IPCO is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of steel belts used in confectionery processing and a major supplier of food processing systems.
Steel belts have been used in confectionery and chocolate processing for almost 100 years, in applications ranging from simple conveying to continuous processes such as cooling/solidification, conditioning, drop-forming and casting.
Products processed this way include caramel, chocolate, hard melt candy, nougat, nut brittle and more. In each case, the product is applied to the belt as a melt, either through casting or drop depositing, and solidified as it passes through a cooling tunnel. The heat of the melt is transferred to cooling air blown onto the product and also to the belt itself.
Other products commonly cooled on steel belts include chewing gum base, gelatine jelly, emulsifiers and fats, all of which are usually formed into pastilles for subsequent handling and reprocessing. The qualities of a steel belt make it suitable for the production of gummy candy products and the forming of fruit-flavoured jellies into pastilles, and steel belts are also used in zoned conditioning systems for slab and casting applications such as caramel and sugar mass.
IPCO is a major supplier of chocolate forming/moulding equipment, with systems designed for the production of industrial ingredients – chips, chunks, drops and blocks – and decorative products such as shavings, rolls, pencils, blossoms and many more.
A wide range of production components means the company can tailor systems to suit different needs, with solutions for everything from low cost, rapid deployment start-ups to high capacity multi-layer systems.
At the heart of all IPCO’s high capacity systems is the Rotoform, a rotary drop depositor that has opened the door to new levels of productivity in chocolate chip forming.
A pump delivers the molten chocolate to the Rotoform system via heated piping. The Rotoform itself consists of a heated stator – which is supplied with liquid chocolate – and a perforated rotating shell that turns concentrically around the stator to deposit drops of chocolate onto a continuously running steel belt. The heat of the drops is transferred to cooling air blown onto the product and also to the belt itself.
Chips are highly uniform in shape and size, and are free flowing for easy handling, storage and dosing. Chips of different sizes – from 30,000 to 300 pcs/kg – can be produced by simply changing the shell.
IPCO:
- Is world leading in food processing equipment
- Partner for innovative food processing solutions
- Continuous improvement and development
- Own global service and sales network (35+ locations)
Contact us today:
IPCO Process Systems B.V.
Overemer 8
4824 AH, Breda
The Netherlands
Office Phone: +31 (0)76 542 41 42
Ipco.com/chocolate
