Sometimes, the best way to define something is to point out what it’s not. Take innovation, a concept that’s been bandied about by corporations for the past decade. Everyone wants to have it, few know how to foster its growth.

In researching this year’s most popular treatises on innovation, it was refreshing to come onto a web site -www.brilliont.com- that featured the “10 Un-Commandments of Corporate Innovation.”

Amongst some of the laws etched into these tablets are the following: Don’t assume management knows everything; don’t bet that one big innovation will save the day; don’t assume everyone is an innovator, don’t do inane cost-benefit analyses for disruptive innovative ideas; don’t be happy with only incremental innovation, don’t assume it’s only about the ideas; and several more.

No doubt many of us have come across several of these realities in our quest for innovative ideas, innovative environments. And unlike what this or that consultant may ascertain, there’s more than one road to innovation.

The following executives are all cognizant of the value innovative ideas bring to their companies, to their customers and to the confectionery industry in general. Each recognizes that this ongoing process needs nurturing, tweaking and testing to deliver the power inherent in innovation.

Their observations shed light on ways to “get innovation right.”

Mads Hedstrom
A.E. Nielsen

A.E. Nielsen

It takes vision and vigor to be innovative. Mads Hedstrom, the company’s managing director, understands both, having worked with his father and uncle who founded the company in 1942.

Today, as then, “We’re building a customer’s wishes into the heart of every machine,” he says. Those machines are much larger today, reflective of what the customer and the marketplace demands.

Back then the company was known for its compact enrobers. Today, A.E. Nielsen’s enrobers, moulding lines, depositors, cooling tunnels, temperers, and other various auxiliary equipment are large enough to handle virtually any chocolate processing operation.

Capable of delivering “large-scale solutions” to both confectioners and bakers, the company remains attuned to the very real need of also engineering operating flexibility for manufacturers.

“In the past where someone may have had three lines handling various products, today manufacturers want one line,” says Hedstrom. “They’re looking for minimal changeover times and simple sanitation.”

Such variables are all part of the innovation equation, he continues. “It’s an ongoing process, where our crew, many of whom have 25 to 30 years experience, are continuously reviewing our machines, working on ways to improve them.”

One key area that’s attracted attention from the company’s engineers is simplifying the ever-critical sanitation process. “Cleanability has become an overriding concern. For the longest time, enrobers have been fixed units. Our challenge today, can we design a unit that comes apart easily for cleaning?”

It’s clear that the company can, Hedstrom asserts, noting that it and other solutions for the industry were showcased at last year’s interpack exposition.

It’s also clear that the company remains committed to its heritage, one that revolves around “unbeatable productivity and reliability.”

“That’s been our positioning as a company for 65 years,” Hedstrom says. “It’s make our customers successful, which, in turn, has made us successful.”

Having witnessed the evolution from mechanical to electrical, Hedstrom also understands the thought process that transforms napkin sketches to blueprints, the design route that zigzags from plausible to practical. It’s a place where vision and vigor meet, an intersection for innovation. It’s also a place where Hedstrom and the A.E. Nielsen crew feel both comfortable and familiar.

Mads Hedstrom, managing director, A.E. Nielsen

Jan Hammink
Caotech

Caotech

Innovation at Caotech is a daily practice. We are in constant contact with our customers to learn about their experience with our cocoa, chocolate and confectionary processing equipment. Based on their feedback, we improve our machines constantly.

For example, energy costs are becoming more and more a key issue for deciding which machine is most suitable. We have recently developed a more energy efficient conching process. The CWC 2000 can be placed behind Caotech’s continuous chocolate production installations or other ball mill lines. In some cases it can replace traditional conching and save considerably on energy costs.

The wet conche type CWC 2000 has been developed for continuous, high-speed wet conching of chocolate and chocolate-related masses. The whole process takes place under a high vacuum, which makes it highly efficient. The combination is designed to perform vaporisation of volatile acids and moisture of the mass continuously. It results in a lower viscosity, yield value and moisture content. As a result the shelf life is increased and saving of cocoa butter can be up to 2% because of lower viscosity/yield value.

In more and more cases, we - in conjuction with our customers - thoroughly investigate their existing grinding lines to find ways to save energy. Many times energy costs can be reduced with minimal investment and payback periods take only a year. In addition, there are also significant reductions in spare part costs as applies to cocoa grinding.

Furthermore, we see that our customers are interested in conducting trials, before deciding to purchase equipment. Consequently Caotech will yet again invest in its laboratory, expanding it considerably.

Last year we had already enlarged our production and office facilities. In two of our major markets we have a laboratory ball mill refiner “travelling” around the country to conduct trials at our customers. The machine can be rented to let customers conduct their own tests. The tests can also be done with help from our process engineers. We have noticed that many companies see this as an excellent tool for product innovations.

Caotech is a major player in grinding processing equipment for the chocolate and cocoa industry. We realize that we can hold and increase this position not only by having fast response times, but by remaining flexible, reliable and innovative. Most importantly, we’ve committed ourselves to working on these factors every single day.

