ACMA and Venchi: an alliance of excellence for Italian chocolate
Contents of the article
1. THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ACMA AND VENCHI: 50 YEARS OF SUCCESS
2. VENCHI'S NEW NEEDS AND THE CHALLENGE UNDERTAKEN BY ACMA
3. THE SOLUTION FOR A MORE EFFICIENT PRODUCTION BUT WHICH TREATS THE ARTISAN PRODUCTS WITH GREAT CARE
4. THE ADVANTAGES OF THE ACMA SOLUTION
5. FUTURE CHALLENGES
Venchi’s history begins in 1878 when its founder, Silviano Venchi, consolidates his passion for chocolate by opening a shop in Turin and presenting his recipe for the traditional Gianduiotto.
Throughout the 20th century, the company has maintained its creative tradition and launched a large number of exceptional and original recipes. In Italy, Venchi becomes a brand synonymous with excellence.
Attention to detail has always been Venchi’s hallmark. Today, the role of “artisan chocolate maker” still exists in the production departments and chocolates are often produced in small batches.
In order to satisfy tastes and to follow the trend of the market, Venchi has increased the number of products it offers. To date, this includes over 350 recipes, from “Pick & Mix” chocolates to chocolate bars, from over the counter pralines to chocolate spreads, from single-origin bars to various flavours of ice cream (over 90 products between creams and sorbets). In fact, in the early 2000s, Venchi expanded its production by opening chocolate-ice cream parlours, which were also extremely successful internationally.
The company’s objective is to continue to astound its customers by developing new recipes and flavours, presenting chocolates in increasingly attractive wrappers and packaging styles and to strengthen its presence beyond national and European borders. Today, the company is famous in European countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, but also in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore) and in the USA.
Marco Cietto, Venchi’s production manager, describes the success and the development of the company as follows: "The strong and continuous growth over recent years has gradually required more and more investment to sustain this evolution and to increase flexibility". These new requirements have allowed Venchi to strengthen its long-standing relationship with ACMA and to develop innovative technological solutions for the packaging of chocolates.
The collaboration between ACMA and Venchi: 50 years of success
The collaboration between the two companies goes back a long way. ACMA installed the first machine for Venchi 49 years ago, then later completely overhauled this machine returning it back into service after the factory was flooded.
ACMA’s technological expertise is therefore central to the production of Venchi’s artisan chocolate. This is also confirmed by Marco Cietto: "This collaboration has evolved over the years and today, our machinery inventory includes a larger number of ACMA machines, including a new multistyle wrapping machine, as well as the very latest model that has recently replaced a previous one plus two other older machines, which will be used for maintenance parts”.
ACMA's know how that spans nearly a hundred years and its aptitude for innovation are key factors to consider when putting forward solutions that will meet even the most demanding requirements.
Venchi's new needs and the challenge undertaken by ACMA
Venchi’s international success and the desire to offer new products and styles have resulted in specific production needs.
The company has two specific requirements:
- increase productivity to meet the higher demand for its products;
- maintain a high level of flexibility in order to improve the management of small production batches of many different types.
The system proposed by ACMA was therefore specifically developed to overcome the limitations of previous generation wrapping machines, which were suitable for a smaller output and required longer change over times between products.
When asked about the choice of supplier that best addresses the needs of the company, Venchi’s production manager, replied that "Out of all the companies contacted about implementing a new system, ACMA was the one that took on the challenge of creating a high speed (250 to 500 pieces/min, according to the product) multistyle machine (4 different styles: 2 bunch, single twist, fold wrapping)”.
The greatest challenge was also to be able to wrap one of Venchi's most characteristic artisan products, the Chocaviar (a fold-wrapped cube-shaped chocolate covered with chocolate granules).
The solution for a more efficient production but which treats the artisan products with great care
The ACMA CW 600 was developed through the close collaboration between the R&D and technical departments of the two companies. This machine is particularly suited for wrapping various types of flat bottom chocolates and guarantees a high production speed without altering the aesthetic and organoleptic properties of the products, even the most delicate artisan ones.
The main features of this solution include:
- Outstanding wrapping speed (up to 600 products per minute)
- High flexibility
- High quality wrapping
- Compact layout
- Ease of use
- Compatible with the main types of wrapping materials
- Advanced Remote Assistance (ARA)
The advantages of the ACMA solution
The production manager, Marco Cietto, described the reasons for and the benefits of the collaboration between ACMA and Venchi as follows:
“The obvious advantages include the greater versatility in the changeover between the various styles and the higher productivity.
The expectations have been met, which is also thanks to the strong collaboration between the two companies. The ACMA engineers were extremely good at identifying all the solutions needed to optimize the various styles, as well as being particularly willing to discuss the various adjustments to be made together with Venchi personnel in the weeks following testing.
The level of collaboration and excellent service were additional reasons that convinced Venchi to appoint ACMA to install an additional multistyle wrapping machine, this time an advanced version of a previous ACMA model”.
Future challenges
The success of this project has confirmed the valuable relationship between ACMA and Venchi and has consolidated the foundations for the continuation of the partnership. In a scenario that foresees the launch of new products and styles, Venchi maintains that ACMA is a supplier that responds promptly to the needs of the company:
“We believe ACMA can be a strategic ally that can be relied on for future challenges, both for projects related to new facilities and for implementing modifications to the styles used on our current machines".
The ability of both companies to innovate is certainly one of the main factors that already makes it possible to envisage working together on new projects in the future.
ACMA’s continuous investment in research and development allows it to create state-of-the-art machines, and therefore to satisfy the needs of customers, such as Venchi, that are reference points of Italian excellence throughout the world.
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