Recently, business holding Conacado Agroindustrial opened a new cocoa processing line from Royal Duyvis Wiener in Santo Domingo/Dominican Republic. President Luis Abinader officiated the opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Production commenced immediately after. The plant produces cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, powder, cake and much more. In addition to cocoa processing, Conacado also announced its first steps into the world of chocolate production.

The new production facility is another milestone in the long-standing cooperation between Conacado Agroindustrial and Royal Duyvis Wiener, and the processing line has been in the making for quite some time. All major processing equipment in the plant has been manufactured by Royal Duyvis Wiener.

In the first phase of the line, beans are broken and pre-sieved, after which the winnower – unique in design and efficiency according to the manufacturer – separates shells and nibs. The prized piece of the production line is the patented alkalizer and roaster combination. The “ground-breaking” roaster has become the epicentre of the processing plant. This is where the flavour and colour of the end product are defined.

To quote Jan Kruiver, Technical Product Manager for Royal Duyvis Wiener: “In constructing this line, sustainability has been taken into account. With its short roasting cycles, this line is very energy effective and fit for the future. All without compromising on the quality of product.”

Separating alkalized and natural products is essential. This drove Conacado to install a second grinding line. Both lines consist of the powerful Nibrotom pre-ginder and two vertical W90 ball mills.

The new processing line is furthermore enhanced by three Royal Duyvis Wiener presses, with an option to extend. Cake is grinded in a classic state-of-the-art classifier mill with stabilizing silos. Fineness, colour and stability of the powder are guaranteed. Conacado has a reputation to uphold in delivering premium natural cocoa powder. This new processing line allows the group to expand that reputation to the quality of a vast range of alkalized products.

“Dominican beans are top of the bill when it comes to flavour. The combination of bean quality, the patented Royal Duyvis Wiener roaster and the alkalizing process leads to the flavour explosion Conacado was aiming for,” says Elizabeth Burgos, Head of Quality for Conacado Agroindustrial, adding that the results for both natural and alkalized cocoa are top of the line.

Together with the launch of the new processing line, Conacado also announced its entry into the chocolate market. Starting point obviously is the high quality cocoa products the business holding produces in-house. To support the first steps in chocolate production, Royal Duyvis Wiener provided a Qchoc-50 chocolate processing line.

The Qchoc-50 is an all-in-one small scale processing line, combining a mixer, grinder and conche in one frame. It is the smallest processing line Royal Duyvis Wiener has on offer – ideal for testing recipes, low capacity production or pilot plants. Eventually, the capacities of the Qchoc processing lines can run up to 2,300 kg/h continuous production, so there is always room to grow. The cooperation with Conacado gives Royal Duyvis Wiener the opportunity to showcase their compound production equipment available, in addition to the traditional chocolate lines.

Elizabeth Burgos points out: “Our recipe is based on the high-quality products produced in our own plant. The Qchoc-50 is ideal for us. We combine high quality equipment with ditto ingredients to find the right recipe for the best Dominican chocolate.” And Jan Kruiver adds: “Creating chocolate is like art – every step of the way is relevant. The Qchoc’s transparent covers allow monitoring of every step in the development, and samples can be taken at any time.”