Jan Hammink, managing director, Caotech

Allan Aasted
Aasted-Mikroverk A/S

Aasted-Mikroverk A/S

After the acquisition of Danish Food Technology (now Aasted-DFT) in March 2009, we have worked more intensively to strengthen our position in the chocolate and bakery sector.

It has been our desire to leverage the many years of competency our company has in the chocolate industry by participating in an associated line of business. Our extruder ALICE, launched a few years ago, has proved to be a technological breakthrough within the bakery sector right from the very beginning.

The acquisition of Aasted-DFT, with its experience and know-how within the field of industrial bakery oven lines, will be a very important factor in our strategic planning forward.

The focus on new technologies and customer features between the two companies has proved to be very synergistic. Moreover, the concept of the depositor and extruder ALICE, developed by Aasted-Mikroverk, dovetails perfectly with the convection oven CONNY from Aasted-DFT.

It is important for Aasted-Mikroverk to seek the synergies prevalent in both chocolate and baking technologies in order to expand our know-how platform. This will enable us to address a wider range of customers who produce crossover products and therefore need our expertise from both sectors.

Part of our plan for expanding into the bakery sector involves exhibiting. This year, visitors to the IBA exhibition in Germany can meet the Aasted-Mikroverk/Aasted-DFT team in Hall 11, booths D 44/48, where we will present the ALICE extruder and the CONNY convection oven as well as our tempering equipment.

Expect our group to intensify its efforts in gaining experience and expertise within the bakery industry, since we strongly believe that not only our extruder and oven, but also our tempering equipment, are ideal for this sector.

Allan Aasted, ceo, Aasted-Mikroverk A/S

Lutz Zimmermann
Bosch Packaging Technology

Bosch Packaging Technology

Many companies regard innovation as one of their strategic targets. It potentially incorporates a variety of elements, ranging from innovations in confectionery products and technological processes to improvements in components, modules and machines or the development of completely new machinery and installations. It may also include improvements in development, construction and production processes.

Leaders in innovation are focusing on all these areas in order to deliver improvements that create added value for their customers.

How much this strategic target is valued by companies becomes especially apparent in economically difficult times. At Bosch, we are fully aware of our responsibility to maintain a high level of innovation spending.

In the medium- and long-term, it is the only way to provide our customers with added value. This commitment is underpinned by Bosch’s economic stability.

We are committed to provide targeted, market-oriented and customer-focused innovation.

A consistent innovation management process enables us to evaluate a range of ideas based on short-term as well as long-term trends (e.g. health awareness, convenience products, product protection, differentiation of packaging styles, total cost of ownership).

Following this process, the ideas are transformed into products and services. Market trends as well as technological developments are taken into consideration.

Ultrasonic sealing, for instance, is currently an important technology, one where we have created an appropriate knowledge base. In 2008, we applied for 12 patents for this technology alone out of a total of 52 patents filed by Bosch Packaging Technology.

For us, innovation means more than our own technological advances. In our technology center, we are offering customers a platform for testing new technologies and ideas, including the development of new confectionery products.

Aside from the formal innovation process, the incorporation of our global development capacity is of utmost importance. This is the way to ensure that new developments take account of regions with strong growth rates and specific requirements (for instance, our Miniwrap BVK 1200 from China).

But innovation is more than just development. Thanks to the transfer of innovative production principles and elements from other Bosch business units, we are in a position to deliver the high-quality products and services that our customers expect from us.

In short, innovation describes a bundle of activities having one thing in common: They are all part of a structured and controlled process for the customer’s benefit. For Bosch Packaging Technology, this constitutes a firm commitment as well as a clear strategic concept.

Lutz Zimmermann, chief technical officer, Bosch Packaging Technology

Ronald C. Deis
Corn Products Specialty Ingredients

Corn Products Specialty Ingredients

I see a continued trend in two directions: health/wellness and indulgence. They are divergent for now, but we would always hope to see taste and texture drive them closer together.

Based on the National Confectioners Association’s Industry Trends Report 2009, it would seem there is agreement here: 88% of confectionery insiders felt that the next “big trend” would be healthier confectionery options, including fortification and oral health care. Other category trends such as chocolate flavors and textures, “flavor fusions” and international influences will satisfy the indulgent side.

While Corn Products International is ready to support all confectionery formulations and directions with nutritive sweeteners and sweetener or dextrose blends, we are also working hard to be a valuable resource for those exploring the health and wellness avenue.

Corn Products has a wide range of polyols (sorbitol, maltitol, maltitol syrups, polyglycitol and erythritol) to reduce sugar and calories in confectionery products, as well as an experienced technical group that can recommend or provide “performance systems” to fit any application.

In addition, we offer Enliten, a stevia-based, high-intensity sweetener.

Beyond sugar and calorie control, Corn Products offers many other functional ingredients. For example, our GTC Nutrition business unit recently added Purimune high purity galactooligosaccharides and Nu-Mega omega-3 DHA to its ingredient offering, in addition to the pre-existing ingredients Nutraflora prebiotic soluble fiber, Aquamin calcified mineral source and Bioagave inulin fiber.

