A return to hand-wrapped look - using modern Overwrapping technology

It’s a family-run business that started out making ‘the finest pure butter almond toffee in the world’ for a few close friends - but today Enstrom Candies, based in Colorado, is known right around the globe for the quality of its confectionery.

Fifty years ago, the company hand-wrapped all its boxes of toffees, but as demand grew, other methods, including shrinkwrap, were employed to keep pace with growing volumes. While this met productivity goals, Enstrom was keen to return to the beautiful, elegant look of a hand-wrapped box while fulfilling the volumes of product needed to satisfy a worldwide customer base.

So when Doug Tuttle and Doug Simons, of Enstroms, received a demonstration of the latest generation Marden Edwards BX100FF film and printed paper overwrapping machine at Interpack in Dusseldorf, they quickly saw the potential to restate one of their core brand values…that the quality of presentation should reflect the quality of the product inside.

“From the very origins of Enstrom, we focused on ensuring that the quality of boxes reflected the quality of the contents,” says Doug Tuttle. “At the beginning, we were able to meet demand through hand-wrapped boxes but as word spread of our delicious butter almond toffee and associated candies, this approach was no longer commercially viable.

“Over the years, we adopted a variety of methods, but when we realised that the Marden Edwards’ solution would enable us to return to our core values of a hand-wrapped appearance through high quality overwrapping technology, the decision was made to purchase the machine.”

The Marden Edwards’ B100FF Series 5 offers Enstrom wrapping speeds of 20-40 cartons per minute across six different box sizes, as well as rapid carton changeover and flexible packaging capability. Critically, the technology has enabled the company to move from perceived lower quality shrinkwrapping to higher quality - and bio-degradable - film and printed paper overwrapping. In addition, the B100FF delivers a 50% saving on film costs and a 90% reduction in energy usage over shrinkwrap technology - offering Enstrom a significant and immediate operational pay-back on their investment.

The B100FF Series 5 in operation at Enstrom overwraps all the company’s ranges of carton in film and heat-sealable paper without the need for any machine modification. The specification incudes tight paper wrap change parts, chocolate protector sections, paper print registration functionality for consistent alignment of paper, a film static eliminator and an anti-scuff conveyor. In addition, rapid tool-less changeover enables fast switching between different carton sizes with minimal downtime.

Tony Strutt, Marden Edwards’ US Area Sales Manager says: “In the Confectionary industry, the role of the overwrap has traditionally been to improve point-of-sale impact, provide tamper evidence, extend shelf life and eliminate the possibility of odour contamination. Critically in the case of Enstrom, the Marden Edwards’ solution was also able to facilitate a return to the company’s iconic hand-wrapped appearance, while at the same time supporting exciting new marketing opportunities based on special and seasonal paper-wrapped promotions.”

Comments Enstrom’s Doug Tuttle: “Presentation is paramount in today’s increasingly competitive high-end market, and this machine certainly offers the flexibility we need to handle the required production volumes of our six carton sizes while meeting our customer expectations for high quality wrappings.”

Enstrom remains a family-owned business, with every batch of traditional almond toffee still made by hand using only the finest, freshest ingredients. Over the years, the company has expanded its product line to include toffee popcorn, truffles and gourmet chocolates, and its products are shipped all over the world to a customer base that ranges from individuals to high volume, wholesale private label businesses.

To find out more about Enstrom and its products please visit: www.enstrom.com