HRS brings chocolate’s sweet spot to PACK EXPO Las Vegas
HRS Heat Exchangers will show visitors to PACK EXPO Las Vegas the benefits of tempering chocolate using the HRS R Series of rotary scraped surface heat exchangers. It will also demonstrate a number of other highlights from its wide range of heat transfer equipment and systems for the food and beverage industry.
Tempering chocolate is necessary to produce consistently small crystals of cocoa butter when it is heated and cooled. Without this strict temperature control, the crystals formed are of different sizes and the resulting chocolate will ‘bloom,’ having a matt appearance and waxy texture.
Following a request from a key client who processes bulk chocolate from a number of suppliers, HRS worked with the client to develop a chocolate tempering solution which could be mounted on a process skid.
The system comprised three HRS R Series rotary scraped surface heat exchangers mounted in series. It significantly speeded up processing time and overcame the fact that that tempered chocolate solidifies quickly as it cools, so it is important to maintain a working temperature until it has been molded or poured into the final shape. Ultimately the new heat exchangers increased the factory’s production capacity.
The HRS R Series also allows small solids, such as pieces of nuts or honeycomb, to be included in the molten chocolate without damaging them or the integrity of the product.
“Tempering chocolate is extremely difficult, and you have to hit exactly the right temperature,” explains Matt Hale, Global Key Account Director at HRS. “It’s therefore a typical example of the difficult food and drink processing challenges that HRS Heat Exchangers has become known for solving. Whether you need delicate handling, exceptional heat transfer in a small package, thorough product mixing, or you have an extremely viscous product, we will have an efficient heat transfer solution.”
As well as heat exchangers, HRS produces a range of specialist equipment and complete systems including Asepticblock pasteurizers and sterilizers, concentration and evaporation systems, the AF Series of aseptic fillers and the BP range of piston pumps. HRS also has specialist systems for cleaning-in-place (CIP), direct steam injection (the DSI Series), and ice crushing & melting (the I Series).
Visit HRS Heat Exchangers, Booth N-8040, PACK EXPO Las Vegas, Las Vegas Convention Centre – 29 September – 1 October 2025