Our sales/technical teams are available to discuss how the Corn Products line of ingredients can be best used to meet a variety of product development goals.

Ronald C. Deis, vice president, applications research and technical service

Corn Products Specialty Ingredients

Jürgen Fischer
Bühler Barth

Bühler Barth

Especially in the difficult market situation that the cocoa and chocolate industry is facing at the moment, Bühler underlines its commitment to the continuous development of new technologies as well as ongoing knowledge acquisition. Whereas in previous years, the industry was dominated by the need to build-up capacities for satisfying the growing demand of cocoa and chocolate consumption, prospects for the coming years look much different.

Energy consumption, carbon footprint and related operational cost reduction are topics that industrial cocoa processors and chocolate manufactures are facing in their future development.

Food safety, a topic which stepped into the spotlight once again at the beginning of this year because of the recent salmonella incidents in the United States, will also put pressure on the candy, snack food and chocolate manufacturers because of the various nut ingredients used in their products.

Since Bühler dedicated a considerable proportion of its R&D resources to these topics already in the previous years, the cocoa and chocolate industry is able to benefit now from different specialized sites at Bühler, such as Bühler Barth, Bühler Frisse and Bühler Bindler, as well as from synergies with other segments of the Bühler Technology Group.

Triggered by the continuing salmonella problem in the almond industry in the United States, Bühler Barth developed the new CCP pasteurization system for nuts, almonds, seeds and other kinds of bulky goods. This system would guarantee a log 5 reduction of salmonella count without affecting the natural properties of the products. Compared to conventional systems, this process takes place in a controlled atmosphere, resulting in very little moisture increase during pasteurization.

For this reason, natural characteristics such as the color, texture and flavor of the different products can be preserved.

To further address energy cost and carbon footprint issues, the specialists at Bühler Barth in Freiberg (Germany), the cocoa and nut processing competency center of the Bühler Group, have teamed up with the engineers and technologists at Bühler in Uzwil (Switzerland) to find new approaches to cutting energy consumption in cocoa bean roasting and debacterization.

In particular, the RoaStar roasting process for cocoa beans and nuts has been further developed, and the engineers succeeded in designing a cocoa roasting system that is autarchic in terms of energy.

In this new process, the entire energy required for roasting and debacterizing cocoa beans is gained from the cocoa shells obtained during cocoa bean processing.

Furthermore, other energy saving applications for existing roasting and processing machines have been designed to optimize energy consumption during pretreatment of beans and roasting of nibs.

Jürgen Fischer, managing director, Bühler Barth

Roberto Bucchi
Carle & Montanari

Carle & Montanari

The Carle & Montanari Group is investing heavily into becoming a one-stop provider of turnkey, fully integrated solutions for the chocolate industry, beginning with the processing of the raw materials to the packaging of the finished product.

Each phase of the production process is managed by machines specially designed by Carle & Montanari and its Packaging Division, making the company the only competitor in the world in this business that can claim to be a “sole supplier” of complete solutions.

In the most recent months, quite a few innovations have been presented.

Consider the new HFI518 five-roll refiner, which combines precision and reliability while simultaneously increasing capacity and providing accessibility and ease of cleaning. Reduced maintenance times, thanks to the new layout of the refining cylinders and power train as well as the new software for dry-run protection, have received a great deal of acclaim from our customers.

The new vertical coolers for Cavemil moulding lines feature flexible and modular coolers, which can accommodate any type of mould, from individual ones for flat-bottomed products (both the narrowest version for pralines and the widest for use with two rows of chocolate bars) to twin machines for chocolate eggs, balls and figures.

This flexibility means that customers can maximize their investment by taking full advantage of the moulding line’s capacity and thereby avoiding costly down time due to the seasonality of certain products. The line can be used, in turns, to produce such staple items as pralines, small chocolates and bars as well as more seasonal items such as eggs or figures, without compromising its overall efficiency.

The company has improved its line of well-known depositors (all suitable for including One-Shot depositing), namely the MLR rotary depositor (the sixth generation), as well as the new version of the MEP piston depositor.

In the packaging area, C&M is pushing on the accelerator towards the complete integration of moulding, primary and secondary packaging, extending up to palletizing.

Roberto Bucchi, ceo, Carle & Montanari

Ulrich Kreimeyer
LoeschPack

LoeschPack

The confectionery industry remains the most innovative of all the food industries. All of the new packaging ideas need especially innovative technical concepts to enable their implementation. The constant increase in more demanding requirements on the part of our customers necessitates even greater expertise, perfect quality and the appropriate capacities.

LoeschPack rises to this challenge as a leader in quality and innovation, implementing innovative concepts to meet these requirements. We take our inspiration from our motto “Packaging your Ideas” to develop comprehensive benefits for our customers.

In concrete terms, this means that we at Loesch develop, build and implement three to four completely new machines every year to suit our customers’ requirements. This high-speed pace is made possible by the corresponding capacities in the innovation team, which encompasses our development, construction, assembly and marketing departments.

