Smart chocolate factory to be built

Swiss chocolate wafer maker Kägi Söhne is working with Bühler to build a smart factory by 2024.

The development of the smart factory began back in 2019 when Kägi and Bühler teams conducted a Performance Assessment Workshop to discover where improvements could be made in the production process of manufacturing the Kägi chocolate wafer.

“Our vision is to produce the perfect Kägi every day, whether it is 30°C in summer or -10°C in winter,” said Pascal Grin, Chief Operating Officer, Kägi Söhne AG.

Following the analysis of the production process, the teams identified areas for improvement and created plans to address them going forward. According to Grin, the goal was to continue to ensure a high level of quality in their products without interruption and with fewer rejections.

One of the team’s first actions was to connect most of Kägi’s production to the Bühler Insights platform, a digital tool that connects devices, operational metrics and analytics. The tool increased the level of transparency on process and machine data.

Judith Spreitzer, Project Manager, Bühler Services, said: “Connecting Kägi to the Bühler Insights platform creates unique transparency on process and machine data. From raw materials, to baking and filling of wafer sheets, and to chocolate coating, data can now be recorded, analysed and interpreted at any time.”

All process-relevant data and KPIs for each production step are visualised via dashboards. This allows operators to see how well the respective process is performing and take the necessary action when needed. This results in higher performance and optimisation of processes, and Kägi expects to see an overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) increase of 5 to 8%.

“We are already using the data in real time and our employees can react immediately to fluctuations in quality, thus preventing unplanned downtime. For us, this leads to cost savings and an uncomplicated overview of the process,” Grin said.

By connecting processes, devices and data, Bühler Insights can support users in addressing key issues related to sustainability, such as measuring environmental impacts. Kägi adopted Bühler’s Environmental Quantification Service for its entire factory, a service which supports organisations in measuring their environmental footprint according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. The performance of assets is analysed to optimise processes, avoiding unnecessary CO_2e emissions, improving resource efficiency and reducing waste. With this, Kägi has been able to understand its CO_2e emissions and prioritise actions to reduce its footprint along the whole value chain.

Based on the outcome of the workshop and product tests in the Bühler Wafer Innovation Centre, Kägi invested in a fully automatic BM-W 180-H batter mixing plant, a SWAKT-80 wafer baking oven and a fully automatic WIS-EAGLE In-Line wafer sheet inspection system.