Advanced machinery takes centre stage for GEA Technology Centre opening
pic: GEA
Equipment and systems group GEA has officially opened its new Technology Centre (XLAB) in Biedenkopf-Wallau, offering extensive facilities for its industry customers, including confectionery lines, writes Neill Barston.
As the company noted, the site in Germany will enable businesses to perform a wide variety of product testing right across the food processing sector, including wider sweets and lollipops segments.
Moritz Krunke, Managing Director of GEA’s Wallau location, welcomed the development of the 1,500sqm site, which offers a broad array of opportunities for testing key machinery capabilities, including product line packaging.
rom now on, the new XLAB will be available to customers for product testing and training. During the opening ceremony, guests had the opportunity to be the first to get acquainted with the new location and technological developments of the internationally operating group for the food processing industry.
“We are very excited to open our new Technology Centre, after a short six-month construction phase. With the XLAB, we are taking product testing for our national and international customers to a whole new level. A special feature is the new 500-sqm air-conditioned hall, which can be cooled down to freezing point and enables customer tests under realistic conditions,” says
As the business added, during the opening week, automation, digitisation, sustainability, as well as training and performance support workshops were offered to its customers. This included plant tours and live demonstrations on the slicing and packaging line, SmartPacker and CutMaster round off the programme.
Individual machines and complete, highly digitalised production lines were on display for its opening event, which included complex thermoforming and vertical packaging machines, high-speed cutting and loading systems, as well as equipment targeting the confectionery sector.
“Our new Technology Centre underscores our partnership-based customer relations on a national and international level. Together with our customers we develop tailored solutions that will play a decisive role in the technological transformation of the respective production area,” adds Jörg Kuhn, Vice President of the Slicing & Packaging Business Unit.
As the business concluded, it has been active in the food segment for many years and has since developed capabilities to provide extended lines, as well as expert knowledge to support its customers throughout the entire process. Furthermore, the company also offers consultancy services for the business in relation to advice on provision of full-line supplier of machines and related software systems managing entire production lines.