Target groups for LoeschPack’s product program are the manufacturers of chewing gum (strips, tab gum, sticks, pellets), chocolate (tablets, bars, small articles, assortments, pralines), and dry baked goods (biscuits, waffles, cookies, crackers). These include small- to medium-sized companies for whom a comprehensive range of start-up solutions, semi-automatic or straight automatic solutions exist, as well as large multinationals with demanding requirements for complex tasks and solutions.

Complete packaging lines from interface production, with product distribution systems, temporary storage, primary packaging, secondary packaging as well as the integration of the final packaging if required.

The production of every single machine requires leadership in technology and innovation so that our customers obtain the best solution for the task at hand.

The best quality is achieved through the especially strict quality control of materials and the functions of the finished machines, as well as fastidious and repeated testing and commissioning procedures.

LoeschPack is a leading international company developing, manufacturing and supplying full-service engineering packaging solutions.

Ulrich Kreimeyer, sales and marketing director, Loeschpack

Martin McDermott
Chocotech

Chocotech

Flexibility, innovation and experience are the key to success. Chocotech offers all of these qualities, along with a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, which includes an industrial-sized, 600-sq.-meter (6,500-sq.-ft.), well-equipped test center, staffed with highly trained processing engineers.

As a leading manufacturer of process equipment for the confectionery industry, innovation for us is the continuous improvement and development of processes together with our customers to improve or develop the product with regards to energy, hygiene and actual process steps.

We pride ourselves with having successfully worked with both large and small companies in the confectionery industry to develop and test products on production-sized equipment in our lab. Customers from every part of the world promoting regional tastes and ingredients have successfully run product through our equipment. The result has been their special products. It also helps that the customers are assisted by a multilingual sales and engineering staff that can directly communicate with the customer to understand their specific needs.

In the last two years, we have developed - together with our customers - controllable innovative continuous systems for manufacturing fudge, chewy candy, jellies and aerations, hard and soft caramels, and laminated and croquant products (eggs, cups, etc.). It was also the first company to perfect processes for the continuous production of pure fruit snacks.

On hard candy, Chocotech holds a patent on a sugar-free candy process, and we continue to test flavors, textures and fillings. One of the latest systems includes a continuous hard caramel kitchen with an integrated caramelizer to allow a color range from white to dark brown.

The patented Sucrotwist static cooker offers state-of-the-art qualities with regards to heat exchange and hygienic design. The new Sucrofilm dynamic thin film cooker is now available for throughputs more than 2,000 kg/hr (depending on the recipe) with multiple zones to allow maximum flexibility in the throughput range.

Chocolate products have also come a long way with improvements and increased outputs on the FrozenShell system. The idea of having a high-end praline manufacturing line, which can produce a wide range of chocolate-shaped shells filled with tasty ganache, fruit and nougat fillings, appeals to many confectioners. The chocolate lab not only houses a complete FrozenShell line for customer testing and in-house development, but also a PSL former for chocolate forming of lentils, balls and eggs.

Martin McDermott, marketing and sales director, Chocotech

Francois Adele
Dumoulin

Dumoulin

Innovation is present everywhere, starting with the day-to-day work amongst all of Dumoulin’s departments. Whether it’s relying on our processing expertise, investigating the use of new ingredients or developing new equipment, the innovation process is integral to the company’s culture.

After all, 50 years of working with leading manufacturers in candy, chocolate and also pharmaceutical industries has driven us to investigate and discover solutions in many different fields.

Most of the directions we have chosen to follow do not have a direct impact on financial benefits, but allow us to know and understand a bit more of our panning world and its future. And some of these little bits will, of course, become the cornerstones that we will use tomorrow to build our next developments.

For example, while we remain the market leader in batch coating machines that range from 500 to 3,000 kg capacities, part of our customer base was attracted toward smaller flexible automatic panning machines. Nevertheless, the price point for these units didn’t match their expectations.

At Dumoulin, we developed a brand new 120- to 250-kg, fully automatic panning machine that was affordable. This unit includes a perforated pan for sugar and sugar-free products as well as a solid pan for chocolate panning and varnishing. As one can imagine, successfully applying innovative cost reductions into equipment design and fabrication in an environment featuring a strong Euro and rising stainless steel costs proved immensely challenging. Dumoulin, however, found a way.

Of course, our team also focuses on assisting customers or ingredient manufacturers in the development of new processes for chocolate, sugar and sugar-free panning. Our flexibility as well as our support in development is recognized worldwide.

Francois Adele, general manager, Dumoulin

Marjam van Dijk
Duyvis Wiener B.V.

Duyvis Wiener B.V.

The base of our success is that we monitor and investigate the needs within the cocoa and chocolate industry. Over the years, more and more companies expressed their wish to perform taste and quality tests with their own recipes and products on our equipment.

Although a test facility was already available at Duyvis Wiener, we decided to expand it in order to carry out all of our customers’ requests.

This new laboratory is a step in our partnership with cocoa and chocolate producers. It will allow us to carry out all kinds of tests on a variety of machines and help develop recipes, so that our clients can easily integrate our machines into their process.

