APV Baker intends to add value to lollipops
depositing systems so they can produce flat lollipops.
The improvement to the company's machine will enable flat lollipops to be made in a variety of colours with different fillings.
Solid, layered and striped products can now be manufactured with either hard, soft or gum filled centres.
The company says that confectioners will be able to tap into the demand for personalised and custom confectionery by adding detail to the sweets.
APV Baker also cites the possibility of sugar free products being made in a range of diameters, depths and weights, enabling confectioners to extend their brands.
The ServoForm flat lollipop plants are integrated along each stage of production from the ingredient mixing to the cooling of the product.
The systems, which can also manufacture ball and 3D shapes, are capable of producing 1,332 lollipops per minute.
APV Baker claims that it was the first company to offer depositing technology for lollipops and now has 500 of its systems operating in confectionery businesses worldwide.
The firm's systems include automatic weighing, feeding, dissolving, colouring and flavouring.
APV Baker is part of the Invensys group and operates from two sites in the UK and the US.
The firm, which employees 2,700 people worldwide, had 2004 sales of £360 million.