Video & Overview on Interpack 2023

“Harmony of technologies” from process to packaging.

Sustainable development, process flexibility and optimisation, energy efficiency, digitisation and service are the current and future topics of the industry. We talked about this at Interpack 2023, presenting solutions that show how, from process to packaging, there is great commitment towards this transformation process.

We also talked about collaborations, synergies and projects between industry and university, bringing the UniversityLab project and its protagonists to the Opessi booth. An opportunity to meet the specialists and observe the machines up close, touching the state of the art, for a unique and engaging experience.

From process…

With more than 100 machines on display, Sollich confirms itself as a leading manufacturer for the confectionery industry, with research and development always focused on optimising production processes, with particular attention to efficient machine cleaning. Among the innovations presented, in the Thermo-Flow® cooling tunnel segment, is the wheel-out heat exchanger, a function that allows the operator easy and thorough cleaning.

In the bar production area, Sollich presented the new Miniconbar® system, a version of the Conbar line adapted to the demand of the bar product industry, with a version also suitable for small production needs.

Focus also on SweetConnect initiative, in which Sollich participates together with Chocotech, Theegarten-Pactec and Winkler und Dünnebier. This is a platform to digitise the entire confectionery production process, enabling customers and plant suppliers to upload documents and monitor performance in real time. In combination with the ‘Fast Lane’ remote maintenance system, data can be transmitted for analysis to optimise services and increase machine availability. Referring to the subject articifial intelligence, Sollich will also introduce for the first time an approach to self-analysis of its tempering machines.

Finally, the Heritage area was highly appreciated, where visitors were able to relive the 100-year history of the German company through photographs and an exhibition of the very first plants.

Present in the Lab area of the Opessi booth was the Sollich Tempermeter E6.

Focus on energy efficient innovative process technology solutions with Chocotech.

Among the machines on show: SUCROMASTER® 800, for the continuous production of hard candies and lollipops; a unique combination of Jellymaster® and Jellymix for the production of jellies and gummies for both standard and OTC executions; a bar line kitchen for caramel and nougat to compliment a complete SOLLICH bar forming line system; a chocolate forming line type CHOCOFORM® PSL running with real tempered chocolate, recycled with a SOLLICH Reworktemper.

Still talking about candies, Nuova Euromec presented the latest innovations relating to three-dimensional forming lines for hard candies, with and without filling, lollypop lines, extrusion and lines for chewing gum, toffee.

With Lights out Factory of the Future, the HDM Group together with Bauermeister, MacIntyre returned to Interpack to present solutions for an autonomous and monitored plant operation. On display was the newly designed PVS 2000 HDM with an automatic Flavour Monitoring Cockpit (FMC) system to improve conching cycle times, productivity and energy efficiency, and the MacIntyre Next Generation RC2000i Refiner/Conche, which combines the mixing, refining and conching process steps in one single machine.

The particle analysis capability offers real-time guidance in adjusting parameters to maximise performance, achieving the desired results with a reduced amount of time and energy and avoiding over-refining.

French company Dumoulin, with its 90-year history, exhibited the IDA 3002CV, the latest and biggest chocolate coating machine – around 3000 kg batch – complete with chocolate distribution and polishing system. The standards set by Dumoulin are synonymous with fast, efficient and high-quality coating with the highest production capacity.

The machine also incorporates the latest developments in Dumoulin design to meet the food industry’s increasingly demanding quality and hygiene requirements.

On the Opessi booth, the stunning “petit”, the small Dumoulin laboratory machine. 

Baker Perkins, a specialist in the production of biscuit and cracker plants, presented the TruClean Series 3 rotary moulder for soft dough biscuits and cookies, which combines the highest standards of hygiene and operation with low maintenance costs. 

The machine offers constant and accurate control of size, weight and consistency. Independent drives and settings sustain optimum performance at high output through adjusting and maintaining all critical process parameters.

For the “snack” segment, Hebenstreit presented, together with Walterwerk with whom shared the same “green” booth, the latest version of the SE70/110 Extruder, focused in particular on the direct inline processing of grain and pulses. Another novelty was the Electric Baking Machine BACe: the proven concept of the well-known BAC-Baking machine combined with an electric heating system that will set new standards in production.

For Hebenstreit, sustainability has been the motivation behind its R&D for decades. Indeed, the German company supports its customers in reducing the use of fossil fuels in production and achieving the goal of CO2-free heating in the wafer baking process.

In turn, Walterwerk, world leader in the production of rolled cones, presented the new electrically heated oven ELEKTRA. 

On the company’s booth, the showcase dedicated to Mr Guachos, one of the tasty new product prototypes developed this year with the important support of Walterwerk during the UniversityLab project.