In the new chocolate lab, it will be possible to develop tests and recipes for products like real chocolate, compound chocolate, bread spreads, coatings, cream and fillings. In the cocoa lab, we will be able to perform tests and trials with several products on the liquor grinding lines, cocoa butter press and the cocoa powder grinding and stabilizing plant.

As one can imagine, we at Duyvis Wiener looks forward to the opening of the new lab on October 1, this year.

It’s clear that this expanded facility will help us inspire and serve all producers in the cocoa and chocolate industry even better.

Mirjam van Dijk, managing director, Duyvis Wiener

Petzholdt Heidenauer
Ladco

Ladco

The Ladco Group, which consists of MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, Petzholdt Heidenauer and Beetz Mixing Technology, continue to make new technological advances within their product range.

Petzholdt Heidenauer has developed the Continuous Conching System to reduce the time required in the conching process, but still achieve rheological and sensorical results as in batch conching.

This installation requires approximately 65% less floor space than a traditional conching system and saves more than 50% energy, which is a factor in the forefront of today’s environment.

The system also has the beauty of being modular in design, allowing clients to add units to the system as their throughput requirements increase. The demand for this equipment is growing all the time as producers are realizing the huge benefits of conching in this way and accepting it as a revolutionary system on the market for handling throughputs up to 6.5 tons per hour.

This equipment can also be adapted easily to produce the exact flavor developments required by customers worldwide who require high product standards.

Also, Petzholdts’ recent new development in 5-roll refining, which includes a fineness measuring unit and PLC-control, allows the rollers on the machine to be adjusted automatically when required to maintain a constant particle size.

MacIntyre Chocolate Systems, the originator of the Universal Refining and Conching System, continually upgrades its product range utilizing the latest technology and offering PLC-controlled equipment where desired. It offers the widest range of refiner/conches from 20-kg to 10,000-kg models.

Its Duplex models (which are particularly beneficial for pure chocolate production) produce a high quality product in a shorter cycle time. Because of the excellent results achievable with the Duplex system, this model is increasingly in demand, but the Millennium model still retains it popularity.

MacIntyre’s recent development – the Shear Attachment (which has actually been on the market now for five years) - is a huge asset in that it can allow the refiner/conch to handle masses down to a 21% fat content for special applications. This unique capability remains much in demand at the present time.

The latest innovations under development today involve adding vacuum to the refiner/conches, which will accelerate the removal of the volatiles, acidity and moisture as well as develop the flavor more efficiently.

Stuart Andersen, managing director, Ladco

Frank Temme
Klöeckner Hänsel

Klöeckner Hänsel

The Klöckner Hänsel Sucroliner hard candy processing lines are well-established worldwide and known for their highest level of quality for equipment as well as for the final product

It was natural that we use this know-how to extend the range of machinery to smaller capacities, but also for pharmaceutical candies. The biggerSucroliners, which can handle capacities from 1,500 to 4,000 kg/h, were introduced into the market many years ago.

Many of these are operating successful in pharmaceutical operations because of the very special vacuum and discharge system by advanced and patented dynamic screws as well as very exact dosing of active ingredients and best product treatment. TheSucrolinercan also be used for sugar-free products, and it can handle a sugar/ glucose ratio of 70:30.

From our customers, we learned that smaller capacity lines were required for pharmaceutical candy production. Now, with the extension of the latest model 1700 we are offering theSucrolinertechnology in a range of already 500 kg/h for pharmaceutical or standard hard candies.

The first installed line is already operating successfully in the production of pharmaceutical drops and has passed validation. There are also severalSucroliner1700s producing hard candies worldwide.

Here, the forming of the drops - which are packed in a blister - is done by our latest development in chain die forming: theStradaforming line with the new die set for seamless forming. This seamless die set combines both the advantages of the rotary die and the chain die: it works seamlessly, but because of its linear chain die forming design, also delivers a high percentage of filling.

Our skilled and experienced team of engineers and processing engineers are permanently working on the development of innovative concepts and machinery.

That’s evident in the new version of theJellyStar2014, which is the continuous cooker for jelly mass based on the following: starch, gelatine, carrageenan, pectin, agar or gum Arabic. There are more than 100JellyStarcookers in operation. In this latest versionJellyStar2014, the mass comes out crystal clear, enhancing the appeal of transparent products.

However, in our other fields of activity, such as fondant, toffee, chewy candy and bar lines, we are also working continuously on innovative machinery. With the HFD III Fondant beater with its internal water circulation (patent pending), the Unibatch batch cookers with bigger volume for vapor separation, theRotomatfilm cookers (in which the scrapers do not touch the surface) or theRotomat,JellyStarand LSK-5 laboratory units, these machines almost fulfil every request of our customers in the sugar confectionery field.

For individual developments of new products or customized machinery, our CandyLab with 420 sq. meters, supported by our perfectly skilled team and processing lines, are available for our customers, too.

Frank Temme, sales and marketing director, Klöeckner Hänsel

Michael O'Laughlin
O'Laughlin Industries

O'Laughlin Industries

O’Laughlin Industries is an American-owned company based in Hong Kong that produces chemicals and ingredients used in flavors, fragrances, foods, confections, beverages and related industries. It manufactures these products at six wholly owned production facilities in China.

