For the packaging of its products, chewing gum producer Ceremony GIDA from southern Anatolia relies on system solutions from the German confectionery specialists at Loesch Verpackungstechnik. These include six packaging lines consisting of primary fold wrapping machines from the GW series, F-Series flow-wrapping units, secondary packaging machines from the LTM, LCM and LRM series and WKM-2 display cartoners.
The Nizir industrial estate is home to one of the most modern production facilities for chewing gum products in the world. Covering an area of 13,000 square metres, the company produces chewing gum strips and mini sticks in up to 14 different flavours.
„Our company stands for high-quality products and the most advanced technology,“ emphasises Ceremony founder and CEO Mahmut Tören
Mahmut Tören has big plans for his company: He wants to establish his „7 Stick“ brand on the international market.
„We work hard and with discipline to achieve this. We only use natural flavours and completely avoid artificial ingredients,“ he emphasises.
Another special feature are the different pack sizes, that Ceremony GIDA has on offer.
„Demand varies depending on the sales region. That's why we cover the entire spectrum from five to 18 strips,“ says Tören.
In his opinion, however, the global trend is moving in the direction of smaller packaging.
Ceremony GIDA exports its products to countries in the Middle East, the Balkans, Asia, Central Europe and America. „In 2018, we want to achieve a volume of 75 tonnes of stick and tab gums per day,“ says Mahmut Tören, formulating the target figure.
The company has invested in state-of-the-art equipment right from the start: From the processing systems, which produce the chewing gum mass from the high-quality raw materials, to the packaging lines, Ceremony GIDA relies on German-made machines. „We operate in a globalised market and compete with the market leaders. That's why we only use top equipment for our machinery.“
Designed to meet customer needs
Ceremony GIDA relies entirely on the expertise of Loesch Verpackungstechnik for the packaging of its chewing gum. The Altendorf-based machine manufacturer provides the complete range of packaging machines, from primary packaging to case packers for sales trays. In addition to the standard machine types from LoeschPack, the company also supplies Customised solutions which were specially designed to meet customer requirements. Between 2014 and 2016, the company from Upper Franconia installed a total of six fully automated packaging lines of the latest generation in Anatolia.
„These are Interlinked systems, each linking three or four individual machines,“ explains Frank Weber, Regional Sales Director at LoeschPack and responsible for the project. Five of the six systems are configured differently. Only the combination of the GW06 fold wrapping machine for primary packaging, the LTM-K and LCM-S for carton wrapping of the pre-packed individual items and the WKM-2 display cartoner has a twin in production.
„Nevertheless, the structure is similar for all systems: at the beginning of the chain are machines from our GW product family, which pack sticks and tabs. For some formats, the products are then stacked and labelled. At the end of all packaging lines, high-performance cartoners from the WKM-2 series pack the chewing gum packs into sales trays for the PoS,“ explains Frank Weber.
In contrast, there are major differences in the machines that are installed between the primary and final packaging units. „Very different packaging steps are carried out on each line. Secondary packaging, for example, is carried out in three-side sealed bags or in cardboard packs of different sizes with subsequent cellophane wrapping,“ he adds. These tasks are performed by high-performance units from LoeschPack's LRM and LTM series as well as the F-Series, which the machine manufacturer uses to optimise the packaging process. Complete value-added stage of packaging at the customer's premises.
Automatic packaging after the maturing process
Ceremony GIDA uses the rolling and scoring method for processing. This means that the products are stored temporarily before being packaged. The texture of the chewing gum develops during the maturing process. „This can be compared to the ageing of a good wine. By decoupling the processes, we also achieve significantly higher performance and are able to process a wider range of formats on one system,“ explains Mahmut Tören.
The chewing gum slabs are stored for around a week before they are broken into slabs directly at the machine by an employee and fed into the packaging process by hand via the LOGIMP feeder. From there, the entire packaging process runs fully automatically.
„All lines pack more than 2,000 individual products per minute. This puts us in the absolute high-performance segment in terms of performance,“ reveals Tören. „The machines and systems each have different format sets and are therefore able to pack other formats after a short conversion phase. On average, we are talking about a changeover time of one hour per machine,“ says Frank Weber, citing another advantage offered by the machines.
Trusting cooperation
In addition to the high performance of the machinery, it is the close communication with its packaging machine supplier that makes the difference, according to Ceremony CEO Tören: „Our dialogue with LoeschPack goes far beyond the relationship between buyer and seller: we work together as partners.“ Together, they have driven forward a whole series of new developments, and the Machine concept continuously refined. „Technology, speed, product quality, machine handling and after-sales service: We are completely convinced,“ praises the owner.
Together with LoeschPack, his company wants to continue its positive development, grow continuously and open up new markets. There is enough space for this: only part of the 40,000 square metre site is currently built on. „We further increase our production capacities on. We rely on our partner's packaging solutions,“ says a satisfied Mahmut Tören.
[infotext icon]Owner Mahmut Tören founded Ceremony Gida (Gaziantep, Nizip) in 2013 and the signs have been pointing to growth ever since. From its base in south-east Anatolia, the company has developed into a recognised brand in the chewing gum segment. The manufacturer is one of the few to produce both stick and tab gums in a wide variety of flavours with a broad range of packaging variants.
