Bühler acquires chocolate specialist Hosokawa Bepex

It possesses leading know-how in the areas of mass preparation, forming, extrusion as well as enrobing and tempering

“For Bühler, this acquisition is a perfect fit because it supplements our leading chocolate processing capabilities by the addition of the special confectionery know-how of Hosokawa Bepex,” says Serge Entleitner, Head of Bühler Business Area Consumer Foods. Hosokawa Bepex will be integrated as an affiliated company in the Business Area Consumer Foods of Bühler. Its site in Leingarten will be expanded into a center of competence within Bühler’s confectionery unit. “We welcome our new colleagues at Hosokawa Bepex and greatly look forward to starting our joint market development,” explains Entleitner.

In the global chocolate market, Bühler even today holds a leading position in the supply of cocoa processing, chocolate mass production, and moulding equipment. By acquiring Hosokawa Bepex GmbH, the Swiss-based technology group is now closing an important missing link in its chocolate value chain by adding special processing know-how in the fields of enrobed or filled products such as bars, cookies, caramels, and other confectionery articles. This type of confectionery constitutes a substantial global market in both industrialized and emerging countries, with strong growth in the area of chocolate countlines and enrobed articles.Moreover, additional potential is unlocked by supplementing the product portfolio of Hosokawa Bepex with other Bühler business fields in the areas of bakery and further grain processing.