The Austrian confectionery manufacturer PEZ International 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.

At its Vienna location, PEZ International produces, among other things, hard sweets in all varieties and shapes. 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 film. 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,” reports 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. It 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 rubbing off the metal of the feeding plates. SACMI Packaging & Chocolate acted accordingly and designed a specially shaped plate for us made of high-strength plastic.”

With the H-1K wrapping machine, PEZ International has been packaging hard sweets in various formats 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 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 high 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 means of sensor control and at the same time assumes the function of a product buffer. Once the candies 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 sweets are wrapped tightly and firmly. “The quality of the double twist wrap is excellent,” Manfred Hackl notes.

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.

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, the technical manager praises the very simple operability and the logical processes, which the employees get along with excellently. The system 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.

Manfred Hackl is completely satisfied with the investment in the packaging system: “With the H-1K, we fulfil the customer’s order and deliver perfectly wrapped hard sweets.” PEZ International can recalibrate the wrapping machine if they intend 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.