O’Laughlin produces a broad range of ingredients for the worldwide confections industry. It is an important supplier of polyol sugar sweeteners such as xylitol, isomalt, and maltitol. It also produces flavors and flavor ingredients widely used in confections, including mint oils, confectionery flavors, cooling chemicals and natural and synthetic aroma chemicals used in compounded flavors. These are sold in major world markets, with most sold to markets such as North America, Europe and Japan.

O’Laughlin is also an important supplier of polyol sugar-free sweeteners. The company commenced production of xylitol in 1993 through cooperative production relationships. It recently started production of sugar-free polyol sweeteners at its new wholly owned 50,000-metric-ton polyols production facility in Tianjin in north China.

Items produced at the facility include a full range of polyol sugar-free sweeteners including xylitol, maltitol, isomalt and mannitol. Product forms include powder and crystalline, directly compressible, etc.

O’Laughlin sweeteners are manufactured under strict GMP/HACCP conditions designed to meet the strictest international requirements for its global customers.

The company was established in 1980 by its owner and chief executive Michael O’Laughlin when he moved to Beijing, China, establishing a small office to serve a broad range of clients thanks to his fluency in Mandarin and multinational corporate experience

In 1988 he established O’Laughlin Industries Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong. The company’s first factory was located in Shenzhen in south China, focusing on production of aroma chemicals for use in flavors and fragrances.

O’Laughlin’s growth and success is based, in part, to its strong research and development program conducted in its two research centers in Tianjin and Kunshan.

Michael O’Laughlin, owner and ceo, O’Laughlin Industries

Peter Meyer
Haas-Mondomix

Haas-Mondomix B.V.

Haas-Mondomix B.V., a business unit of the privately owned Haas Group whose brands includeFranzHaas Waffel,undKeksanlagenIndustrieandHaas-Mondomix, is the world-wide market leader in the field of continuous aeration-related processing equipment and turnkey solutions. The equipment is applicable for the bakery, confectionery and dairy industries and used by customers in more than 55 countries worldwide.

The company’s track record remains unparalleled because of its well-known reliability and quality, its problem-solving capabilities and flexibility.

Being part of the Haas group makes us even more capable for delivering solutions to our customers worldwide. As the company’s slogan points out, “We do not just sell machines, we sell total solutions.”

For example, one of the newest products that the company recently presented at interpack 2008 in Düsseldorf is the new High-Speed Depositor. Suitable for depositing all types of aerated chocolate creams, batters and marshmallows, it combines undreamt of possibilities with the well-known Haas-Mondomix stamp of quality.

The unit is able of depositing at high speed: up to 300 rows per minute, depending on the product. Other features include a changeable and flexible program and easy changeouts of depositing tools.

Together with Houdijk Holland, Haas-Mondomix also presented the new HMH Capper- and Cream system at the show. The two companies Haas-Mondomix and Houdijk have formed a joint venture to design, manufacture, market and sell full-width creamers worldwide

By integrating the two technologies (base cake handling and cream preparation,) the Houdijk/Haas-Mondomix joint venture offers the best available know-how in this technology.

Peter Meyer, managing director - sales, Haas-Mondomix B.V.

Frederic Duvauchelle
Puratos Chocolate USA Inc.

Puratos Chocolate USA Inc.

Puratos Corporation USA is committed to being the reliable partner in innovation for bakers, patissiers and chocolatiers across the United States.

Puratos Chocolate USA Inc., the chocolate division of Puratos Corporation USA, has a manufacturing facility located in Kenosha, Wis. The new company is responsible for sales of real and compound chocolates plus fillings, as well as the sale ofBelcolade, the “Real Belgian Chocolate,” across the United States.

With the daily reminder of economic concern, our consumers are looking for simplicity with indulgence. This is why the next 12 months of confectionery will yield a great window of opportunity. Our products will allow consumers to indulge themselves without a huge financial commitment. As manufacturers we need to address these demands.

With our launch ofChocolanté, we see that our consumers want great-tasting chocolate with more options such as organic or origin-based products. As a leading manufacturer of value-added chocolate, we have worked to excel in this arena. Mainly, it is a direct result of key alliances with cocoa growers and suppliers in specific regions of the world. In some cases, both demands can be addressed in one product such as our Dark Costa Rica Organic Rain Forest Alliance chocolate.

As the world market turns to source more of these products in such areas, by nature, there will be an increased demand and as such, an impact on cost. It will be important as manufacturers to work with key suppliers to ensure sourcing of high-quality key ingredients.

Finally, the industry will continue its shift towards ingredients that are closer to all natural and clean labels. Our customers are becoming increasingly aware of our environment and the impact we have. Embracing this demand will also be a key to future success.

Frederic Duvauchelle, general manager of Puratos Chocolate USA Inc.

