Published on
July 14, 2020
By
Nick Halliday
Bar and chocolate production facility space is valuable and comes at a premium. Large machinery used to mix, melt, form, cook, cool and package take up floor space quickly. When outfitting your factory modular and scalable machines are of utmost importance to ensure that processing floor space can be utilized efficiently. Aside from wasting space, poor layout can hinder process flow and effective cleaning. Easy access also makes cleaning efficient and minimises risk of product recalls.
Diverse product options are important to today’s consumers, so brands are turning to machines capable of producing a wide variety of flavor changes and SKU variations.
Current consumer trends are turning towards more varieties of a single product over one product produced en masse. Compact machinery enables creating a higher number of product variants. With smaller chocolate processing machines that are easier to clean and offer a more efficient capacity-per-square-foot, quicker and smaller runs are feasible.
Factory space requires a large capital investment and incurs operating costs for heating, cooling, cleaning etc.. Investing in compact machinery means less floor space is needed. Rather than expand the factory to make more space (and cope with increased overhead), companies can keep their costs as low as possible by optimizing floor space with smaller, mobile machinery.
Equipment layout affects production output directly by limiting maximum possible throughput and indirectly by affecting downtime required for cleaning and maintenance
For example, having a portable chocolate melter placed close to the use point minimise pipe run length and enables removal of the machine for cleaning
Factories that are less pressed for space have the freedom to test out new products for market and rearrange as needed. Compact, multi-purpose melters allow for shifting factory plans and lines, always ensuring efficient flow of materials.
Smaller machines that are capable of multi-use and easily cleaned can help companies shift gears dynamically when they notice trends in their market.
Wasted space is something bar and chocolate manufacturers should avoid at all costs. The following strategies can help you make the most out of the space and flexibility of the machines you have.
Smaller, more compact chocolate processing machines are inexpensive compared to the larger machines. These low-risk machines are ideal when the larger machines performing the same functions need to be replaced or supplemented.
With smaller chocolate melters, power doesn’t need to be compromised. You can purchase efficient machines that provide key benefits in improving line productivity and delivering consistent quality.
Modular Design: Ensure the efficient flow of raw materials from storage areas to processing equipment with the ability to fit compact machines close to other large pieces of equipment.
Less Piping: Pipework can be minimized by positioning melting equipment close to use points, reducing cleaning time, cost and complexity.
Easier Cleaning: Cleaning can take place out of the way of the main lines when melters are mobile and designed for easy disassembly for deep cleaning.
Reduced Footprint: These condensed and modular machines reduce on wasted physical factory space through innovative designs.
Agility: Companies can be more adaptable to new ideas or changing customer needs when machinery is smaller and more flexible in nature. The ability to re-adjust means implementing new product ideas are cheaper with an improved speed to market.
PTL know from our discussions with engineering experts at multinational brands and co-manufacturing operations that space comes at a premium on your bar or chocolate production floor and we are working to provide solutions that maximize what you have.
To that end, we have a new and improved version of our popular high-performance continuous chocolate melters and it still has the features our customers love including:
This innovative, space-saving compact chocolate melter is ready to launch. Join us for the official unveiling to learn more about the PTL Melter v20. We can help you save space with compact continuous melters and utilize your factory to its fullest potential.
