KitKat looks simple.

Automating it is not.

A chocolate coating.
A wafer center.
A mould.
A cooling tunnel.

At first glance, it seems like a straightforward product to automate.

But after working on KitKat-type production projects for years, we learned something:

The difficult part is not making the chocolate.

The difficult part is making every process work together.

The wafer has to be cut to the right size.
Then arranged.
Then transferred.
Then positioned accurately inside the mould.

At the same time, chocolate depositing has to match the mould layout, product dimensions, weight and production speed.

And when the product changes from 2-finger to 4-finger, the challenge becomes even greater.

Different products can require different moulds, distribution plates, wafer cutting and arranging parts, feeding parts and demoulding arrangements.

So the real question is not:

“Can the machine make KitKat?”

The better question is:

“Can the production system remain stable when the product, speed and requirements change?”

That is how we look at KitKat automation at G&D.

Product first.
Process second.
Production system third.

Because automation is not one machine.

It is the synchronization of the whole process.

What do you think is the hardest part of automating a KitKat-type product?