Hi everyone,

I am just wondering if anyone has a good automated solution for wrapping chocolate bars in paperbacked foil? We are currently hand wrapping (2,000+ per month), and it is time to invest in some equipment to automate it. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

updated by @jacqueline-jacek: 04/11/15 17:49:39

Hi Jacqueline;

Foil wrapping machines are very expensive if you're only doing a couple of thousand bars per month. One part time,$10 perhouremployee can easily wrap 100 bars per hour, so you're only looking at 20 hours worth of work for one person for the entire month (about $0.10 per bar)- hardly enough to justify a $15,000 machine, the cost of theelectrical, cost of training to set it up, AND the monthly cost of renting the floorspace for it to sit there idle most of the time.

If you look at the cost of the floorspace alone (Sherwood Park, right?), let's say $14/foot plus $6 op costs for a total of $20 per square foot, assuming you're in an industrial area, and not a retail space where premium square footage costs would be charged, you would need at least a 10X10 space for your machine, and walking room around it (100 square feet). According to my calculation, just the space rental would be about $167 per month. Right there is almost all of your part time person's wages to do your bars.

My suggestion would be to wait until you have at least two people dedicated to working full time wrapping bars, before you consider purchasing a machine like that.

That's just my opinion for what it's worth.

Cheers and Best Wishes from Down Here in Calgary.

Brad

Now.... Having said all of that, if you're still set on blinging out your shop with a foil wrapper, Union Machinery sells some used and reconditioned ones. Just make sure you're sitting down when you get John or Jim's price quotes! www.UnionMachinery.com

Jim Greenberg here from Union Confectionery Machinery...jim@unionmachinery.com

Brad is correct in that without real throughput the ROI on a foil wrapper is long and arduous.

His comment about pricing is also correct - even a used machine presents a barrier to entry in the machinery acquisition world for small co's. Call me anytime just to chat and I can educate you on your options without any commitment from you to buy and then you will have some fuel for thought going forward.

Thanks,

Jim Greenberg, President

Union Confectionery Machinery

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Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com

Jim:

A general discussion on ROI issues surrounding equipment - that all members can read - would be valuable to all members rather than taking every conversation private.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

I did not realize it was private - not intended to be so, Clay.

Thanks,

Jim

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Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com

Jim -

Just responding to the "Call me anytime to chat" in your reply. There's a lot of stuff that starts out as public conversations that gets taken private so only one person benefits. Responding publicly means that more people can benefit while making TheChocolateLife more generally useful as a resource.

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clay - http://www.thechocolatelife.com/clay/

Understood -

Jim

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Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com

Jim;

I went back and re-read my initial post, and would like to make a clarification. My last sentence could be interpreted that your prices are high. I would like to, for the record here comment that the prices you and John have quoted me for equipment in the past have been in line with what is typical in the industry, so your prices are in fact NOT high.

Not sounding like one of your sales guys here, but I would also like to point out for the ChocolateLife community that when I was originally looking for budget-oriented equipment, both of you were an invaluable source for some information, and for that I thank you.

Cheers and Best Wishes

Brad

www.SoChoklat.com

Thank you all for this great info!! This is very helpful...

Cheers,

Jacqueline

We are always here to help. After 100 years in the business, we have come to find great satisfaction in helping companies start up, grow and prosper.

Brad, always a pleasure to have such nice feedback.

Jim

--
Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com

Hi Clay,

Thanks for your vigilance. Your chocolife pages really is a big help to us in understanding the industry and thus increasing our passion for it.

More power!

Ernesto

Hi Jacqueline,

I do not have a machine solution for you but yoou may have a solution for me.

What is a good source for the paper backed foil?

Thanks,

Neal Brown

Mojo Chocolates

Hi Neal-

I am currently buying it from Glerup Revere. If anyone knows of any other suppliers- please keep me in the loop as well.

Cheers,

Jacqueline

JACEK Chocolate Couture

Jacqueline,

Thanks You!

This web site is the best.

Neal

I really wish there were some middle ground to foiling machines. We don't do bars but we do 2 to 3k small solids per month and they really get annoying and sore to wrap month after month. The solutions however are big, noisy, and expensive. I'd love a simple lever device--semi automatic something or other.Part timers are great, but more bodies around aren't always what you want. Even though they may look like a flat cost on paper, they have sme other ancillary costs which creep into your budget.

We sell a small table-top foil wrapper for flat bottomed solid goods with very inexpensive tooling.

Please contact me jim@unionmachinery.com for a quote.

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Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com

Thanks Jim... I will be sending you a note as well for a quote.

I have received a number of emails from folks around the globe asking for further information about the table top foiler we once sold. It was a device - nothing more - that had a small pedestal and a brush cut to the shape of your small molded piece. The operator would take a pre-cut piece of foil, place it over the chocolate and then place both on the tiny pedestal and then pull the brush device down over the chocolate by hand. Once done the operator would remove the piece by hand and then smooth the sides and bottom. Quite time consuming and not very effective, We had offered this item for sale through someone who had built a few but it never really took off for obvious reasons so we are no longer offering them.

Foil wrapping by hand is laborious and, sadly, no one has ever produced a low cost, entry level full-fledged machine to do the work so the next best option is a used/rebuilt machine which we do offer but prices start in the mid $20K range and that is a major barrier to entry for most folks in early stage businesses.

Happy to discuss foil wrapping any time - jim@unionmachinery.com

Thanks

Jim Greenberg, President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company

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Jim Greenberg, Co-President
Union Confectionery Machinery Company
Jim@unionmachinery.com
www.unionmachinery.com