Packaging equipment investment

The GEA Group has made a multi-million euro investment in production capacity for vertical bagging and confectionery equipment as part of its growth plans.

“We have experienced strong growth over the last few years,” explains Harrie Neijnens, vice president of technology and site manager. “We’d reached the limits of our capacity. At the same time, our technologies for the food industry hold a substantial growth potential. To be able to grow further as a company we needed to create more space at our site, too.”

The investment included the construction of a new technology centre with modern facilities incorporating flow packers, lollipop production equipment and sugar cube lines, all of which can be shown to the customer as part of a live demonstration.

“The technology center is an integral part of our work,” says Neijnens. “It’s important to us that our customers can learn about and profit from our wealth of experience by coming into direct contact with our products. We allow them to get hands on with our machines and see them live in action – not simply on paper – so that they can get to know what equipment suits their needs before ordering. This is embodied by our motto: Test before you invest.”

The GEA SmartPacker, which can be used to pack a range of products including fresh and deep-frozen meat, fish, vegetables, cheese, salad and confectionery, will play a central role in the technology centre. In addition to the SmartPacker, the centre will have machines capable of moulding and packaging lollipops. The technology center will be supplemented by a new training center, with enough space for 50 square metres training rooms. The training center is affiliated with the GEA Academy, which holds training sessions for employees, customers and service providers of the segment and trains them to use GEA products.

The construction activities should be completed by early May.

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Confectionery Production