Delicato's packaging automation journey

Exploring the engineering project that improved packaging line efficiency and the working environment.

Delicato needed to get away from stressful manual packing in their busiest production line


To help improve their employees' work environment, streamline production, and create the ability to scale up.

Delicato is a popular producer of pastries. Their products are well known and the demand is high. But manual packing with increasing demand is stressful. For their most popular product, Delicatoboll, it was impossible to keep up the packing speed and maintain a healthy work environment.

Step 1: Robotic arms

Delicato started by introducing robotic arms to pick and pack pastries into consumer packaging trays. As they bake 200,000 Delicatoboll's in one day, this made a difference for the packing employees. But the stress levels were still too high and the need to increase automation was clear.

Step 2: Pack 35,000 products into transport boxes daily

A simple automation solution was needed to pack and palletise their consumer packages into transport boxes.
Solution: The wraparound machine
Flat sheets of corrugated board feed into the machine, the consumer products enter, and the machine folds, wraps and glues the board around the products - Forming a transport box.

Combined with labellers, conveyors and palletisers

After the wraparound machine has done its job, a label is added to the box and they're automatically packed on pallets before they go out to retailers.

Kalle Sundback
Kalle Sundback
Project Engineer, Delicato

“Simply put, the wraparound is a problem solver. The machine and the boxes it makes remove a bottleneck for us. It enables us to keep and increase the flow without our employees risking repetitive strain injury."

Kalle Sundback
Kalle Sundback
Project Engineer, Delicato

“We picked Stora Enso’s solution because it felt problem-free. The more automation you add, the more potential problems there can be. So, we wanted an easy-to-use equipment and that’s what we got.”

The machine has a closed system with lighting inside, making it safe for operators while being easy to view the packing process. And what's more? It is also freeing up space for Delicato. Since the wraparound machine feeds in flat sheets, a lot of space is saved through no longer needing ready-folded boxes in storage. 


Step 3: Tailor made transport boxes

However, some products still need to be packed manually. Here, Delicato used to have issues with hand-raised boxes.

Their customers wanted a box that is easier to unpack, and Delicato needed the lid to be attached firmly for lifting with a suction cup


These combined needs were solved with a tailor made box designed by Stora Enso's packaging design team

Martin Almstedt
Martin Almstedt
Stora Enso

“Since Stora Enso is a packaging solution supplier we can help with the box solution, packaging materials, design, printing, packaging automation and everything in between."

"This box is quick to raise, easy to work with, it has a display function and the lid stays on so that the boxes can be lifted and arranged onto pallets using a suction cup.”

Step 4: Scaling

Now, a second wraparound machine is on its way to Delicato’s bakery, and the automation journey continues. 
Svenska Krämfabriken | Fulfilling the Green Pledge using Packaging Automation
Visit story
Liba Bröd | Better working environment and higher output with automated packaging at Liba Bröd
Visit story
Outmeals | Well-packaged food to any corner of the world
Visit story