G.S. Gelato & Desserts, a Fort Walton Beach, Fla.-based manufacturer of authentic Italian gelato and sorbet, said it recently quadrupled capacity at its Fort Walton Beach processing facility through installation of automated equipment. The company’s retail gelato and sorbet is available nationwide for grocery/supermarket and wholesale club operations looking for private label, branded, or co-packing options.

One piece of equipment, designed exclusively for G.S. Gelato, fills the company’s newest 16-fluid-ounce clear recyclable plastic containers with a screw-cap lid; the containers are the first of their kind available for private label, the company noted. The other fills G.S. Gelato’s 30-fluid-ounce scrounds, as well as traditional paper pints — as many as 116 in just one minute.

“This new equipment is extremely efficient and fits our philosophy of always being on the cutting edge of innovation”, said Guido Tremolini, owner of G.S. Gelato. “With the ability to produce up to four times more product, we are not only increasing business for our company, but for our customers as well, who require assurance that their gelato supplier is capable of producing large orders with artisan-style quality.”

The equipment includes an automated safety procedure that takes finished product through a metal detector prior to placement in cases. G.S. Gelato added that it maintains an SQF Level 3 certification with “Excellent” ratings every year, ensuring meticulous quality control of its products down to the single source of every ingredient.