Tetra Pak, Denton, Texas, strengthened its product offering for ice cream manufacturers with the acquisition of Big Drum Engineering GmbH, a Germany-based supplier of filling machines.

The deal further extends the company's ability to provide end-to-end solutions for food and beverage companies around the world.

Tetra Pak already provides a full range of ice cream equipment, including raw material storage, mix preparation, continuous freezing and inclusion systems, as well as production solutions for molded and extruded ice cream products. The acquisition of Big Drum will strengthen the company's presence in the "filled" ice cream segment (e.g. tubs and cones).

"This acquisition means we can now provide an even more extensive range of production solutions for ice cream manufacturers and expand our collaboration with them,” says Monica Gimre, executive vice president, processing systems at Tetra Pak. “This, in turn, will allow us to deliver even greater value, by securing efficiencies in technical service across a number of different lines and offering portfolio-wide support to their product development and marketing activities."

"We see significant growth opportunities through Tetra Pak,” adds Hans-Peter Trosse and Matthias Ruppert, managing directors of Big Drum. “We are convinced that we will be able to provide stronger support to our customers, thanks to Tetra Pak's worldwide presence, extensive sales and service channels, technical support and expertise in food manufacturing." 

Following the acquisition, all Big Drum managers and employees will remain with the company at their current location.