Aachen-based gingerbread and chocolate manufacturer Lambertz opts for a Pickerline from Schubert
Crailsheim (Germany), January 2025 – A vast majority of leading baked goods manufacturers look back on a long and impressive history. Founded in 1688, Aachen-based gingerbread and chocolate maker Lambertz is no exception. Many of these companies have one thing in common. Some of their processes are still performed manually because ‘handmade’ promises quality. As a result of the need to adapt to today’s economic environment, baking processes have been automated in many cases, but the same cannot be said for the packaging processes. At Lambertz, too, the popular organic oat cookies have until now been packed by hand. In the search for a cost-effective, efficient automation solution, the company opted for a Pickerline from Gerhard Schubert. The decisive factor was the Crailsheim-based company’s flexibility when it comes to meeting special requirements. Furthermore, the two family-owned businesses share similar values, for example, a sense of responsibility in terms of sustainability.
From coffee desserts such as lemon tarts, nut wedges or the famous ‘Lambertz’sche Printe’ gingerbread biscuits through to stollen, muesli and chocolate, the Lambertz brand stands for an extensive variety of high-quality products. As early as in 1872, the eponymous master baker and confectioner Henry Lambertz achieved the status of Purveyor to the Court. To this day, the Aachen-based confectionery specialist has the licence to supply chocolate to the European royal families. Moreover, it has developed into an international biscuit group.
The organic oat cookie from Lambertz is one of the strategically important products, available with or without a chocolate coating in dark, milk and, more recently, white chocolate. They are presented horizontally in the packaging, with the chocolate side facing up. A tray contains a total of 16 biscuits, distributed across four cavities with four layers each. Lambertz commissioned Gerhard Schubert not only with an automatic packaging line for the delicious treats, but also with consulting services, as the oat cookie will also be offered in slotted cardboard trays without glue in the future. Additionally, the Aachen-based company wanted a format with products standing upright in the tray – and of course packed at the same high speed as for the flat biscuits.
Right from the outset: Cardboard trays and upright oat biscuits
Schubert developed a compact Pickerline for Lambertz with twelve T5 pick & place robots in a delta configuration as well as a double-sided tray conveyor to automate packaging of the well-known oat biscuits. Schubert met Lambertz’s request for greater sustainability by ensuring that, in the future, the new packaging line would be able to process plastic trays as well as environmentally friendly cardboard trays, which only need to be slotted together and therefore do not require glue. The tray loading station is already set up to handle this. A new format, whereby the oat biscuits are no longer packaged horizontally but vertically, was also taken into account and developed from the outset. The Pickerline is therefore equipped with a swivelling chain conveyor that allows the products to be placed upright in the trays.
An automated packaging process with a high output
Lambertz is currently using the new Pickerline for its oat biscuits in the classic format. The oat cookies come out of the cooling tunnel and are transferred onto the product conveyor in multiple lanes. Reflected light scanners, with the help of their software, detect the position and contour of the products. At the same time, the data is transmitted to the T5 robot control system. The trays for the oat biscuits are located in two four-lane magazines. An F3 denesting robot takes the trays from each of these and an F2 robot then picks them up and places them onto the chain conveyors. The two conveyors transport the plastic trays to the pick & place robots’ work area, with the trays being transported lengthwise. These conveyors can also be swivelled for future product variants and formats, as requested by Lambertz.
The new packaging line enables Lambertz to package its chocolate-coated oat biscuits in large quantities with a high degree of automation. Instead of several employees standing at the packing belt as in the past, the new Pickerline can be operated by one person – an advantage not to be underestimated in times of an ever-increasing shortage of skilled workers. Furthermore, the new Pickerline features an extremely compact machine layout, which saves space in production and thereby helps reduce the ecological footprint. The customer is delighted with the new packaging line, too. Hermann Bühlbecker, owner of Lambertz, adds: “We are very satisfied with the new line. Our popular organic oat biscuits, which can easily break, are not only packed extremely carefully, but also very efficiently. Schubert has helped us, as a traditional company, make significant progress in terms of automation. We are very pleased with the collaboration and the excellent results.”Website: www.schubert.group
