Coffee processor moves into chocolate

The Probat Group – coffee processing machine and plant provider – is significantly expanding its activities in the cocoa and chocolate industry.

Following the integration of the Ladco Group, the newly created company Hamburg Dresdner Maschinenfabriken can deliver all the components needed throughout the process chain from raw cocoa beans to the finished bar of chocolate.“Probat has always been synonymous with top quality and technological leadership as a supplier of machines and plants for the coffee industry,” said Wim Abbing, managing partner at Probat.

However, the German company has also been successfully designing and manufacturing cocoa roasting machines and other equipment such as alkalisation and pretreatment plants for many years. These solutions were complemented by grinding technology from the company’s subsidiary Bauermeister. By taking over the Ladco Group, Probat is considerably expanding its product portfolio. This move supports its growth strategy in this segment, which is similar to the coffee industry in that flavour and taste play a central role.

“By integrating these products – or more specifically the technologies marketed by Petzholdt-Heidenauer, MacIntyre and Beetz – we are now able to supply core components designed and manufactured in-house which cover the complete process chain for the refinement of cocoa and the production of chocolate,” explained Abbing.

As a new division within the Probat Group, Hamburg Dresdner Maschinenfabriken will concentrate exclusively on the cocoa and chocolate processing segment in the future. The company name was chosen to acknowledge the historic importance of Hamburg and Dresden in the development of processes and machines for the cocoa and chocolate industry.

Günter Simon has been appointed managing director of the company. He previously successfully managed the Group subsidiary Bauermeister. “We are currently merging the individual product portfolios of the firms, which have been combined to create Hamburg Dresdner Maschinenfabriken. Probat, Bauermeister, Petzholdt-Heidenauer, MacIntyre and Beetz will be retained as product brands because they are important for the market and our clients,” reported Simon. The Group will continue to use the same production sites in Germany (Emmerich am Rhein, Norderstedt, Dresden) and Scotland (Arbroath).