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4. Voted Best Plant Tour: GKI Foods’ Facility for Candies

Voted Best Plant Tour: GKI Foods’ Facility for Candies

Voted best 2015 Plant Tour by Packaging Strategies!

With chocolate candies making up 90% of the company’s products, GKI manufactures a variety of confection types. During the plant tour we got to see several chocolate varieties being dipped, enrobed, cooled and packaged. We also saw the pouch filling line where candies are packaged in 8-ounces bags at speeds of 42-45 bags per minute. The candies are visually inspected at each step of the packaging process and then ran through a metal detector from as a final inspection.

At its 100,000 square foot facility in Brighton, Michigan, GKI Foods produces granola products and premium confections for national companies, upscale retail stores, and major pharmacy chains. The 43-year-old company offers bulk and private label packaging and has recently launched its own brand, Kensington Confections.

On the plant floor, the production process begins with panned and enrobed candies. Panned candies, such as chocolate-covered cherries or raisins, are coated by tumbling in a panning drum with a fine spray of chocolate applied over two hours. They then spend an additional 1.5 to 2 hours being glazed for a shiny finish. Enrobed candies, like chocolate-covered pretzels, are made by conveying pretzels under a flowing chocolate fountain, followed by a cooling tunnel to set the chocolate.

At the packaging line, candies are filled into eight-ounce stand-up pouches. The process begins with visual inspection on the feed table, followed by lifting via a Weigh Right machine to a vibratory feeder for controlled movement. The candies are weighed into eight-ounce portions by a Yamato fourteen-head scale and then filled into pouches by a Toyo Jidoki TT-8DN pre-made pouch filler and sealer, operating at 42 to 45 bags per minute. Final inspection includes a Safeline metal detector from Mettler Toledo before manual case packing.

GKI Foods emphasizes hand packaging for high changeover flexibility, control, and efficiency.

For those working on new projects or packaging lines, our comprehensive packaging guide is available at thepackagingguide.com, offering a wide range of equipment and material suppliers.