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African confectioner sweetens its wrapping capabilities

New wrapping machines at Kenyan confectioner Kenafric Industries produce up to 1,980 chewy sweets/min and 1,100 pieces/min of bubble gum, and bring its number of wrapping systems to 30.

Kenafric uses eight machines to package its increasingly popular Bazooka-style bubble gum in a side-fold wrap with a comic-strip insert.
Kenafric uses eight machines to package its increasingly popular Bazooka-style bubble gum in a side-fold wrap with a comic-strip insert.

Kenafric Industries Ltd., Nairobi, Kenya, has been producing confectionery and other products for the African market for nearly 40 years. The company’s Confectionery Division produces a range of products, including chewing gum, bubble gum, soft caramels, preformed, hard-boiled candies, and lollipops. Among its most well-known brands are Lotta Toffees and Fruit Drops. Kenafric’s confectionery products have an estimated market share of 60% in East African countries. The company says its success is based on product innovation, market reach, a high-profile presence in key markets, and investment in state-of-the-art equipment.

In the 1990s, Kenafric began packaging its products using wrapping machines from Theegarten-Pactec. Since then, as Kenafric experienced increasing market demand for its candies and gum, and steady growth in terms of output, they invested in additional high-speed machines and systems. Over the years, Theegarten-Pactec has provided Kenafric with wrapping systems for cut-and-wrap products, such as chewing gum, bubble gum, and soft caramels, and packaging systems for preformed and hard-boiled candies.

Kenafric currently operates more than 30 machines from Theegarten-Pactec. These include EW5 and EW8 forming, cutting, and wrapping systems for bubble gum products; EK2 and EK3 units for hard candies in double-twist wrappers; the WHD2 forming, cutting, and wrapping machine for products in double-twist packaging; and the U1-EFC forming, cutting, and wrapping machine for bubble gum products in side-fold packaging. Since the first machines were purchased in the early 1990s, Kenafric’s output has more than tripled.

Most recently, in 2013, Kenafric purchased five new machines: one WHD with an output of 1,980 chewy sweets/min in double-twist packaging, and four U1-EFCs, each capable of packaging 1,100 chewing gum pieces/min in a side-fold wrap with a comic strip insert (“Bazooka wrapping style”). These five additional machines were purchased to meet increased product demand.

Continuous motion enables gentle product handling

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