Tetra Pak, Lausanne, Switzerland, said it strengthened its product offering for ice cream manufacturers with the acquisition of Big Drum Engineering GmbH, an Edertal, Germany-based supplier of filling machines for the industry. Tetra Pak said the deal further extends its ability to provide end-to-end solutions for food and beverage companies around the world, and reinforces its global leadership in the sector.

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 its presence in the “filled” ice cream segment (e.g., tubs and cones), which represents approximately half of the global packaged ice cream market.

“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,” said Monica Gimre, Tetra Pak’s executive vice president, processing systems. “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.”

Big Drum is a provider of medium-to-high-capacity filling machines for the global ice cream market. Tetra Pak said the company is a supplier to major brands, and is recognized for its innovation, quality and performance.

“We see significant growth opportunities through Tetra Pak,” said 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, Tetra Pak said.