Strawberry or raspberry, orange, lemon or cola: There are no limits to taste, shapes and formats on the market for chewable mass products. From caramels and gumdrops to jelly products though, the diverse range of products requires a lot of packaging flexibility. 

Cut-and-wrap machines from Theegarten-Pactec can help manufacturers navigate these issues. 

“With the proven cut-and-wrap machines from Theegarten-Pactec, chewy sweets and chewing gums can be flexibly packed in a variety of wrapping types — even one and the same chewable mass, and sometimes on one machine,” the company says. 

The company offers machines for all the common types of wrapping — whether bottom folding (U1, F1), double twist (U1-I, U1-III) or tubular bags (FPW5).

In fact, the machines are so flexible that they can be equipped for several folding types. Conversion is possible between different product formats, as well as partly between different folding types.

Booming market and important segment for Theegarten-Pactec

According to a recent study (Hexaresearch, 2019), the market for chewing gum in particular will experience significant growth as a result of these innovations. Having achieved a turnover of $29 billion in 2017, the global chewing gum market is expected to reach almost $49 billion by 2025. In the USA, 165 million people chew gum.

Theegarten-Pactec has been established in this market for many years and is the world market leader for small-piece confectionery. 

For the machine manufacturer from Dresden, the packaging of chewable mass is and remains an important segment. Specifically 20 percent of the machines are cut-and-wrap machines (with the most important target markets being Africa and Asia). And even the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry sees the potential of chewable mass products on demand.

Fit for Industry 4.0

At Theegarten-Pactec, this segment also benefits from innovations from other product areas, such as chocolate or hard sugar. That’s because the company integrates corresponding further developments into its cut-and-wrap machines. 

For example, the self-analysis functions of the machines enable predictive maintenance, which also includes further development in terms of instructions for troubleshooting and cleaning via touch panels and the graphic representation on the display. 

“With such innovative and future-orientated solutions Theegarten-Pactec is aiming to occupy its niche in the best possible way,”the company says. 

Theegarten-Pactec offers not only a number of different folding types, as well as machines with a wide range of performance. In fact, the machines can pack up to 2,000 products per minute. 

The company also is an innovation leader, as it puts a lot of capacity into research and development work, with 90 of its 400 employees working exclusively in this area. 

“Whatever the chewing gum and chewy sweet manufacturers come up with in terms of taste, shape and packaging — Theegarten-Pactec's cut-and-wrap machines are ideally positioned for innovation,” the company says.