Andreas Thenhaus
Sollich KG

Sollich KG

Sollich KG traces its origin back to 1920 when Robert Sollich established a bakery and pastry manufacturing business. In 1928 Robert Sollich started to invent the first candy machines because no appropriate machine for his products was on the market. This was the beginning of the innovative confectionery machinery development that Sollich stands for today.

With the experience of a confectionery and candy producer, coupled with the company’s machine and process know-how as well as an “innovative view into the future,” Sollich does not simply build a machine for the purpose of running a machine; rather it builds a machine to produce a finished product.

And this is why innovation at Sollich doesn’t simply translate into solving a problem by adding or changing a component. Innovation here means beginning with the finished product of our customers and then evaluating the process steps and necessary components to tailor-make the equipment to meet the needs of the client.

Sollich is spending a tremendous amount of resource and effort into our R&D Center and laboratory to continuously optimize our equipment.

By combining the latest innovations and developments with the widest range of equipment for the chocolate and candy industry under one roof, Sollich is laying the cornerstone for its leading position worldwide.

For example, the newTurbotemperTop “TT” tempering machines, which were presented at interpack 2008, carried on the well-known tradition of Sollich high-performance chocolate tempering units.

With the new member of the disc tempering familyTurbotemper“TT 100 B”, a complete capacity range - from 100 kg/h to 18 tons/h - can now be offered to customers. In conclusion, Sollich’s bread and butter machines are presenting maximized tempering technology, in combination with the integrated automatic Tempergraph as a process control, by means of an online measurement of the degree of temper.

The company is also still building its tempering machine , “TT Airo,” which aerates chocolate within one machine. This process is becoming more and more popular these days, not only because of the ability to create interesting chocolate structures, but also because manufacturers can reduce the chocolate quantity while the volume remains unchanged.

Another possibility to create interesting, high-value products can be achieved by additional equipment like the Sollich Flavor Dosing Systems, which can add colors, flavors or even solid ingredients to items.

When rework has to be processed in order to be reused in production, say as in the case of chocolate tablets, Sollich´s latest innovation in this field -- the rework tempering machine – does the job. Even rework with inclusions can be reprocessed.

Andreas Thenhaus, sales & marketing manager, Sollich KG

Oliver Nohnyek
Driam

Driam

Founded in 1951 as an engineering design company, Driam began to establish itself as an innovative company during its early formative years.

In 1970, the company decided to concentrate on the manufacturing of coating machines based on the vast knowledge accumulated during the past 20 years designing control systems and processes.

Staring out with manual coasting pans, Driam soon started dominating the market with not only coating machines for the confectionery industry, but also established itself as a well-known name for pharmaceutical applications.

As of today, Driam has emerged as the leading manufacturer for hard sugar coating equipment, supplying all major gum manufacturers and panning companies with partially perforated machines, which assure the shortest coating times while maintaining the highest and most consistent product quality.

The sizes of production machines range from the smallest unit, a 500-kg finished load, to the world’s largest batch capacity of 3,000 kg. In addition to machines for sugar coating, Driam also offers an entire line designed for chocolate and other confectionery product coatings.

Parallel to these developments, Driam also provides accessories to coating installations, such as dosing systems, air handling systems, factory controls, static and rotary storage utilities, along with various conveying and handling systems.

State-of-the-art engineering and equipment developments are supported by the company’s modern and highly flexible lab departments for research and contract manufacturing. Our latest innovation is a coating machine designed for a continuous coating application for soft, sugar-coated products.

Driam’s supporting staff is spanning the globe assisting customers in developing new products, optimizing their coating processes and installing complete new lines.

Oliver Nohnyek, managing director, Driam

Ram Chaudhari
Fortitech, Inc.

Fortitech, Inc.

Today’s consumers are running 24/7 and have become much more aware of the need to address lifestyle changes and overall health related issues. This, in turn, has created an unprecedented demand for fortified products that focus on concerns surrounding overall health and wellness, as well as more specific conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stress management.

It’s not surprising that this demand impacts the confectionery industry as well. Products that were once considered strictly “fun foods” now incorporate a variety of nutrients that offer consumers “healthy indulgence,” simultaneously satisfying a sweet tooth while providing a nutritional component to enhance their own personal health.

As the world leader in the development of custom nutrient premixes for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries, Fortitech premixes integrate functional ingredients from a comprehensive selection of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, nucleotides and nutraceuticals that can be incorporated into numerous confections.

Recently, Fortitech developed samples for several trade shows, including IFT, which focused on the areas of anti-aging, stress management and children’s health. The samples included the following: a nutricosmetic licorice, fortified with collagen, vitamin E, aloe vera, CoQ10, inulin and lycopene to support anti-aging; chocolate fortified with GABA, magnesium, L-theanine, L-tryptophan and ashwaganda extract to aid in stress reduction; and gummy bears - intended for children - that were fortified with vitamins A, C, E and folic acid, all of which are all important for a child’s growth and development, as well as vitamins B12 and B6, biotin and niacinamide, also critical in the production of energy for the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

Confections can be an excellent and convenient delivery system for multiple nutrients. Over the past 20 years, Fortitech has created over 30,000 custom nutrient premixes targeting a variety of health conditions, which have included heart, bone and brain health, stress reduction, digestive health, obesity and fatigue – just to name a few. These products are safe, taste great and are nutritious to meet each consumer’s needs.

