquor and importing it became too expensive.
A five-year expansion culminated in the company’s inauguration of its new 40,000-square-foot bean roasting and cocoa liquor facility.

Lindt can produce 7,200 truffles and 450 bars per minute at the facility. The new roasting facility is the latest development of Lindt USA’s ongoing expansion efforts, which includes the addition of 350,000-square feet of production, packaging and distribution facility space over the last four years.

The company has also named a new vice president of operations. Robert Michalski will be based at the Lindt USA headquarters in Stratham and be responsible for all manufacturing, distribution, engineering, logistics and demand planning for Lindt USA.

Michalski has more than 25 years of experience in the food and beverage business. Prior to joining Lindt in June 2010, Michalski previously worked for M&M/Mars and Cadbury Italy.

Companies Chocolate, Chocolate Production Line, Lindt

Chocolate lovers have a new opportunity to learn about the history and processing of their favorite treat with the opening of Nestlé’s new Maison Cailler. At the chocolate center, visitors will learn the fascinating story of the Cailler product line by Nestlé, Switzerland’s oldest chocolate maker. Opened April 1st 2010 in the picturesque Swiss town of Broc-Gruyère, La Maison Cailler includes packaging machines from Bosch Packaging Technology. The innovative Module++ line features one Paloma D2 delta robot and one Pack 201 horizontal flow wrapper to mimic the actual Cailler production process. This project represents the latest phase of Nestlé Cailler’s and Bosch’s decade-long collaboration.

At La Maison Cailler, visitors can see the actual techniques used to make Cailler chocolates, attend a presentation on the history of chocolate, participate in a chocolate-making workshop and visit La Chocolatiere café. Mr. Diego Calame of Nestlé Cailler described the chocolate center as, “a real opportunity for consumers to see how our concoctions are translated into tasty reality. Along with our team of experts and quality operations, Bosch’s packaging solutions play a key role in Cailler’s ability to deliver finished products that live up to our idea of chocolate perfection.”

The adaptability of the equipment within Bosch’s Module++ line concept derives from a low engineering content, allowing standard machines to be linked together with minimal effort and downtime. At La Maison Cailler, Bosch’s two machines are combined with a third-party extruder to package the Cailler Branches brand of confectionery.

While normally the Paloma D2 delta robot processes products at dizzying speeds, the machine has been slowed to give visitors a clear look at Cailler’s packaging operations. The robot is known for its lightweight arms, which allow it to move with greater fluidity compared with traditional, heavier rivals. Its quick-to-assemble stainless steel structure and oil- and grease-free operation allow for easy cleaning for compliance with hygiene standards. The pick-and-place robot cell processes chocolates with pinpoint accuracy, guaranteed by Gemini 3.0 vision-guided software.

Bosch Paloma D2 delta robot

The robot then places the chocolates into the infeed chain of a Pack 201 horizontal flow wrapper, which is ideal for delicate foodstuffs. The line is arranged to use as little energy as possible and to operate with a small footprint.

Dragan Dragojlovic, Product Manager, Bosch Packaging Technology, said: “We at Bosch are excited to work with Nestlé on such an important project that will give Nestlé Cailler fans an opportunity to see the care with which their favorite chocolates are handled.”

Chocolate, Companies, packaging Bosch Machinery, Chocolate Production Line, Nestle, packaging