When Knobel, a Swiss chocolate and confectionery machine manufacturer, went into administration in July 2022, it came as a shock to the whole industry. Thankfully, in September 2022, Trikno came to the rescue and acquired all assets and intellectual property from the company. Today, through Trikno’s representative for the UK and Ireland, Premier Forrester, the first Trikno Chocolate Machine (TCM) has been sold to the UK market under the new brand “Knobel By Trikno”.
Knobel was known throughout the confectionery industry for their engineering prowess which gave them the status of being industry leaders with constantly evolving technology and patented designs. The idea that this knowledge may be lost from the industry was devastating to many, not more so than the existing customers who relied on their technology to meet their production requirements.
So, when Trikno took the helm, they understood how important it was to retain the aspects that made Knobel such a renowned industry player. Under the leadership of new major shareholders, as well as a dedicated management team that brings many years of experience in the industry and at Knobel, Trikno has also taken over a large part of the workforce. Retaining their experience provides the company with unrivalled know-how to develop the next generation of chocolate and confectionery machines.
Someone who knows all too well how important it is to keep the industry powered by this technology is Carol Oldbury, Managing Director at Hames Chocolates. The Lincolnshire-based private label chocolate supplier was looking to invest in a new one-shot depositor to help expand their production capabilities.
With a Knobel depositor in operation already and knowing how important it is to select the right equipment, Carol knew it was just what their factory needed to create cake decorations, truffles, chocolate advent calendars, Easter eggs and increase their outputs. Hames also knew the equipment could work seamlessly with their existing production lines due to the modular nature enabling seamless retrofit. They approached Premier Forrester, previously Knobel’s representative, and learned about Trikno. Between Hames, Premier Forrester and Trikno, they came up with the perfect solution; a TCM Alpha Compact depositor and vibration table that combined perfectly with their existing production lines.
When asked why they chose Trikno, Carol said: “Expanding production capacity to address changing consumer trends is a crucial step for our business’s growth and success. To achieve this, we need to invest in new equipment that is reliable, delivers results and is compatible with our existing production lines. We approached Premier Forrester to purchase a Trikno machine as we already run their equipment and know the excellence they achieve. The business growth we are targeting with this investment relies upon accurate, creative, and flexible applications – something we know the Trikno one-shot depositor can deliver.”
When Trikno came to fruition, Mike Gee, Director at Premier Forrester, believed in its ability to succeed as a world leader in confectionery manufacturing. Mike has almost 30 years’ of engineering experience, having previously worked as Project Engineering Manager, Head of Engineering and Head of Manufacturing Strategy in several industries including confectionery and bakery.
Premier Forrester’s customers range from large blue-chip manufacturers to emerging SMEs, providing production solutions and process engineering to suit their varying needs. Having the expertise and backing from Premier Forrester, who provides turnkey production solutions from seven major production equipment manufacturers, increases Trikno’s authority in the UK market.
With Trikno’s entry into the market being instigated by the trust of a previous Knobel customer, it only further shows how significant a player they are in the confectionery industry, both nationally and globally. As they continue to go from strength to strength approaching one year since the takeover, we should be grateful they are here to continue the pioneering work of Swiss machine manufacturing.
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Caitlin Gittins
Editor, International Confectionery
Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920
Email: editor@in-confectionery.com
