Tetra Pak has boosted its product offering for ice cream manufacturers with the acquisition of Big Drum Engineering, a supplier of filling machines for the industry.
The deal sees Tetra Pak expand its ability to provide end-to-end solutions for food and beverage companies. The company already provides a full range of ice cream equipment, including raw material storage, mix preparation, continuous freezing and inclusion systems, as well as production solutions for moulded and extruded ice cream products.
The acquisition of Big Drum will strengthen Tetra Pak’s presence in the filled ice cream segment (e.g. tubs and cones), which it said represents approximately half of the global packaged ice cream market.
Big Drum, which is based in Edertal, Germany, is a leading provider of medium-to-high capacity filling machines for the global ice cream market.
Tetra Pak claimed it is a highly-respected supplier to major brands, and is recognised for its ‘innovation, quality, and performance’.
Following the acquisition, Big Drum managers and employees will remain with the company at their current location.
Tetra Pak executive vice president of processing systems Monica Gimre said: “This acquisition means we can now provide an even more extensive range of production solutions for ice cream manufacturers and expand our collaboration with them.
“This, in turn, will allow us to deliver even greater value, by securing efficiencies in technical service across a number of different lines, and offering portfolio-wide support to their product development and marketing activities.”
Big Drum managing directors Hans-Peter Trosse and Matthias Ruppert jointly stated: “We see significant growth opportunities through Tetra Pak. We are convinced that we will be able to provide stronger support to our customers, thanks to Tetra Pak’s worldwide presence, extensive sales and service channels, technical support and expertise in food manufacturing.”
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