Chocolat Frey expands

Chocolat Frey AG, based in Buchs in Aargau, Switzerland, has recently expanded production of its chocolate Neapolitans. Together with project partner Loesch Verpackungstechnik in Altendorf, Frey has implemented a space saving and efficient packaging solution for the “petit chocolat suisse”.

“In 2014, over 43,000 tons of chocolate, confectionery, semi-finished products and chewing gum rolled off the production line in Buchs,” says Manfred Leuenberger, technology team leader, Confectionery at Chocolat Frey. “This allowed Chocolat Frey to generate an impressive annual revenue of 404 million Swiss francs. Of this sum, exports accounted for 138 million Swiss francs.”

“The foreign market is now our main driver of growth,” says Leuenberger. “Continuously growing demand means Chocolat Frey has had to ramp up production.
“Years before we took the decision to invest, our two Neapolitans production lines were already running at maximum capacity,” he adds.

The age of the existing equipment meant that a simple expansion was out of the question. The company therefore decided to install a new moulding unit with a powerful packaging system.

Due to space constraints in the factory, Frey required a compact yet powerful system. Loesch Verpackungstechnik met the packaging brief with four twin-lane LRM/2-G-S fold wrapping machines plus buffer and conveying systems.