Pronatec AG, a Swiss supplier of organic food raw materials and sustainable organic chocolate, has commissioned one of the world’s most advanced cocoa processing plants in Beringen/Switzerland. Recently, the high-end plant was officially opened. The decision to transfer the processing of its organic cocoa beans from external contract processors abroad to Switzerland paved the way for the project, which was implemented with equipment from the Bühler Group as system supplier.

The advantages of the system lie in the consistently high quality of the roasting and the grinding of the cocoa beans into cocoa mass as well as the further processing into cocoa powder and butter. Joachim Essig, Head of Sales Cocoa & Malt at Bühler, emphasizes: “Fully integrated automation, batch production on a small scale, batch separation and full traceability were already important topics in the initial discussions in mid-2018, as were the gentle handling of raw materials, food safety and the highest hygiene standards.”

David Yersin, CEO and owner of Pronatec, says: “In our plant, we are the first company in Switzerland to produce all three organic cocoa semi-finished products, namely cocoa mass, butter and powder. It is very important that we can maintain proven flavour profiles that we have developed over the years. At the same time, the new roaster gives us the opportunity to develop new products. The fact that we were able to carry out tests in advance at Bühler`s Application Center helped us a lot in the decision-making process.”