Under the motto “Home of Confectionery Diversity”, Winkler und Dünnebier presented state-of-the-art technologies, from laboratory machines to high-performance plants: from the modular ConfecECO system for the production of jellies to the ConfecVARIO, with a new mould handling system offering unprecedented production flexibility, to the next-generation laboratory depositor in the SweetOTC area.

In addition to the design and construction of turnkey systems for handling liquid raw materials such as glucose, honey, chocolate, creams and other viscous fluids, Fea has an entire division dedicated to electrostatic dusting technology.

At Interpack, Fea presented the innovative SprayStay system for applying different types of powders and small particles to a wide range of products, including biscuits, crackers, cakes, chocolate, pasta, snacks and candies. Thanks to this unique electrostatic technology, best-in-class results can be achieved using 30% less raw materials than with traditional gravimetric systems.

On display on the Opessi booth, the manual version of the Fea electrostatic gun.

Also present in Düsseldorf with its latest developments and possibilities for the future was the Dutch company Vormenfabriek, which developes chocolate moulds, investing in the study and application of the best materials. Its success comes from the interaction between every department involved in the design: marketing, engineering, quality, production.

360° energy focus for Hildebrand Industry: state-of-the-art, reliable, energy and chemical-saving solutions, including the Combiflex washing system for cleaning moulds, with a new, more compact machine design, better washing results at lower unit costs, thanks to a new, gentler washing system; Trolleyflex S-10 for the most complex impurities, thanks to a new 5-axis washing system.

Offering a high standard of quality as a result of the harmonious synergy between modern technology and craftsmanship, Treiber Trays can supply not only classic starch trays made of wood or SMC plastic composite material, but also trays for liqueur products, holding trays and chewing gum trays.

Stephan Machinery was present at Interpack with its specialists to explore the production potential of mixing, emulsifying, dispersing, heating, vacuum, cooking sauces and gravies, preparing ganaches, processed cheeses, meat preparations and pet food.

Much appreciated by visitors was the Stephan UMX5 laboratory version, on display on the Opessi booth

To packaging…

Specialising in the handling of bakery products, Royal Houdijk has introduced the COOKIEBOT XP, the robotic pick & place solution capable of handling a random influx of products, offering, with its new patented SLUG GRIPPER system, maximum flexibility in terms of product types, sizes and formats. The COOKIEBOT XP is a system entirely designed and built by Houdijk, which meets all the most important criteria, such as ease of operation, format change, cleaning, maintenance and overall efficiency.

A wide range of packaging and primary wrapping systems, from alternate machines to the fastest continuous wrapping machines in the world: we are talking about Theegarten-Pactec, which, on the theme of “sustainable efficiency”, presented the wide range of machines that reconcile resource, energy and cost savings with the efficiency and flexibility of processing sustainable packaging materials. On the both its latest flagship, the CHS machine, with a speed of 1,800 products per minute.

The Livetech Group presented a complete overview of its extensive catalogue: from primary flowpack packaging, the Liveflow division, to Livetech packaging solutions, passing through multi-functional robotic systems that can be equipped with independent magnetic shuttle systems, to Livepal palletising systems. In the Livemould area, machines and lines designed and optimised for chocolate moulding.

Thanks to the experience gained and constant investment in research and development, Livetech offers customers high-performance solutions, customised according to the characteristics of the end product and the functions required by its packaging. One of the group’s added values is precisely the study and definition of customised packaging, with the aim of responding to marketing needs, product preservation, economic savings and respect for the environment.

The latest in weighing, dosing and packaging with Comek, which presented:

– multihead weigher 16 heads CK16ST and the vertical packaging machine Omnya Evo 330 for doypack type bags with zip but also designed for high speed;
– horizontal flowpack packaging machine HPB 03 designed to pack trays of different sizes, with a quick format change to optimize performance;
– complete Entry Level weighing and packaging line consisting of a VPE 250 vertical packaging machine and linear weigher Digilyne 1T-DB;
– a linear multihead weigher 5 heads CK05ST-LN-DP, compact with small dimensions but with high precision and suitable also for delicate products;
– vertical packaging machine Omnya Evo 250, designed for high-speed production;
– complete line composed of a vertical packaging machine VPB 330 with Solid Seal technology for elegant and resistant block bottom bags with four seals and a multihead weigher 14 wide heads CK14ST-M.

On the Chocal booth, cellulose-based packaging material types, CPF and CNF were presented.

The German company is a leader in half-shell seaming technology that enables the product to be enclosed in a second skin, even without the use of plastic or aluminium.