Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
50 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2016 (August/September) IMA projects 86% of machine sales this year will involve capsule filling as well as relevant cartooning and end-of-line equipment. Capsules filled in the GIMA 595 can be double-dosed or receive a micro dose to call the Italian packaging valley, a cluster of advanced mechanics and in- dustrial automation companies in Emilia Romagna. Italian companies now export more packaging machines than any other country, surpassing Germany in 2013, Capponcelli said. The Italian packaging valley is responsible for 60% of such pro- duction worldwide. "It's huge here," he says. "It's not just huge for companies like GIMA making the machines but for all the suppliers around that are working for us." The GIMA group emphasizes an in- tegrated approach to coffee packaging whether a customer seeks support for hard or soft pods, espresso capsules, K- cups, or bags. "We don't make only the primary product, the capsule, or the pod. We make bags, cases, palettes," Capponcelli said. "If you want to get a line product from A to Z, we take responsibility for the entire line. From the ground coffee to the palette. We have many competi- tors out there but some are making only the capsules, some are making only the bags or the cartons. We have a dedicated division that's manufacturing end-of-line machines for all our companies." There are advantages to this, he said. "You have only one single interface, one single person to talk with." Emphasis on capsules Capponcelli said the company's emphasis on capsules is easy to understand. "Capsules give you many opportunities. They are not only for coffee but also tea, chocolate, soups, so many dif- ferent things," he said. Capsules were "the next big thing" for IMA five years ago, Capponcelli said. "Now it's a really big thing for us." In fact, he said the company projects 86% of machine sales this year will involve capsule filling as well as relevant cartooning and end-of-line equipment. "Nespresso is the most widely used coffee capsule system in the world," Capponcelli said. "The consumption is around 18 to 20 billion capsules a year. The Nespresso patent expired so now the capsule is an open platform. If you want to make an espresso capsule clone, you can do it. In North America, the K-cup is king and, like the espresso machine, the K-cup platform is open to clones as well. About 28 % of North American households have a K-cup brewing ma- chine, he said, and 14.5 billion capsules are produced for coffee and tea consumption and more. Delivering a double dose The company also made some improvements to its larger 595 capsule filling and sealing machine. The 595 is a compact ma- chine capable of producing 1,200 capsules a minute. Its mod-