Wrapping machine with a double twist

Primary packaging of sweets

The Austrian confectionery manufacturer PEZ International GmbH was looking for a fully automatic packaging system for wrapping hard sweets. What was required was a powerful and flexible system that also had to be available quickly. A new development from SACMI Packaging & Chocolate came at just the right time: the wrapping machine H-1K manufactured under the Carle & Montanari brand proves to be the optimal solution for the double-twist wrapping of small sweets.

PEZ International produces, among other things, hard sweets in all varieties and shapes at its Vienna location.
The process ranges from the production of the raw mass from syrup, sugar and water to the final packaging.
The fragile sweets, known as "Zuckerl" in Austrian German, are wrapped in foil.
For this purpose, the company uses special wrapping machines on several packaging lines.
At the end of 2020, PEZ International received a customer enquiry, which exceeded the capacity of the existing packaging facilities.

"We needed a powerful wrapping machine for the double-twist wrapping of 800 hard candies per minute, which also had to be installed quickly»
says Manfred Hackl, Technical Manager at PEZ International

Fittingly, SACMI Packaging & Chocolate launched a new development shortly before. The H-1K wrapping machine manufactured under the Carle & Montanari brand is designed for wrapping round as well as rectangular confectionery in double twist wrapping and meets the performance specifications.
The new system was quickly delivered and impressed everyone in the test run with the products from PEZ International. What is more, the manufacturer was willing to adapt the feeding plate of the H-1K specifically for the application.

Manfred Hackl: "With our existing wrapping machines, we had the issue of the sugar contained in the sweets smearing the metal of the feeding plates. SACMI Packaging & Chocolate acted accordingly and designed a specially shaped plate for us made of high-strength plastic."

One feeding plate for many formats

PEZ International has been packaging hard sweets in various formats with the H-1K wrapping machine in a two-shift operation since April 2022. For this purpose, the sweets are first filled into a feeding hopper and then pass through a vibrating chute with a grating for the separation of broken pieces onto the rotating feeding plate.

Thanks to the servomotor-controlled drive profile of this feeding disc, the new wrapping machine offers high efficiency and plenty of power.
With the "adjustable pitch" feature for freely selectable product dimensions and distances, the H-1K goes beyond conventional mechanical cam-based principles and allows great flexibility for packaging very different products.
The optimum production parameters are stored in the system to achieve high-efficiency and speed.

The feeding plate is continuously fed by sensor control and at the same time assumes the function of a product buffer.
Once the sweets have reached the plate, they are gently conveyed into cavities on the edge of the disc that are adapted to their dimensions.
Separated in this way, the products can be taken over by a rotary gripper and fed to the wrapping device.
Restoring forces created by the tension of the film ensure that the sweet is wrapped tightly and firmly.
"The quality of the double twist wrap is excellent," says Manfred Hackl.

The film feed of the wrapping machine is also servo-driven, whereby a short feed prevents electrostatic charging.
In the interest of high machine availability, PEZ International has chosen the option of a double film roll holder with automatic film splicing.
However, if film is missing or the product supply stops, the machine switches off immediately.

Fast product changeover

PEZ International also benefits from the fast product changes on the wrapping machine.
Manfred Hackl: "We depend on speed and the conversion of the H-1K only takes about 30 minutes."
In addition, Hackl praises the very simple operability and the logical processes, which the employees get along with excellently. The packaging machine is controlled through a user-friendly HMI touchscreen designed according to Industry 4.0 standards. The fully transparent guard provides an unobstructed view of the inside of the machine.

The open design of the wrapping machine makes it easily accessible for cleaning.
Thanks to the splash water protection according to protection class IP54, the unavoidable sugar deposits are removed by wet cleaning.
Candy fragments and crumbs end up in collection trays that can be removed and emptied during operation.

Flexibility for the future

Manfred Hackl is completely satisfied with the investment in packaging technology: "With the H-1K, we fulfil the customer's order and deliver perfectly wrapped hard sweets."
PEZ International can recalibrate the wrapping machine if we wanted to use it to wrap other confectionery in the future. In this way, the machine purchased for the packaging of hard sweets can be converted at a later date to a product that is completely different in terms of size and features.

PEZ group

The PEZ group of companies is based in Austria, in Traun near Linz; it employs almost 1000 people, and has production sites in Vienna, Hungary and the USA (in Orange, Connecticut) and it sells around 70 million PEZ dispensers and 5 billion sweets every year. PEZ products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide.
In addition to PEZ, which was launched in 1927, the BioBon, Egger and Hustinetten brands also belong to the PEZ family.
PEZ International produces around 2000 tonnes of hard sweets and gelatine products annually at its production site in Vienna.

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SACMI Packaging & Chocolate S.p.A.

SACMI Packaging & Chocolate S.p.A. is a business unit of the SACMI Group headquartered in Imola, in northern Italy. Under the Carle & Montanari (chocolate production) and OPM (packaging) brands, SACMI Packaging & Chocolate is the only company in the world to offer machines and complete lines for the entire process from cocoa paste to the final packaging. The range includes machines for mixing, rolling, conching, tempering, moulding as well as wrapping and packaging of any kind of chocolate-based products. Form fill and seal machines and solutions for secondary packaging are also part of the portfolio. Today, SACMI Packaging & Chocolate has a plant for Carle & Montanari moulding lines in Milan, a factory for primary and secondary packaging lines in Alba and a production facility for all types of wrapping machines near Bologna.

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