IN Brief:
- Zotter uses two Ishida multihead weighers to handle varied chocolate confectionery formats for bags and boxes.
- Pack weight deviation is below 0.5%, with target weights from 20g to 130g at 20–30 packs per minute.
- The installation supports fast changeovers, easy cleaning, and flexible production across a broad premium chocolate portfolio.
Ishida Europe multihead weighing technology is supporting flexible premium confectionery production at Zotter Schokolade’s factory in Riegersburg, Austria.
Zotter produces more than 500 chocolate products from its Styrian site, ranging from bars and pralines to drinking chocolate, chocolate popcorn, and Ballero dragées. The family-owned company, founded by Josef Zotter in 1987 and now run by his daughter Julia, employs around 230 people and produces approximately 1,000 tonnes of chocolate a year.
The company’s production model is unusually broad for a premium chocolate manufacturer. Around 60,000 chocolate bars can be produced and packed each day, while the wider portfolio includes single-origin Labooko bars, filled handmade chocolates, dragées, popcorn, and flavour combinations such as mango-chilli, sage marzipan, and cardamom. All ingredients are certified organic and processed according to fair trade principles.
Zotter’s bean-to-bar approach gives the site direct control over roasting, rolling, conching, shaping, and packaging. Production manager Gerald Prasch said: “We are among very few quality chocolatiers globally who handle all chocolate production processes in-house – from roasting the cocoa beans to rolling and conching, to shaping and packaging.”
That control creates a demanding production environment. A wide portfolio requires equipment that can handle different shapes, densities, fragility levels, target weights, and pack formats. The site uses two Ishida multihead weighers: a 14-head model used with a Kopas VFFS bagmaker, and a 10-head model used mainly for boxed Ballero products.
The 14-head weigher handles products including chocolate-filled popcorn, coffee, and miniature chocolate “light bulbs”. It is fed by hand because Zotter carries out many product changeovers each day. That choice reflects the realities of premium short-run manufacturing, where full automation is not always the best answer if product variation and changeover frequency are high.
Accuracy is central to the installation. Zotter’s standard is to ensure that a pack declaring 100g contains at least 100g, while also keeping overfill tightly controlled. Chocolate is a high-value product, and excessive giveaway can erode margin quickly. The Ishida systems typically operate at 20 to 30 weighments per minute, with a standard deviation of less than 0.5% from the target weight.
The second Ishida multihead weigher, a 10-head model, is used mainly for Balleros — dried fruits and roasted nuts such as cherry, ginger, physalis, or pistachio, coated in chocolate, nougat, or fruit coatings. These are packed into 100g boxes on a more automated line, where cartons are erected and lined with parchment paper before the weigher doses the product. The line typically produces 6,000 to 7,000 boxes per day, with two or three product changeovers.
The contrast between the two lines is instructive. One production area relies on manual feeding because product changeovers are frequent and variety is high. The other uses a more automated sequence because demand is consistent enough to justify tighter integration. In both cases, the weighing system has to protect accuracy while handling delicate, premium confectionery pieces without damage.
Cleaning and setup are also important. Chocolate, nuts, fruit coatings, popcorn, and small shaped confectionery all create different residue and allergen considerations. Contact parts must be cleaned after changeovers, and the equipment has to be accessible enough for operators to complete the work without excessive downtime. Fast setup and easy cleaning are part of the productivity calculation, not secondary conveniences.
The installation illustrates a broader challenge in premium confectionery manufacturing. Producers are under pressure to offer variety, seasonal formats, limited editions, high-quality ingredients, and distinctive textures, while still controlling cost and pack accuracy. The equipment that supports those portfolios must be flexible enough for short runs and precise enough to avoid giveaway.
Gerald Prasch said: “We are very satisfied. The service requirements are minimal, and the weighing results are precise. Therefore, both Ishida multihead weighers are meeting our high quality standards.”
At Zotter, the value of the technology sits in the combination of precision and flexibility. In a category where ingredient cost, cocoa volatility, and consumer expectations are all high, controlling pack weight accurately while keeping changeovers manageable is a direct contribution to manufacturing resilience.
