Endoline Automation, together with distributor Ferag, has provided a flexible automation solution to one of the leading European suppliers in the candle market, Spaas Candles, with the installation of five case erecting and case sealing systems.

Established in 1853 as a small local candle factory in the town of Hamont in the province of Limburg, Belgium, Spaas Candles has grown to become one of the leading European suppliers in the candle market. Spaas has remained a strong family-run company, winning the ‘Family Business Award of Excellence’ in 2022, and now with the fifth generation in charge, employing 340 staff and producing a range of candles and accessories in different colours, shapes and scents. Over the past 165 years, the company has grown steadily to be not only the market leader in Belgium, with a factory in Hamont and another in Poland, but to be a respected international supplier with a strong focus on Europe-wide sales.

Despite producing such as large volume of candles every year, quality is central to Spaas core values and therefore they understand that investing in modern technology and production equipment is a must to be able to respond to new trends and market demands.

“Packaging was identified as the bottleneck of the production line and therefore Ferag was approached for a solution to automatically erect and seal the boxes as a first step to automating this process.” comments Sylvie Laigneil, Managing Director of Ferag Belgium NV, the long-standing Belgium distributor for Endoline Automation. “Critically Spaas requested to keep carton erecting, filling and sealing separate, to allow for flexibility.”

The 221 fully automatic Case Erector is one of Endolines best-selling machines due to its versatile and reliable nature, and seals the bottom of the cases with self adhesive tape ready to be packed according to the companies requirements. Once filled, the cases are sealed by the Endoline type 702 case sealer, which is a fully automatic pre-set case taper that seals the top of the box with self-adhesive tape. The successful installation has meant up to 35 cases per minute are sealed across the five systems, meeting all of Spaas production needs.

“Our Endoline machines are extremely flexible in adapting to changing box sizes,” comments Rudi Driezen, Technical Manager at Spaas Candles. “So that we can respond in a flexible way to market demand and marketing requirements.”