Case Study

Vidal secures its excellence with Bizerba

92 million product units leave the two facilities of the Spanish confectionery manufacturer Vidal every day. That means weighing and inspection at maximum speed and with maximum precision.

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Vidal secures its excellence with Bizerba

he secret behind Vidal’s success lies in its passion for innovative, creative and sustainable gummies, candies, marshmallows and more. As demand for the family-owned company’s high-quality confectionery continued to grow, so did the requirements placed on production, particularly in terms of performance and food safety. New weighing and inspection solutions from Bizerba meet Vidal’s high standards.

Company

Vidal Golosinas

Vidal is a Spanish confectionery manufacturer headquartered in Molina de Segura in the Murcia region. The family-owned company is one of the international leaders in gummies, licorice, marshmallows, chewing gum and other sugar confectionery products. Since its founding in 1963, Vidal has focused on innovation and the development of new taste experiences. Creative packaging and designs, unique flavors and textures, and a steady stream of product innovations define the company’s success. Vidal distributes its products worldwide, serving both food retail and impulse-purchase channels. As the first company in the Spanish sugar confectionery industry, Vidal received ISO 9001 certification for its quality management system from AENOR.

Founded: 1963
Production: 2 facilities covering 210,000 m²
Sales: Present in more than 90 countries through 12 sales subsidiaries
Employees: 1,300

More information

vidalcandies.com

CHALLENGE

Remaining competitive in a dynamic environment

The checkweighers at the end of Vidal’s production lines deliver peak performance around the clock. In fractions of a second, they verify target weights, identify incorrectly packaged products and reject them. Metal detectors must detect potential contamination just as quickly because Vidal stands for the highest standards of quality and food safety.

Increasing production capacity prompted Vidal to critically evaluate its existing systems. A modernization program was launched to ensure long-term performance and competitiveness. The environment is highly dynamic, both in the confectionery market itself and in products with their growing variety of packaging formats.

This level of performance can only be maintained with state-of-the-art technology. As a result, Vidal decided to replace its weighing and inspection solutions. The key requirements were maximum precision and reliability as well as seamless integration into existing lines while complying with all regulatory requirements.

Vidal considered a range of technical and economic factors when selecting the right supplier. Bizerba achieved the highest overall rating due to the quality, reliability and integration capabilities of its solutions, as well as its strong value for money and proximity of after-sales service.

The start was very positive and rather unexpected: after a major failure on one production line, Bizerba replaced the defective system in less than one week.”

Javier Vicente

Engineering Area Manager, Vidal Group

SOLUTION

Comprehensive modernization of inspection solutions

As part of the modernization of its packaging lines, Vidal invested in a total of 41 Bizerba weighing and inspection systems. The installation included dynamic checkweighers, metal detectors and a combined checkweighing and metal detection system. In addition to replacing existing equipment, Vidal aimed to consolidate its checkweighing and inspection solutions onto a standardized platform. This simplifies operation, maintenance and future system expansions.

Approximately 80 percent of the new systems had to be integrated into existing production lines. Therefore, the solutions were individually adapted to on-site conditions and seamlessly incorporated into the existing infrastructure. Training programs for maintenance and operating personnel ensured that the new systems could be commissioned quickly and safely.

From planning and system design to implementation, commissioning and ongoing service, Bizerba provided comprehensive support throughout the project. The Vidal team particularly appreciated the on-site technical support and the close collaboration during the integration phase.

From the initial discussions to commissioning, the project was highly collaborative. The close coordination between the teams was a key contributor to its success.”

Nicolás Ortega

Sales Representative, Bizerba Spain

RESULT

The investment fully achieved its objectives. Vidal optimized its dynamic weighing processes while significantly improving the performance of foreign object detection. Depending on the application, metal detector sensitivity increased by 20 to 50 percent, further enhancing product safety.

In addition, Vidal benefits from the higher reliability and robustness of the systems. The number of unplanned stoppages and required interventions on the checkweighers has been noticeably reduced. This contributes to greater production line efficiency and more stable operations. Vidal also rates the systems highly in terms of ease of use and maintenance.

Based on its positive experience, the company plans to continue advancing the standardization of its checkweighing and metal detection systems together with Bizerba.

“What impresses us most are the reliability, precision and robustness of the Bizerba systems, along with the fast and personal technical support.”

Javier Vicente

Engineering Area Manager, Vidal Group

“By standardizing its checkweighing and inspection systems, Vidal has created a future-proof foundation for efficiently managing and continuously improving production processes.”

Nicolás Ortega

Sales Representative, Bizerba Spain