Ram Chaudhari, sr. executive vice president, chief scientific officer, Fortitech, Inc.

Kim Jacobsen
Double Pop

Double Pop

For the past 50 years or so a visit to Tivoli Gardens always included purchasing a candy-coated, chocolate-covered popcorn on a stick. These hugely popular sweets were made entirely by hand by Kim Jacobsen’s parents, which meant that there was always something for him to do after he had returned from school.

Eventually, Jacobsen took over the small factory and continued the production in the tradition of a small cottage industry. In doing so, he regularly received inquiries at regular from importers and manufacturers throughout the world wanting to represent this very tasty treat.

Ffrustrated at not being able to mass-produce the ‘pop-sticks,’ Jacobsen searched for a machine that was capable of handling hot and sticky caramel as it was being mixed with the popcorn, simultaneously keeping it hot and workable as it was being compressed into the desired shape.

Confectioners who have worked with caramel will tell you that it is impossible, but not for someone who’s driven. Jacobsen has spent nearly 30 years experimenting, consulting with engineers, driving tool makers crazy and investing more than pocket change to design a machine that could produce a caramel-coated popcorn candy bar in the kind of quantity that would satisfy a market for an entirely new, lighter and healthier snack bar.

As he explains it; “Caramelizing popcorn is easy as long as the popcorn is kept separated. Compressing it into a bar is another thing altogether. Popcorn is a lot like blotting paper; it absorbs the caramel quickly, drying it and making it impossible for the corn to become compressed.”

That’s where Jacobsen’s patented invention comes in. It keeps the mass stable long enough to be compressed. Consequently, he has developed a machine capable of producing more than 8,000 bars per hour. Larger production runs are easily obtainable through simple modifications of existing bar forming lines available through confectionery suppliers such as Bosch.

Early indications are that this new candy bar will be a hit with the consumer.

Double Pop is a healthier alternative snack bar with a variety of chocolate flavors. New flavors are being developed, tailor-made for different markets. Cheap and readily accessible raw materials will help in achieving a high rate of return for future Double Pop license holders

The marketing strategies are in place and Double Pop will become a recognized brand worldwide, predicts Jacobsen confidently. As a result, the company looks forward to establishing contacts with manufacturers throughout the world to become partners and license holders in this new and exciting venture.

Kim Jacobsen, owner, Double Pop

Christian A. Werner
Hebenstreit GmbH

Hebenstreit GmbH

As a world leader in the innovation of new wafer concepts, Hebenstreit is constantly developing machines in association with its worldwide customer base. These innovations are to not only improve the performance of Hebenstreit equipment, but to develop new products for an ever expanding market.

The world is constantly looking for new and unique products where the wafer forms a crispy base. Hollow wafers are ideal for carrying a range of fillings such as creams, pralines, jams and caramels, while flat wafers can be used to carry granular fillings to create healthy, low-fat snacks.

Hebenstreit equipment is currently used for the production of most types of flat and hollow wafers, cream-filled wafers, caramel wafers, crisp /rye and communion breads.

Our range of equipment starts with small-capacity compact lines and extends to high-capacity, super-sized lines for large-scale production. In addition to the wafer baking line, Hebenstreit also supplies complete systems for the preparation of the wafer batter, including raw material handling systems and cream preparation plants with rework systems.

All Hebenstreit wafer baking machines are supplied with the very strong and robust baking plate carrier that ensures that wafers are baked within a very precise tolerance. The proven technology of using a baking plate carrier in combination with the baking plate has been upgraded. Using newly designed adjustment features, the evenness of the wafer sheets can be maintained over many years of production. The complete front section of the BAC series ovens have been redesigned to improve access, simplify operation and create a hygienic environment.

With the ever increasing cost of gas and to meet the stringent environmental standards required from all modern manufacturers, Hebenstreit has continued to develop their machines to reduce gas consumption and lower CO production. The reduction of up to 25% in gas consumption helps wafer producers maintain profit levels, while the reduction of CO helps customers meet demanding environmental standards.

Over the next twelve months Hebenstreit will be redesigning and updating their range of wafer batter mixing systems. The objectives of this will be to offer mixing plants that are simple to operate by either manual or fully automatic means, can have ingredients either manually or automatically fed, that are hygienic and can be easily cleaned, and incorporate automatic CIP systems if required.

A key objective is to offer plants on a so-called single-skid basis, thereby allowing installation to take place quickly and easily within existing production areas or where access is difficult.

This year German-based Hebenstreit GmbH and Hebenstreit-Rapido GmbH have merged to create Hebenstreit GmbH with two manufacturing facilities in Frankfurt and Dresden. This re-organization, coupled with more than 110 years of experience, has created a company that is even stronger than before. As a result, our customers will benefit from a quicker response to their needs, higher efficiency and improved support from project conception through implementation and after-sales support.

Christian A. Werner, general sales director, Hebenstreit GmbH