I learned later that the reason there were no other bids for the Sky Bar was due to its production complexity”
Compact moulding line helps quadruple output
US-based Patsy’s Original is today probably best-known for its hemp- infused chocolates, which have grown so popular that the company needed to increase production volume by replacing its original chocolate moulding line. Mike Niswonger, President at
Patsy’s, set out to find a solution that would not take up too much valuable floor space. “We needed a machine that would fit in the area, and we had to think about the capacity of things like our tempering and melting tanks, and where to put products as they come off the line,” he says. Egan Food Technologies was able to
offer a solution with a moulding line that boasts all the functionality of an industrial chocolate moulding line, but which takes up far less space. “An industrial line would have required quadruple the capacity,” says Mike. “This one fit our needs and is less than 30 feet long.”
with NECCO projects helped the company’s engineers to create a compact bespoke automated moulding line for the Sky Bar. The team designed a custom, five-section hopper for a modular moulding machine, with complex channelling routes and a sophisticated one-shot deposit plate to deliver the centres of the multi-flavour bar in a single deposit. The resulting compact, automated chocolate moulding line requires just one operator and fits well into the tight manufacturing space alongside the Sky Bar packaging machinery.
KennedysConfection.com “We were really happy to have a brand-
new piece of equipment that was custom made for us,” says Louise. “Trying to customise a used piece of equipment would have been a headache.”
Louise says that her team has now mastered the Sky Bar production line and the production quality rates now exceed industry standards. Louise has also increased production volume of the Sky Bar by purchasing a second set of chocolate moulds which allows the line to be run more regularly, without having to wait for a full set of moulds to be cleaned and sanitised.
With the new moulding line installed, Patsy’s Original is able to manufacture all of its solid chocolate bars and chocolate minis on the line, as well as its one-shot peanut butter nuggets. Changeovers between chocolate products is easier thanks to on-board recipe storage, which wasn’t available on the previous line. According to Mike, production output has quadrupled and quality has improved with the Egan Food Technologies moulding line, while the per-employee labour costs have decreased.
It is estimated that the line is now able to
produce around 3,000 bars in 45 minutes. Customers visiting Duck Soup can watch Sky Bars being made through the viewing windows that Louise has installed in the store. “We started with no experience, but today we’re probably the only people in the universe who know what we’re doing when it comes to Sky Bars,” she concludes.
Kennedy’s Confection February 2024 23
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