Ganong Expands Candy & Confectionery Packaging Capacity with PLAN IT Packaging

May 12, 2026

For more than 150 years, Ganong Bros. has been part of Canada’s confectionery story. From iconic products like Chicken Bones and Pal-o-Mine to modern co-manufacturing partnerships across North America, the company has continued to evolve while staying rooted in quality, tradition, and innovation.

Today, we are proud to share that PLAN IT Packaging has been featured alongside Ganong Bros. in the April/May issue of Canadian Packaging magazine, highlighting a recent automation project designed to help support Ganong’s growing production demands.

Read the Full Canadian Packaging Article Here

Helping a Canadian Icon Scale with Confidence

As demand for Ganong’s confectionery and co-manufacturing services continued to grow, the company identified an opportunity to expand its packaging capacity while improving operational efficiency and redundancy.

To support this initiative, PLAN IT Packaging supplied and integrated:

  • Four Mars Rapid vertical form-fill-seal (VFFS) baggers
  • Four ELITEWEIGH 24H multihead weighers
  • Infeed and exit conveyor systems
  • Fully integrated high-speed pouch packaging lines

The result was a packaging solution designed to improve throughput, flexibility, sanitation, and uptime while helping Ganong continue scaling production efficiently.

Built Around Reliability and Redundancy

One of the key goals of the project was to avoid relying on a single high-output packaging system.

Instead, PLAN IT Packaging recommended four completely independent bagging lines. This approach provided Ganong with:

  • Greater operational redundancy
  • Reduced risk of downtime
  • More production flexibility across product formats
  • Improved long-term scalability

As highlighted in the article, this configuration allowed Ganong to exceed its original throughput expectations while maintaining continuous production capabilities if one line required servicing or maintenance.

“If one line does go down for any reason, at least you still have other lines up and running.”
— Sal Choudhary, Sales Manager, PLAN IT Packaging

Delivering High-Speed Performance for Confectionery Packaging

The installed Mars Rapid VFFS baggers were designed to support high-speed pouch production while maintaining sanitation and accessibility for operators.

Key system features included:

  • Continuous-motion sealing jaws for higher-speed packaging
  • Servo-driven operation powered by Omron controls
  • Open-frame machine design for accessibility and sanitation
  • Tool-less removable forming tubes for faster changeovers
  • Automatic film centering and unwinding systems

The ELITEWEIGH 24H multihead weighers also provided Ganong with increased weighing accuracy and versatility for handling a variety of candy and snack products.

According to the article, the new system helped Ganong achieve approximately 2.5 times the output of its previous packaging process.

Automation That Supports People

One of the most important themes discussed throughout the feature was the role automation plays in supporting employees, not replacing them.

Ganong emphasized that automation investments are helping the company grow production while creating opportunities to upskill staff and improve engagement by reducing repetitive manual tasks.

This philosophy strongly aligns with PLAN IT Packaging’s approach to automation: implementing systems that help manufacturers improve efficiency, consistency, food safety, and operational reliability while empowering their teams for long-term success.

Proud to Partner with Ganong Bros.

This project represents more than the installation of packaging equipment. It reflects the value of collaborative partnerships, thoughtful system design, and scalable automation strategies tailored to each manufacturer’s goals.

We are grateful to the Ganong Bros. team for the opportunity to support this exciting phase of growth and proud to see the project featured in Canadian Packaging magazine.

Read the Full Feature

The full story dives deeper into Ganong’s incredible history, their approach to modernization, and the collaborative packaging automation project completed with PLAN IT Packaging.

Read the Full Canadian Packaging Article Here

Looking to Improve Your Packaging Capacity?

PLAN IT Packaging delivers turnkey automation solutions for manufacturers across food, confectionery, snack, pet food, and consumer packaged goods industries.

From weighing and bagging to case packing, robotics, and palletizing, our systems are designed to help manufacturers scale with confidence.


Let's PLAN IT Together! Give us a call or tell us more about your packaging needs here.

https://planit-packaging.webflow.io/blogs/ganong-candy-packaging
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