Equipment for Craft Chocolate Production

Tasks and products this range covers

This range covers equipment for processing ready-made chocolate mass: bonbons and pralines, bars, figured chocolate, coated products, fillings and creams. Primary cocoa bean processing (roasting, grinding, conching) is not part of our category list, so this page is about working with chocolate mass.

The process, stage by stage

1. Melting. Chocolate in blocks or callets is brought gently to a liquid state. Heating must be mild, with no local overheating: overheated chocolate tempers poorly and loses flavour.
2. Tempering. The mass is cooled and then reheated along a set curve so that cocoa butter crystallises in a stable form. Gloss, snap, release from the mould and bloom-free shelf life depend on it.
3. Depositing. Depositors feed chocolate and creams into moulds, onto bases or into ready shells. Portion accuracy sets the product weight and the cost price.
4. Moulding and decorating. Filling moulds, demoulding and applying decoration.
5. Enrobing and spraying. Coating products with chocolate and applying a layer by spraying; for pastry also glazing with a gel-type glaze.
6. Cutting. Dividing layers, sponge bases and fillings into equal portions.
7. Dough and storage. Equipment for preparing dough and storing semi-finished products, for items that combine chocolate with a flour-based component.

In the catalogue this corresponds to the subcategories: Chocolate melting; Chocolate and cream depositors; Spraying and gelatinising; Chocolate tempering and coating; Cutting machines; Moulding and decorating; Dough equipment and storage.

How to choose

• Product range. Bars, bonbons, coated items and fillings need different sets of machines: start from the product, not the model.
• Daily volume. It determines the capacity of the melting tank and tempering machine and whether continuous feeding is needed.
• Recipe. Dark, milk and white chocolate, and inclusions such as nuts or fruit pieces, behave differently in a depositor and need different temperature settings.
• Changeovers. If the shop switches often between chocolate types, check how easy the machine is to dismantle and wash.
• Hygiene. Product-contact surfaces must be easy to clean; we confirm material and automation for each specific model.
• Expansion. Reserve floor space and power for the next line modules, such as a depositor or a cutter.

A practical tip: size the line by its narrowest point. If the tempering machine runs faster than the depositor, its extra capacity brings nothing; if the depositor waits for chocolate, the bottleneck is melting. Matched capacity of neighbouring machines matters more than the peak figure of each one. Also plan the room temperature and humidity: chocolate is sensitive to swings, and condensation on moulds spoils the surface of the product.

Why AR-TECH

• Our own manufacturing of machines under the HARVER brand for agricultural processing, and experience matching equipment to product and volume.
• Supply of ICB equipment from the EU.
• Configuration matched to your recipe and planned volume, and a commercial proposal.

Describe your product and target volume on the contact page; the manufacturers are listed on the brands page.